Oil Spill Latest

Briefly, 7 IBAs have been hit thus far:

Louisiana - Significant amounts of oil on beaches and in marshes and oiled birds and wildlife in Barataria-Terrebonne, Iles Dernieres-Timbalier Islands, Active Delta and Chandeleur Islands IBAs. Chenier Plain IBA has oil on beaches but no evidence of oiled birds yet. (Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary and Marsh Island)

Mississippi - Gulf Islands National Seashore (Ship Island unit has oil residue and oiled seabird videotaped by volunteer)

Alabama - Oil residue on beach at Dauphin Island IBA

Melanie Driscoll, Greg Butcher, David Ringer, and Mark LaSalle were instrumental in bringing Audubon’s message about the spill’s impacts on birds and wildlife to newspaper readers, radio listeners, Web surfers and television watchers around the globe. To date, our communications efforts have yielded 2,400 media hits, including many major outlets. The following are only a few highlights.

Author Doug Brinkley writes on Roosevelt visit to Audubon Important Bird Area hit by oil spill in Yale 360 http://bit.ly/clpPjG

Audubon's Melanie Driscoll on NPR; discusses impacts on ecosystem & birds http://n.pr/atKdiq

CBS Evening News Jeff Corwin with Audubon’s Greg Butcher & Melanie Driscoll http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/07/eveningnews/main6468908.shtml

Dr. Frank Gill opinion piece on CNN http://bit.ly/cYiXnF

Audubon provides expertise for front page New York Times graphic http://nyti.ms/dClzdy

Reuters reports: Audubon Important Bird Areas threatened by oil spill http://bit.ly/9sG0IJ

“It could be the strikeout punch," for the Brown Pelican, says Dr. Greg Butcher,
http://bit.ly/aq5KT7

Paul Kemp, VP of Audubon Louisiana Coastal Initiative, comments on berm plan http://bit.ly/9aLoXC

Living on Earth Talks to Audubon's Melanie Driscoll http://bit.ly/dBrc4P

Audubon President Dr. Frank Gill Warns of Impact of Gulf Oil Spill http://bit.ly/dsCgDC

Dr Frank Gill and ten other conservation leaders sent a letter to President Obama urging “more direct oversight of public safety protection, environmental monitoring, and environmental testing in response to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.: http://bit.ly/bscDEx

Mike Daulton commented on American Power act: “The Gulf Coast oil spill disaster is another vivid reminder that we can't afford to feed our oil addiction and promote the same old energy policies of yesterday.” http://www.enewspf.com/index.php/latest-news/science-a-environmental/16304-audubon-leader-comments-on-proposed-american-power-act

Audubon has also received an outpouring of support for our efforts, from volunteers, donors, and others – including our Twitter followers and Facebook fans. One of them is a ten-year old New Yorker who is finding fame and helping to raise funds with her drawings of birds.
http://bit.ly/bFSY9q

One of the best ways to keep up to date on Audubon’s response and media coverage is to follow us on Twitter. www.twitter.com/audubonsociety