[birdky] Re: Gulf Bird Recovery Plan (or at least a small piece of one):
- From: "Williams, Kathleen (EEC)" <kathleen.williams@xxxxxx>
- To: <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 13:01:46 -0400
You can volunteer to help or learn more about how they are helping the birds in
the oil spill at:
http://www.audubonaction.org/site/PageServer?pagename=aa_HowtoHelp
Katie Williams
Kentucky Division of Forestry
Forest Inventory - Western Area
270-824-7527
From: birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of frankrenfrow@xxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 9:22 PM
To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [birdky] Gulf Bird Recovery Plan (or at least a small piece of one):
Gulf Bird Recovery Plan (or at least a small piece of one):
Having watched with continuing dismay and horror the unfolding tragedy in the
Gulf of Mexico, I feel it is time that concerned persons in the ornithological
and birding communities of North America should begin to anticipate what
ultimately will be the results of this ongoing catastrophe. What might help in
at least some small way would be to begin work to formulate a plan to restore
the populations of avian species which are most likely to become imperiled. As
someone who has spoken out before on issues political in nature but of real
import for the future of our birds I expect that my future ability to post on
some of the birding listservs may well be hampered by expressing my opinions in
those formats. I have been troubled in the past that many state birding
listservs have narrowed our free speech rights in this regard, even though many
of the list administrators are employed by state and federally funded
universities or even more directly by various government entities. I have in
the past spoken out strongly against all offshore oil drilling, particularly of
the deep water variety, mountaintop removal and the destruction of our forests
and wetlands. I hope that with this horrendous ongoing calamity unfolding
before our eyes, the birding communities will finally wake up and realize that
the environmental movement is in actuality their movement, as well as everyone
else that is interested in seeing our Earth continue as a living planet.
On to the small piece of a plan:
The rehabilitation of birds already sickened by the oil is a noble cause but
might not be of much help to the ultimate goal of saving the bird populations
in the Gulf area. On the other hand, fish and wildlife agencies do have
invaluable resources that can be brought to bear for a Gulf Bird Recovery Plan.
Universities, research facilities, environmental organizations, independent
ornithologists and birding hobbyists all have an important role to play.
Captive breeding plans have been used in the past for species and subspecies on
the brink of extinction. These have met with some limited success even though
until this time they have only begun when the species is on the verge of
extinction. The more limited the gene pool is that is left to draw from and the
more compromised the health of the captive breeding stock the less likelihood
there is for recovery. That is why it is imperative to start now while there
are still thousands of healthy birds to draw from among populations in the
Gulf.
Here is a basic outline for what I would suggest to be a good course of action:
1. A detailed analysis should be undertaken of which species of
birds having breeding populations along the Gulf are at the greatest risk of
imminent extirpation by the oil spill. A consortium of the above-mentioned
groups needs to bring their best minds to bear to do this quickly. Endemic Gulf
of Mexico subspecies and local populations with the most distinct
distinguishing characteristics from other populations of their species in
unaffected areas need to be given highest priority. This list would also be
prioritized in the order of those species that have highest exposure to water,
shoreline or wetland habitats. Songbirds and other land bird species need to be
evaluated as well, as there may be unforeseen risks to localized populations of
these as well. Bird species that are more sedentary in nature are especially at
risk as the likelihood is lower of other members of their species coming in
from surrounding areas to fill a void.
2. Fish and wildlife officials need to oversee an extensive capture
program of what is determined to be a viable number of healthy individuals to
continue the gene pool in these at risk subspecies and local populations.
3. The captured birds will need to be “warehoused” in captivity, in
enclosed aviaries, zoos, and other available institutions. Captive breeding
programs would have to be maintained for these birds. It is likely that a good
percentage of the species will not be conducive to captive breeding but there
should be a significant percentage that could be maintained for some time in
this fashion. Such facilities will likely have to hold these captive
populations for a long period, probably for years until their home territories
are down to an acceptable level of toxic exposure that is closer to what those
species had already been dealing with prior to the oil spill.
4. Migratory birds not nesting in the Gulf but passing through need
to be studied closely for ongoing health issues that might affect their
population numbers as well. Oil has an insidious way of working its way through
the food chain and toxic pollution of the air could be a factor during long
flights over the Gulf by so many of our migratory bird species.
That is the nutshell of my proposal of a Gulf Bird Recovery Plan (or at least
small piece of one). It’s not much and it might not work, but at least it’s
something to think about trying. I hope that it might stir others to think
about what we can do as we go forward. I am interested to hear what other
elements others might want to incorporate into the plan.
And let us not forget the big picture:
There also needs to be a complete and immediate international ban on all deep
water drilling worldwide. Also, we must stop the use of toxic dispersants. The
“remedy” may well be worse than the “cure” in this case. It goes without saying
that all oil spill clean-up efforts that are of a non-toxic nature will need to
be vigorously increased and then maintained for many years to come. Oil from
the Exxon-Valdez continues to contaminate Prince William Sound and that was
just the tip of the iceberg compared to this one. It has become increasingly
clear that we cannot continue to just hope for the best, but we must prepare
for the worst, as all signs indicate that the worst is yet to come.
Frank Renfrow
Fort Thomas, KY
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