Lee Fox of Save Our Seabirds Prepares for Deployment to Save Oiled Wildlife

BRADENTON -- Save Our Seabirds founder, Lee Fox, and some local team members are gathering up rescue and rehab supplies in preparation for 24-hour notice to deploy to oil spill for oiled wildlife rescue. The organization appealed to people today to help in donating rescue supplies and money. As Fox prepares to deal with this national oil spill crisis, the local facility hosting injured and rehabbed coastal birds, on Longboat Key, desperately needs the community’s help in cleaning cages and feeding the birds.

NOAA'a oil spill trajectory map from April 26, 2010 to April 30, 2010.

BP and the U.S. Coast Guard alerted Lee Fox, executive director and Founder of Save Our Seabirds (SOS), to be on call to deploy to the oil spill for a major wildlife rescue effort.

Today MSNBC covered Fox at her facility and aired a special segment on Save Our Seabirds at 6:30 p.m. highlighting an interview with Fox.

SOS Spokeswoman, Mary Lou Johnson, said it could be any moment now that Fox will leave with her team to save seabirds in the Gulf of Mexico, as the oil continues to spread through its waters.

”This is her thing,“ Johnson said. ”She will go wherever she is needed, no matter what.“

Johnson pleaded for the public to forward this message for help out to friends and family.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration' s (NOAA) Emergency Response Department announced on April 29 that the Deepwater Horizon incident was declared a Spill of National Significance (SONS).  A SONS is defined as, "a spill that, due to its severity, size, location, actual or potential impact on the public health and welfare or the environment, or the necessary response effort, is so complex that it requires extraordinary coordination of federal, state, local, and responsible party resources to contain and clean up the discharge" and allows greater federal involvement.  

Estimates of the release rate increased to 5000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day based on surface observations and reports of a newly discovered leak in the damaged piping on the sea floor.

Lee Fox with a rescued adult Sandhill Crane. This bird was hit by a car, but determined to live.

NOAA described that the incident involved a deepwater drilling platform approximately 50 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. It said an explosion and subsequent fire damaged the rig, which capsized and sank on April 22, after burning for hours. They are unclear how much of the estimated 700,000 gallons (approximately 16,700 barrels) of #2 fuel onboard burned before it sank.  The rig is owned by Transocean and under contract to BP.

Johnson said that Lee Fox authored the "Oiled Wildlife Preparedness Program" manual which was used in the Tampa Bay oil spill in August 1993, where she organized the response team.  

This program has been used in Brazil, Holland, and the United States for other subsequent oil spill disasters.

”Once she is called, Fox will coordinate the rescue mission,“ Johnson said. ”The rescue team will seek out wildlife affected by the oil.  The birds will be brought in, cleaned up, and cared for until they can be released to a facility or back to the wild.“

Please help: Donations of paper towels, electrical extension cords, Dawn soap liquid, towels, sheets, old t shirts will be urgently needed if the rescue team is called. All donations of items or checks can be sent to Save Our Seabirds, 1700 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 34236 (prior site of Pelican Man).  

In addition, Fox just added to above list that she needs clipboards, scrubby pads (Scotch brand), and used pet carriers.

SOS has Experience and Skills in:

• Logistics coordination

• Rescue of oiled wildlife (land and sea)
• Triage and assessment
• Satellite triage
• Washing of oiled wildlife
• Veterinarian services and care
• Wildlife rehabilitation, care, and release
• Inventory and data management
• Volunteer coordination
• Media relations
• Facility design
• Oiled wildlife response training
• Oiled wildlife response contingency planning
  
  

Erica Newport is a daily reporter for The Bradenton Times. She covers art, culture and community. If you have a story that might interest Erica, please e-mail her using erica.newport@thebradentontimes.com address.  She also takes your questions related to our weekly theme days and provides advice and opinions for our readers.

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