Texas Parks and Wildlife search for oil on Galveston Beach

Wednesday, June 7th, Texas Parks and Wildlife distributed a team of marine biologist to Galveston Island to access the integrity of the beach water and if oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has indeed began to taint the waters of Texas.

Marine Biologist take sediment samples and show what old tar balls look like.

Reports have been circulating since 4th of July weekend that tart balls were spotted on Galveston beach. Pictures of swimmers emerging from the beach water with remnants of oil on their feet, were displayed on the front page of the Galveston County Daily Newspaper introducing to Texans the idea of what can possibly be on the way to Texas's beaches. Texas Parks and Wildlife along with the Coast Guard have set out to investigate the coastal lines of Texas from Port Isabel to Port Arthur.

Texas Parks and Wildlife will test 21 sites along the Texas coastline by collecting samples of sediments, water and beach biology (organisms that live in the sand). Biologist Charles Wood, scours the beach front of the Galveston Island State Park collecting samples of sediments. Wood skips every 300 ft. to gather sand from the different locations to keep from sampling the same water zone. From the untrained eye the beachfront looks the same, the usual seaweed on the sand and people swimming and canoeing without a care as the team of biologist work diligently to make sure the water they are enjoying is safe. Continued on page 8...
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