The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the lead federal agency responsible for managing
the Nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit
of the American people.
Several agencies in the federal government put our country’s conservation laws into
action, and the Service’s Ecological Services Program helps lead the way.
This presentation provides a brief overview about the role of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in protecting fish, wildlife and their habitats in the event of an oil spill.
The Departments of the Interior, of which the Fish and Wildlife Service is part, Commerce,
and Agriculture, together with Tribal governments, States, and other jurisdictions, all have
responsibilities to protect our nation’s natural resources.
However, the Fish and Wildlife Service has additional and specific responsibilities for
the protection of threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, certain fish, marine
mammals, sea turtles and other trust resources.
As a major Federal landowner, we are also responsible for preparing for, and responding
to, oil spills that may impact the National Wildlife Refuge system.
The goal of the Fish and Wildlife Service's oil spill response program is to emphasize
contingency planning and cooperation at local, regional and national levels with a focus
on minimizing impacts to trust resources.
Prior to an oil spill, the Fish and Wildlife Service conducts planning activities in coordination
with the U.S. Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Response Teams and other
response agencies to minimize impacts to trust resources.
This participation helps us maintain a strong working relationship with our response partners.
Prior to an oil spill, we also train our staff to ensure the safety of our responders and
aid the response agencies in conducting safe and effective oil spill responses protective
of our trust resources.
This includes Incident Command System training, participation in pre-spill drills with cooperating
agencies such as Spills of National Significance drills, internal response training programs,
and Occupational Safety and Health Administration required health and safety training.
We
also work with our partners and co-trustees, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to help response personnel avoid or minimize impacts to natural resources
and determine if a Natural Resources Damage Assessment should be conducted.
During a response, we work directly with Incident Command to help prioritize clean up actions
and to determine the best methods to clean up oil to reduce the impact to sensitive species
and locations.
This may include recommendations for physical removal of oil, using absorbent pads, booms,
and skimmers or recommending that no clean-up take place, when these activities may impact
wildlife and habitat more than the oil.
Our advice is particularly valued when wetlands, refuge lands, federally listed species, migratory
birds or the habitat supporting these species are potentially or physically impacted.
Our field biologist’s intimate knowledge of local resources and sensitive ecological
areas makes us invaluable to the managers directing response activities, prioritizing
spill countermeasures, and conducting clean-up work.
We conduct surveys to determine where oiled wildlife may be found and can assist with
their safe capture and transport to a rehabilitation center.
Service staff work with State agencies to oversee wildlife rehabilitation contractors
as they clean oiled wildlife and return healthy individuals back to the wild.
We may also recommend other means of wildlife protection.
For example, field staff use a variety of methods to deter wildlife, especially birds,
from oiled areas.
This includes booming and hazing techniques such as scare balloons, propane cannons or
other noise makers, and air boats.
In partnership with our co-trustees and sometimes the responsible party, Fish and Wildlife Service
staff may collect water and sediment samples and other evidence such as oiled fish, birds,
and other wildlife in order to determine if a natural resource damage assessment is necessary.
The Service’s Law Enforcement Division oversees the collection of evidence when a criminal
claim may be filed.
As we have mentioned, the Fish and Wildlife Service has multiple roles in spill response,
and, the challenge of preparing for and managing oil spills in the United States is increasing
in complexity and magnitude.
Many people are familiar with large, catastrophic oil spills of national significance, such
as the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010.
However, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that at least 70 oil spills occur
in the U.S. every day on a smaller scale.
Oil spills potentially threaten millions of miles of coastline, river systems, lakes and
terrestrial habitat, particularly where there is extensive oil and gas exploration, extraction,
refining, and transport.
Serious, and potentially permanent, ecological damage is possible where chronic spills or
spills of national significance occur.
Because oil spills respect no boundaries, uniform Federal policies and programs are
essential.
In addition, since the resources necessary to respond to oil spills are limited and vary
among the response agencies, it is more important than ever to establish and strengthen cooperative
relationships.
Effective and safe response involves specialized training, building and maintaining solid relationships
with our partners in the response community, and considerable pre-spill coordination and
planning.
The Service remains committed to its role as a partner in conserving America’s natural
resources.
Effectively preparing for and responding to oil spills are key elements of this commitment.
While our ultimate goal is always prevention first, Fish and Wildlife Service staff are
prepared to immediately respond to a spill and are capable of advising the Incident Command
of the best means to protect fish, wildlife, and their habitats during an oil spill.
For the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this is Dave Harrelson.
Thanks for watching.