FACT SHEET--List of Wildlife Threatened by Oil Spill

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Status

Discharge rate is estimated at 210,000

gallons per day.

The oil will progress northward and

eastward and is estimated to make

landfall along the Mississippi and

Alabama coastline as early as Monday

morning. Other locations along the

Florida panhandle may be affected by

early next week.

Rough weather is forecast for the

weekend and may cause heavy oil

inundation to beach areas.

On-water response operations ceased

late-afternoon Thursday due to the

weather and are not anticipated to start

again until Monday, May 3.

The Response

The first wildlife rehabilitation center is

being established in Venice, LA, and a

second is planned near Mobile, AL.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

Saturday, May 1, 2010

More than 41 miles of booming has

been deployed, and more booming

is available. Dispersant has been

applied to more than 13 square miles

of oil slick, which has been somewhat

effective in controlling the spread of oil.

The Service is advising the Incident

Command on methods to mitigate the

damage from the oil on wildlife. It

also is conducting, coordinating, and

supervising search and capture for

oiled wildlife.

The Service is conducting aerial flights

to identify oiled wildlife and help

facilitate recovery and treatment.

The Threat to Wildlife

Service personnel are concerned that

many species of wildlife, some already

threatened or endangered, face grave

risk from the spill. Ground surveys this

past week at Breton National Wildlife

Refuge, a 5,000-acre wilderness area,

found more than 34,000 individual birds

including roughly:

2,000 pairs of brown pelicans;

5,000 pairs of Royal Terns;

5,000 pairs of Caspian Terns; and

5,000 pairs of feeding, loafing, and

nesting gulls and other shore birds.

Species that could be affected by the

approaching oil slick include:

The Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill,

Kemp's Ridley Leatherback sea

turtles;

Large wading birds (Roseate Spoonbill,

Ibis, Heron, Egret);

Beach-nesting terns and gulls (Caspian

Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern,

Least Tern, Laughing Gull, Black

Skimmer);

Bayou Sauvage NWR

Breton NWR

Delta NWR

Grand Bay NWR

MS. Sandhill Crane NWR Bon Secour NWR

I 55

I 59

I 10

Gulf of Mexico

Beach-nesting shorebirds (American

Oystercatcher, Wilson's Plover, Snowy

Plover);

Marsh birds (Mottled Duck, Clapper

Rail, Black Rail, Seaside Sparrow).

National Wildlife Refuges

Up to 20 National Wildlife Refuges

could potentially be affected by the

spill. Four are of immediate concern:

Breton Island National Wildlife

Refuge

The second oldest wildlife refuge in

the country, established by President

Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. He visited

in 1915, the only refuge he ever visited.

Breton, which includes Breton Island

and all of the Chandeleur Islands in St.

Bernard and Plaquemine Parish, LA,

provides habitat for nesting wading

birds and seabirds, as well as wintering

shorebirds and waterfowl.; 23 species

of seabirds and shorebirds frequently

use the refuge, and 13 species nest on

the various islands. The most abundant

nesters are brown pelicans, laughing

gulls, and royal, Caspian, and Sandwich

terns.

Bon Secour

From the French meaning "safe

harbor," Bon Secour contains 7,000

acres of wildlife habitat for migratory

birds, nesting sea turtles and the

endangered Alabama beach mouse.

Refuge beaches serve as nesting sites

for loggerhead and Kemp's Ridley sea

turtles. More than 370 species of birds

have been identified on the refuge

during migratory seasons, including

ospreys and herons.

Grand Bay

Located in coastal Mississippi and

Alabama, Grand Bay National

Wildlife was established in 1992. The

10,200-acre refuge partially overlays

the Grand Bay National Estuarine

Research Reserve. Species found at

the refuge include the gopher tortoise,

red-cockaded woodpecker and brown

pelican.

Delta

Established in 1935 in the delta at

the mouth of the Mississippi River,

Delta NWR comprises 48,800 acres

of marshlands and open water. The

primary purpose of the refuge was

to provide sanctuary and habitat for

wintering waterfowl. Species on the

refuge include: American alligator,

Brown Pelican, Arctic peregrine falcon,

deer, swamp rabbits and piping plover.

The marshes and waterways of support

a diversity of fish species, including

speckled trout, redfish, flounder, catfish

and largemouth bass.

Hotlines

For media: Joint information Center

numbers are 985/902 5231 and

985/902 5240.

Reporters with questions about the

Service's wildlife response can call Tom

MacKenzie at 678/296 6400.

To report claims related to damages:

800/440 0858.

To volunteer: 866-448-5816.

To report oiled or injured wildlife:

866/557 1401

On the web

The USCG Joint Incident Command

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.

com/go/site/2931/

Department of the Interior:

http://www.doi.gov

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

http://www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill

A news site from four government

agencies and private companies BP

and Transocean:

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.

com

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service