Honda ATVs aid recovery of endangered sea turtles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 25, 2001


Torrance, CA - Sea turtles are among the earth$B!G(Bs oldest surviving species.
Their existence dates back nearly 90 million years to the time of the dinosaurs.
But today, sea turtles are losing their place in the world. Plagued by
exploitation, human development, and habitat degradation, six of the world$B!G(Bs
seven sea turtle species are federally listed as endangered in U.S. waters.


American Honda$B!G(Bs Motorcycle Division has responded to this situation by
supporting recovery efforts of the single most endangered species of sea turtle
$B!>(B the Kemp's-Ridley sea turtle. Joining a cooperative effort by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the government of Mexico, Honda donated eight
all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) earlier this year to the Ridley Sea Turtle Recovery
Project, underway since 1978.


Honda ATVs patrol beaches in South Padre Island, Texas and more than 100 miles
of remote beach in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Project team members comb
the beaches for nesting turtles, mark the sites, tag turtles, and collect eggs
and relocate them to a protected area away from poachers, both human and animal.


"The Honda ATVs have proven indispensable to accomplish this part of our job,"
says U.S. Field Group Coordinator Dr. Pat Burchfield. "We have used Honda
all-terrain cycles exclusively for more than twenty-three years. Our fleet has
grown from one three-wheeler in 1978 to more than twenty units which we operate
under the harshest conditions imaginable."


Honda$B!G(Bs OHV Media Coordinator Paul Slavik traveled to Mexico to see this
project in person. "This was one of the most amazing projects I$B!G(Bve been
involved in," says Slavik. "The project needed vehicles that were reliable,
nimble, and environmentally-benign. And, our ATVs turned out to be the perfect
tool for the project to substantially increase and expand the mobility of the
researchers."


"Honda has come through for this recovery effort in a big way," says Burchfield.
"It takes time to see the results of recovery efforts, but we are beginning to
see a recovery of this species. Within the next three to five years, and with
Honda$B!G(Bs help, we hope to see the Ridley sea turtle de-listed as endangered."


In 1999, approximately 3,400 nests of Ridley sea turtles were identified in
Mexico and about 20 were located along the south Texas coast. The current
estimated population of nesting females is roughly 900, according to the
National Marine Fisheries Service. Although nesting adults are concentrated in
the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Texas and on the eastern edge of
Mexico, mature turtles migrate throughout the Gulf of Mexico and up the Atlantic
coast. The average Ridley Sea Turtle measures about two feet long and weighs
between 70 and 95 pounds.


Media contact: Paul Slavik, 310.783.3786


(See attached file: newturtles1pw_email.jpg)(See attached file:
newturtles2pw_email.jpg)


(Attention Editors: High resolution versions of these images may be obtained
from Vreeke & Associates, 805.584.6680, Paty Winters.)


END