*From:* DRAPER, Eric [mailto:EDRAPER@audubon.org]

*Sent:* Monday, May 03, 2010 4:22 PM
*To:* DRAPER, Eric
*Subject:* Audubon Update to Oil Spill Volunteers
  
 
While waiting for official guidance from emergency response teams you can
help by educating others not to harm wildlife while pre-cleaning beaches.
Realizing that we would all like to be out there forming a human chain
against the slicks of oil, right now our beaches and marshes are still
nurseries for birds and sea turtles. We don’t want to see trampled what we
are trying to protect.
  
Our staff are in touch with BP and the federal and state governments. They
have agreed to allow us to forward your name and that of others for the
national registry.
   
With regard to the beach nesting birds, Audubon has sent an alert to the
media and some stories have appeared—yet we are alarmed to hear reports of
and see images of well-meaning people surging into nesting bird habitats
near the beaches. We do not have the resources to personally contact all
media outlets.
   
Will you help us by forwarding the information below to the news media in
your area and web sites to help educate others about?
   
*Oil Spill Alert: Cleaning Beaches in Advance of Oil Spills May Harm Wild
Birds*
   
Well-motivated but not well informed volunteers sent out to clean debris
from beaches may be disturbing nesting and other shorebirds.
Volunteers—eager to move beach litter above the high water line to make it
easier to clean up oil that may come ashore—are putting beach and marsh
nesting shorebirds at risk.
   
The media needs to help educate volunteers that it is nesting season for
terns and plovers on Florida’s beaches. Beach nesting birds camouflage
their nest and are hard to spot. Volunteer wandering into the areas above
the high water line may step eggs or chicks and may chase away parent birds
leaving chicks and eggs unprotected from the sun and predators such as
crows.
   
Some people are moving beach debris such as driftwood from the beach onto
high-water areas. This is harmful as beach wildlife use naturally occurring
beach debris near the water line and may be harmed when debris is piled in
upland areas. Traffic in dune areas can also harm vegetation.
 
* *
*Safe Tips for Cleaning Litter off Beaches:*
 
For those who want to clean litter from the beaches in anticipation of oil
coming ashore, Audubon recommends the following:
 
- Use approved access points and avoid walking or hiking through marshes
or seagrass beds.
 
- Stay below the tidal line.
 
- Leave natural debris in place because it provides nesting benefits to
shorebirds and other wildlife.
 
- Only remove man-made litter.
 
- Do not place litter in the dunes or above the high water line.
 
- Don’t use equipment such as rakes, shovels or tractors.
 
- Do not bring ATVs or other motorized vehicles onto the beach.
 
- Do not bring dogs onto the beach (dogs are a primary sources of beach
bird disturbance and mortality.)
   
Help spread the word by calling your local media and urging them to tell
this story. Also, share these tips with your friends and family.
   
Finally, Audubon is encouraging willing volunteers to add their name to our
volunteer registry so we can connect folks with appropriate activities when
they are made available. To find out more about the registry, visit our blog
here: http://audubonoffloridanews.org/?p=4419
   
If you are not inundated with information you may find these sites helpful:
   
DEP's "Deepwater Horizon" news and information
site<http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/>
 
FWC's "Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico" information
site<http://myfwc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/myfwc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2660&p_created=1272637936&p_sid=2vqjNI-j&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_srch=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD01NDAsNTQwJnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MQ%21%21&p_li=&p_topview=1>
 
USF Marine Science Dept. predicted trajectory maps
<http://ocg6.marine.usf.edu/%7Eliu/oil.html>
 
Thank you for caring about Florida’s beautiful places and wildlife
 

*Eric Draper*
 
*Audubon** **OF FLORIDA** *
 
(305) 371-6399 x123 state office
 
(850) 222-BIRD policy office
 
(850) 251-1301 mobile
 
http://audubonoffloridanews.org
 
http://www.audubonofflorida.org
 
Donate https://loon.audubon.org/payment/donate/FL-AUD.html