[BCNnet] New ABC Rreport Critical of Gulf Cleanup Operations

[Donnie]

To repair and restore the Gulf and its birdlife it seems BP's efforts are
doing more harm than good.

 

Donnie Dann

Highland Park/Lake County

donniebird at yahoo.com

 

 


  <http://www.abcbirds.org/images/elements/birdwire-header-new.jpg> 

 





Many Gulf Spill Cleanup Efforts Ineffective: Harming, not Helping Birds


New Report and Recommendations Issued by American Bird Conservancy


 Oiled Spoonbill by Mike Parr
<http://www.abcbirds.org/images/birdwire/oiled-spoonbill.jpg> 
An oiled Roseate Spoonbill takes refuge on an oil boom in the Gulf. Photo by
Mike Parr, ABC

A
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Hf7%2BDDgXLrfAeDFmKhL
4WC3isfbtvyYn>  new report released by American Bird Conservancy, America's
leading bird conservation group, shows how some of BP's oil spill cleanup
efforts are actually causing harm to birds and their habitats rather than
helping them, that cleanup vessels are inadequate and operating in the wrong
locations, and that deployed boom has failed to protect some important bird
colonies from oil.

The report, entitled Gulf
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MdJVBdcO3isAo18pqHG06
i3isfbtvyYn>  Oil Spill: Field Survey Report and Recommendations, provides a
series of five key recommendations for birds - ranging from the use of boom
to habitat restoration - related to cleanup efforts surrounding the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


 View of the spill site from the air by Mike Parr, ABC
<http://www.abcbirds.org/images/birdwire/deepwater_horizon.jpg> 


View of the oil.spill site from the air as seen by ABC experts on their
recent visit to the Gulf

The report is based on a just-completed week-long field assessment by ABC
staff, who observed oil impacts and cleaning operations from Louisiana
through Mississippi to Dauphin Island, Alabama. As part of the overview, ABC
staff toured affected areas by boat with local and federal officials and
charter boat captains. With Coast Guard officials, they also undertook an
aerial over-flight of the spill area and points northwest of that location.

"Restoration needs to start as soon as major coastal oiling has been
effectively addressed. The Gulf doesn't have the decades it took to resolve
the legal wrangling that followed the Exxon Valdez spill. The hydrology of
the Mississippi Delta and the surrounding area is already facing dire
threats from subsidence, climate change, erosion, and hurricanes. Let's not
repeat the same mistakes we made in Alaska twenty years ago," said ABC Vice
President and report author Mike Parr.

The specific recommendations contained in the report (see expanded
explanations provided in the report) address:

1.    The use of more effective boom to protect bird colonies. Numerous
instances were observed where boom was in complete disarray, including being
washed up on shore.
2.    The employment of better fencing and other measures to protect
sensitive beach nesting areas and to reduce disturbance to birds. Clean-up
crews were clearly unaware in several instances of the negative impacts they
were causing to birds and their habitat.
3.    The deployment of adequately sized and equipped oil skimmers close to
the coast with real-time oil reports to eliminate oil before it reaches the
beaches and marshlands. ABC observed an instance of a substantial heavy oil
slick about half a mile offshore while cleanup vessels were operating in
very mildly oiled waters about one mile away - apparently unaware.
4.    The creation of a staging and recovery area for heavily oiled birds
close to the coast. With the moving of the existing facility to a location
about 70 miles away, some sort of near-shore facility is needed.
5.     The restoration of eroded island habitat for nesting birds. Breton
Island, for example, is a fraction of its original size, is an important
bird habitat and is in desperate need of rebuilding.


During their survey, ABC staff observed oiled birds at several locations.
The report presents a list of the observed oiled bird species.

View the report at
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kOxZcZXlFE7VGCNrGPvFv
i3isfbtvyYn> www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/ABC_Gulf_Oil_Spill_Report.pdf. 

Hear ABC Vice President
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OSEQp6juk7yPPNSu70tkG
i3isfbtvyYn>  Mike Parr's radio interview on Radio Pacifica broadcast on
KPFK Los Angeles. S croll down to the show "Uprising" for Wednesday, July
21.

Help Support ABC Efforts to Eliminate Threats to Birds

 
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZLpKzkT8Eyt%2B6B15IKV
JXC3isfbtvyYn> Donate Now Button


 



 


 

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