Melanie Driscoll Director of Bird Conservation, Louisiana State Office

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1 bp s deepwater horizon oil rig exploded off Louisiana s coastline on April 20, 2010, unleashing an undersea volcano of oil and natural gas into the Gulf of Mexico. Ultimately, oil would gush for nearly three months, reaching 17 Important Bird Areas (IBAs), from Louisiana to Florida. Several are designated as globally significant IBAs for their concentrations of nesting birds. Within days of the explosion, Audubon staff sprang into action, laying the groundwork for an all-out response effort. Weekends were abandoned, personal plans put on hold. Audubon expertise and on-the-ground perspective on the unfolding crisis was sought by The New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, network TV news stations, and journalists from all over the world. As word of the crisis spread, concerned citizens flooded Audubon s offices, Centers, and Chapters with questions and offers of assistance. By the first week of May, Audubon had successfully integrated volunteers into the official wildlife response, partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state agencies, Gulf communities, Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, and the International Bird Rescue Research Center. Audubon s unique blend of citizen engagement, handson conservation, science, and public policy work has protected Gulf Coast ecosystems since our earliest days a century ago. But this summer s crisis was unprecedented. Fortunately, it was met by an equally unprecedented surge of support. More than 34,000 responded to Audubon s appeal for volunteers, while others, from school children to the Baseball Wives Charitable Foundation, found additional ways to help. Melanie Driscoll Director of Bird Conservation, Louisiana State Office Melanie spent her summer on the front lines of the disaster. Her heartfelt updates and commentary from the field reached millions. Sometimes I felt like the horror was smothering me, like the oil washing onto the shores. Then the anger would come, or the despair. Humanity s carelessness and greed were ravaging communities, ecosystems, and the birds I work so hard to protect every day. What kept me going? Well, the tremendous support offered by co-workers, the care and expertise of bird rehabbers, the selfless acts of countless volunteers, the interest and concern expressed by journalists, and letters and drawings from kids I ve never met, trusting me to be able to help. These same things give me hope for a brighter future for the birds and people of the Gulf Coast. Right (from left): Audubon s Melanie Driscoll, Karen Westphal, Timmy Vincent, and Bruce Reid preparing to survey a Gulf Coast beach south of the Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Refuge and Game Reserve (IBA) in Louisiana. 4 AUDUBON ANNUAL REPORT 2010

2 Leading the Response

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4 Volunteers in Action by the end of may, Audubon had opened a Volunteer Response Center in Moss Point, Mississippi. Audubon became known as the NGO that actually called people back, said Audubon s national policy director, Mike Daulton. Staff from the Pascagoula River Audubon Center collaborated with other regional and national staff to match the growing army of volunteers with evolving rescue and recovery needs across the Gulf. Along the Louisiana coast, dedicated dock-watchers spent thousands of hours at the water s edge awaiting the arrival of boats bearing oiled and injured birds. Mobile teams drove miles to transport species such as Brown Pelicans, egrets, and sandpipers to rescue and rehabilitation facilities. When official rescue crews called, Audubon volunteers were there at a moment s notice, keeping injured birds safe and painstakingly documenting their numbers, species, condition, and the location where they were found. Others assisted rehabbers by crafting capture nets and building cages to house rehabilitated birds while they recovered for release. Still others applied the animal-care experience and training they had gained as regular volunteers at Audubon s Center for Birds of Prey in the bird rescue effort. This wide-ranging support made them essential links in the bird rescue and rehabilitation chain. Audubon s Coastal Bird Survey program developed with researchers at Louisiana State University and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology dispatched observers to provide an essential window on the spill s impact. Surveyors ranging from experienced mentors to eager newcomers began gathering data on birds and their condition just weeks into the disaster. Audubon also launched a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor bird populations at National Wildlife Refuges participating in a federal initiative to divert migratory shorebirds from oiled habitats by attracting them to freshly watered areas. FLORIDA As the oil reached Florida s panhandle and threatened other shores, Audubon of Florida s expert guidance on beach cleanup was instrumental in preventing widespread destruction of beach-nesting birds nests, eggs, and young from well-intentioned cleanup efforts. Volunteer stewards at ten vulnerable Gulf locations essential to coastal species helped ensure a successful breeding season, despite the looming risk of oil. Left: Audubon volunteer Sherri Lo Proto looks in on an injured, oiled White Ibis. ALABAMA BP oil reached several locations in Alabama, including the Dauphin Island Important Bird Area. The Mobile Bay Audubon Society launched the Audubon Coastal Bird Survey in critical locations along Alabama s coast. National and local volunteers also played a vital role in providing the diverse support needed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Olivia Bouler 11-Year-Old Artist and Activist Olivia was devastated after hearing about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Determined to make a difference, the Islip, New York, fifth grader wrote to Audubon, enclosing a drawing of a Northern Cardinal. Her note said, I am a decent drawer, and I was wondering if I could sell some bird paintings and give the proceeds to Audubon to help. Olivia s compassion for Gulf birds and wildlife and her generous spirit inspired others from coast to coast and beyond. As more people learned about her story from Facebook to AOL to CNN the donation of her drawings raised more than $155,000 and spurred additional support for Gulf wildlife rescue and habitat restoration. ANNUAL REPORT 2010 AUDUBON 7

5 Science at Work even in the midst of emergency response activities, Audubon scientists and conservationists looked to the future, because recovery time will be measured in years or even decades, not weeks or months. Brown Pelicans (just removed from the Endangered Species List in November, 2009) and other birds were exposed to oil throughout their breeding season. Least Terns and other beach-nesting birds were harmed by cleanup and response activities. Migratory birds encountered oil and its effects as they paused in the Gulf or arrived on their wintering grounds. Nearly six months after the spill began, Audubon scientists reported on how Gulf birds and habitats were faring in the report Oil and Birds: Too Close for Comfort. Their findings, including the presence of birds in disturbing proximity to persisting oil, were troubling, because the oil disaster s long-term implications for birds and habitats remain unclear. Potential impacts on the food chain are especially disturbing. Only time will reveal the spill s ultimate impact, but Audubon s report will help provide a baseline for ongoing assessment and a framework for recovery planning. Citizen scientists are still on the job and will continue to play an essential role. Alexa Manzano Audubon Volunteer Right: Alexa Manzano and LSU graduate student John Tracy conducting a migratory bird survey on Grand Terre island group, Barataria Bay (IBA), on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. Above: Sampling beach sand for analysis. Alexa volunteered to conduct oiled-bird surveys on barrier islands off Louisiana s southern coast, counting and identifying birds and keeping a sharp eye out for lingering oil and the problems it can cause. A California native, Alexa holds a degree in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and has a background in environmental education. 8 AUDUBON ANNUAL REPORT 2010

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8 Long-Term Recovery as grim as it was, the oil disaster is only the latest in a series of abuses to Gulf ecosystems, including overdevelopment and sea-level rise; pollution; invasive species; and mismanagement of the Mississippi River and its delta, which shrinks by an alarming 25 square miles each year. Even before the BP spill, Audubon s Mississippi River Initiative and Louisiana Coastal Initiative were bringing all our resources and expertise to bear in the fight to restore this vital ecosystem. Doing so is one of Audubon s most ambitious goals and one of our most important. It calls for nothing less than the restoration of coastal wetlands to reverse runaway coastal erosion and the re-establishment of the Mississippi River s delta-building processes. But the rewards will be enormous: much-needed protection from severe storms, economic benefits for Gulf communities, and healthy habitat for birds and other wildlife in short, a sustainable, vibrant Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico for birds, people, and the future. RAINEY WATER PUMP Audubon worked with Javeler Construction Company of New Iberia, Louisiana, to design a small, barge-mounted dredge capable of restoring patches of marsh and other wetlands up to 15 acres in size. Javeler christened the dredge the John James and donated it to Audubon in Now in operation at Audubon s Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, the John James is pumping sediment from a canal into an area of marsh damaged by recent hurricanes. As scientists perfect restoration techniques using this new tool, it will protect and stabilize habitat at Rainey and offer a new approach to landowners across the Louisiana coast and elsewhere. Left: South of New Orleans, the mouth of the Mississippi River forms the Bird s Foot Delta, named for its shape. The delta has undergone very rapid land loss caused by levees and canals. ANNUAL REPORT 2010 AUDUBON 11

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