Overview of Bird Search and Rescue and Response Efforts During the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Holcomb
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Home Base ◽  
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Rehabilitation Centers ◽  
Initial Care

ABSTRACT The Exxon Valdez oil spill presented the International Bird Rescue Research Center with a variety of unique and unprecedented challenges. One was the development and management of two search and rescue programs: one in Prince William Sound, with the home base being Valdez, and the other along the Kenai Peninsula, with Seward as home base. Local fishing boats, float planes, and personnel were organized to create two functional search and rescue fleets that combed about 900 miles of coastline in search of live oiled birds and oiled carcasses. This effort resulted in the capture of 1,630 live oiled birds and the recovery of thousands of dead oiled birds and mammals. During most oil spills only one oiled bird rehabilitation center is needed to care for all the affected birds. Strong currents began moving oil out of Prince William Sound and north along the Alaskan coastline. At the same time, public pressure to save the victims of the spill increased. It became evident that animal care services in even the most remote areas needed to be developed. Four oiled bird care centers and four search and rescue programs were strategically located near the most heavily affected areas to care for live oiled animals. This paper focuses on how both of the oiled bird search and rescue programs were created and functioned throughout the six-month-long oiled bird rescue and rehabilitation effort. It emphasizes the chronology of planning and decision-making processes during this crisis. Further discussion highlights how the search and rescue fleets coordinated their efforts with the rehabilitation centers for the greatest effectiveness. The paper also discusses the capture and safety techniques used during the actual pursuit of animals and the initial care and transportation of captured birds.

EFFORT TO RESCUE OTTERS AFTER SPILL IS IN DISPUTE

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-661
Author(s):  
J. F. L.
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Preliminary Data ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Sea Otters ◽  
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ◽  
Rehabilitation Centers ◽  
Government Contract

ANCHORAGE, April 20—Sea otters rescued from waters fouled by the Exxon Valdez oil spill fared poorly after their return to the wild last fall, and scientists working under Government contract say at least half may have perished over the winter. Nearly 900 dead otters were found after the tanker spilled almost 11 million gallons of crude oil in March 1989. An additional 360 were netted alive and brought to rehabilitation centers at Valdez, Seward, Homer and Kodiak. About 200 were later returned to Prince William Sound but some scientists say that as many as half may have perished and that the rehabilitation effort has been largely futile... The withholding of scientific information on the spill for legal reasons by all the parties is becoming a major source of controversy as research projects begin to generate at least preliminary data.

scholarly journals Nine Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on Marine Bird Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska

The Condor ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-737 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Irons ◽  
Steven J. Kendall ◽  
Wallace P. Erickson ◽  
Lyman L. McDonald ◽  
Brian K. Lance
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Marine Bird ◽  
Marine Birds ◽  
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ◽  
Positive Effects

Abstract We compared post Exxon Valdez oil-spill densities of marine birds in Prince William Sound from 1989–1991, 1993, 1996, and 1998 to pre-spill densities from 1984–1985. Post-spill densities of several species of marine birds were lower than expected in the oiled area of Prince William Sound when compared to densities in the unoiled area. These negative effects continued through 1998 for five taxa: cormorants, goldeneyes, mergansers, Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba), and murres. Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) and Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) exhibited negative effects in 1990 and 1991. Loons showed a weak negative effect in 1993. Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) showed relative decreases in 1989, 1996, and 1998 which may have been caused by shifts in foraging distribution rather than declines in populations. Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) showed positive effects in most post-spill years. Murrelets and terns showed relative increases in 1993, 1996, and 1998. Generally, taxa that dive for their food were negatively affected, whereas taxa that feed at the surface were not. Effects for some taxa were dependent upon the spatial scale at which they were analyzed. Movements of birds and the mosaic pattern of oiling reduced our ability to detect oil-spill effects, therefore our results may be conservative. Several marine bird species were negatively affected at the population level and have not recovered to pre-spill levels nine years after the oil spill. The reason for lack of recovery may be related to persistent oil remaining in the environment and reduced forage fish abundance.

Comparative Toxicities of Polar and Non-Polar Organic Fractions From Sediments Affected By the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska

1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 137-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Wolfe ◽  
K. John Scott ◽  
John R. Clayton ◽  
John Lunz ◽  
James R. Payne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ◽  
Organic Fractions

Fish and Wildlife Recovery Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
John A. Wiens ◽  
Ernest L. Brannon ◽  
David L. Garshelis ◽  
John Burns ◽  
Anne A. Hoover-Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Pink Salmon ◽  
Natural Variability ◽  
Harbor Seals ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Sea Otters ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ◽  
Habitat Occupancy

ABSTRACT The authors review studies of four taxa—pink salmon, sea otters, harbor seals, and several species of sea-birds—widely believed to have suffered severe impacts from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. These studies were conducted over a 10-year post-spill period and included pre-spill information where possible. They demonstrated earlier suggestions of negative impacts may have been unfounded (harbor seals) or the species either exhibited no obvious detrimental effects from the spill (pink salmon population runs, population density and habitat occupancy of half the 23 seabird species examined) or indicated impacts followed by clear evidence of subsequent recovery (sea otters, the remaining seabird species). These species' apparent resilience to perturbations such as oil spills may be related to these ecosystems' high natural variability. Evaluating spill effects is enhanced by long-term studies that recognize the natural variability of marine environments and use a rigorous study design. The results of such studies also must be interpreted objectively, free of preconceptions about spill effects and divorced from advocacy positions.

scholarly journals Bald Eagles in Alaska Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-233
Author(s):  
Marjorie J. Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Bald Eagles ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
Kodiak Island ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Despite initial concerns about the impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on bald eagles in Prince William Sound, accumulating evidence indicates that the area's eagle population is doing well. This paper presents and discusses the 1989 data collected during the Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island Eagle Capture and Short-term Rehabilitation Programs, as well as 1990 data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's operational field surveys.

The Exxon Valdez Oil-spill: Ecological and Social Consequences

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Exxon Valdez

Major oil-spills, such as occurred following the grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez in March 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska, account for only a small fraction of the total anthropogenic input of petroleum to the marine environment. Yet major spills can result in significant and even acute impacts, trigger ecological changes requiring decades for recovery, and command considerable public attention. Thus catastrophic oil-spills in general, and the Exxon Valdez spill in particular, differ from other chronic human alterations of coastal marine systems.Estimates of the fate of the 38,000 metric tons of crude oil lost by the Exxon Valdez are imprecise, but perhaps 30–40% evaporated, 10–25% was recovered, and the rest remains in the marine environment. Roughly 1,500 km of coastline were oiled in varying degrees. Much of this coastline consists of gravel beaches into which oil penetrated to depths as great as 1 m.The ecological effects of the spill on the marine environments of Prince William Sound and adjacent coastal areas of the Gulf of Alaska were extensive, but natural recovery, aided by clean-up efforts, is expected. Judging by the consequences of other oil-spills affecting rocky shorelines, as well as previous natural and anthropogenic disturbances to Prince William Sound, it appears likely that most affected biotic communities and ecosystems will recover to approximately their pre-spill functional and structural characteristic within from five to twenty-five years.This oil-spill had major social effects. Many individuals, whether personally present or viewing the spill around the world on television, were saddened by the environmental damage, and felt that an important public trust had been broken. These feelings, together with dissatisfaction with the results of early clean-up efforts, gave rise to popular sentiment in favour of every possible clean-up and mitigation effort — regardless of cost, effectiveness, or possible negative consequences.The response to the Exxon Valdez oil-spill by government and the oil industry revealed serious inadequacies in the plans and institutions for dealing with major marine oilspills in the United States. Attempts to recover spilled oil, and to respond to the spill's environmental consequences, were hampered by a low level of preparedness and lack of clear agreement about the goals of response efforts. Attempts are under way to improve oil-spill prevention and response capabilities in Alaska and the rest of the United States. However, these efforts are not yet complete, and it remains to be seen whether an improved response will be made to the next major oil-spill.

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