(c) International Bird Rescue Research Center
For many residents of the Gulf Coast, from Texas, to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, the salt marsh is their backyard. For generations, these families have made their living fishing the salt marsh and beyond.
The salt marsh is one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, and is the basis for the coastal marine food web. Oil, however, can kill the entire ecosystem, and devastate many species of wildlife.
The spill could not have happened at a worse time, because it is breeding season for birds, including the Brown Pelican (who only last year was removed from the endangered species list), fish, and sea turtles.
Here’s some resources to discover the impacts of the oil spill on the salt marsh and the wildlife that depends on it:
NWF drops everything to be the voice of wildlife effected by the oil spill. The spill continues to turn large areas of the Gulf of Mexico into dead zones. Donate to NWF to help wildlife impacted by the spill.
Tri-State Bird Rescue is leading the wildlife response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. This is a volunteer organization. Please donate to help them continue to rescue oiled birds and other wildlife effected by this catastrophe.
Residents worry that dispersants may just make the problem worse because these chemicals are so toxic to the environment.
Effects of oil spills on the environment and wildlife.
Please donate to NWF or TriState Bird Rescue to help mediate the impacts to wildlife of this devasting oil spill.
© 2010, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of EcosystemGardening.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
Thanks Carole for these links. It is so terribly sad… but I love seeing the difference in your before and after shots. I wish I could go down and help them!
.-= Carolflowerhill´s last blog ..SKYWATCH FRIDAY FULL MOON BRIGHT LIGHT =-.
Carol, I wish I could help them too. It’s just so heartbreaking to realize that this entire ecosystem can be lost. And to think of the entire population of Brown Pelicans being unable to successfully breed this year, I just can’t bear it. But we can help by donating to those organizations who are working so hard to save as much as possible.
If you are unable to help financially, you can still volunteer in Tri-State Bird Rescue’s clinic operations in Newark, DE. They are having an informational session, followed by a baby bird care training session over the next few weekends. http://www.tristatebird.org
This is our busy season, and with the Oil Spill Team dispatched to the gulf coast indefinitely, Tri-State’s clinic could use the extra helping hands. There are many other ways you can volunteer other than bird care, so please check out their site for further information.
Thanks for that information, Cindy. It’s so nice to know that there really is something that we all can to during this heartbreaking crisis.
IBRRC is a great organization and together with the other rescue groups on the scene, they are a lifeline for the wildlife victims of this Gulf tragedy. Thanks for the post and photos.