Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Back down to Louisiana and Alabama, photographer and Defenders of Wildlife friend Bill Campbell spent his second trip to the Gulf capturing on film the thick crude washed up on the once-pristine beaches of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge and in the waters surrounding the brown pelican nesting colony at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay.

Thanks to Defenders Jamie Clark and Cindy Hoffman, Bill was able view efforts to clean oiled birds at the Fort Jackson rehabilitation facility. He writes of the experience, “It was amazing to see all the people here working so hard and caring so much for these birds, it is just a shame that they have been put in this position by BP Oil.”

Read more about Bill’s most recent trip to the Gulf on his photoblog.

Jereme Phillips, courtesy of Jennifer Strickland, USFWS

Jereme Phillips has been with the US Fish and Wildlife Service for 11 years. He is the Refuge Manager at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Gulf Shores, Alabama. 

Defenders: Jereme, what is your role in addressing the disaster in the Gulf?

Jereme: My primary role is to protect refuge wildlife and habitats from the oil spill. My staff and I also coordinate closely with the unified command to ensure that the response to the oil spill (surveys, cleanup, boom deployment) is directed to help protect the most sensitive refuge resources and so that any negative impacts are avoided. For example, we mark sea turtle and migratory bird nesting areas so that crews who need to use all-terrain vehicles can do so without affecting nests. Read the full story

On the 30-day anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that has led to what may be one of the worst environmental disasters this country has ever seen, Defenders of Wildlife takes a look at 20 ways the oil industry and our federal government have failed to keep us safe from the dangers that offshore oil and gas drilling poses to wildlife and coastal habitats. We also recommend 10 ways that Congress and the administration can make changes that could help prevent future oil catastrophes and mitigate the impacts of the current crisis.

Read the full story

Check out this video of reporter Glynn Wilson of the Locust Fork News-Journal interviewing Defenders executive vice president Jamie Rappaport Clark, on May 5 at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama.

Defenders of Wildlife’s Executive Vice President (and former head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Jamie Rappaport Clark filed this video report from Bon Secour National Wildlife in Alabama, an important nesting area for threatened and endangered sea turtles. Watch the video to learn how the Gulf oil spill crisis may impact these sensitive seafarers.

Defenders of Wildlife Reports from the Gulf Oil Spill

Oil rig close up (Krista Schlyer)

Defenders of Wildlife board member Jeff Corwin, reporting for CBS News from Pascagoula, Mississippi, works with scientists who are rushing to gather baseline information on the sharks living the Gulf of Mexico – before the oil hits. Watch the video too.

Oil has hit the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana, reports Jill Leovy for the Los Angeles Times.

Oil is washing up at Breton National Wildlife Refuge, created by Teddy Roosevelt, and the only refuge he ever visited, reports Douglas Brinkley for Yale Environment 360, part of the Guardian Environment Network.

Kimberly Miller for the Palm Beach Post says that the Gulf Coast is preparing to prioritize what to try to save, because oil slick responders can only do so much.

“We will not rest until we get the job done,” says Interior Secretary Ken Salazar during a visit to Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama. Report from Chasity Byrd of WALA-TV.