ARANSAS PASS, Texas (AP) — The Nature Conservancy of Texas and Shell Oil are partnering to restore an island that provides habitat for nesting birds in the Gulf of Mexico.
The type of collaboration announced Tuesday between the conservation group and the oil industry is becoming more common as state and federal funding shrinks. Some agencies say such partnerships have increased 20 percent since 2005.
Texas' Shamrock Island provides habitat for more than 20,000 birds. The refuge was created in 1970 when Hurricane Celia destroyed a 300-yard sandbar that had connected Shamrock to Mustang Island, not far from Corpus Christi.
But storm surges, waves and wind eat up miles of Shamrock Island every year.
Shell Oil will pay $500,000 for the first phase of a $2.3 million project to build the island back up.
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