In the aftermath of yesterday's accident where a ship crashed into one of the Bay Bridge Towers, there is a large and spreading oil spill. The spill has closed beaches around the area, and is having severe effects on wildlife in the Bay, Golden Gate and ocean outside the gate.
If you find oiled wildlife, the best place to contact is the International Bird Rescue Center's Oiled Wildlife Reporting Hotline - (877) 823-6926. Note: This is just for reporting wildlife - not to volunteer. They're getting swamped with calls, so it's important to keep the lines free.
A story from the SF Chronicle can be found here:
http://www.sfgate.com/...
Oil mats birds feathers and destroys the effectiveness of their waterproofing and insulation. In addition, birds ingest oil as they try to preen their feathers. The timing of this spill is horrible (not that there is ever a good time for a spill) because of the large number of waterfowl that winter on bay waters and the near shore of the ocean.
In the words of one announcement on a local conservation list: "DO NOT TOUCH OILED BIRDS OR WILDLIFE _ CALL THE NUMBER ABOVE. Our beautiful birds are now toxic waste essentially. It's a tragic day on the bay."
Use caution when you're in the vicinity of any oiled birds, especially those who've made it to land. They may be spooked by your presence and return to the water.
To those who might be walking dogs on the beaches, please don't let your dogs chase oiled birds - they are already in trouble and can't handle additional stress. There have been a few reports of dogs chasing birds back into the surf. (For their safety, you probably don't want your dogs near the beaches for a few days or weeks at least, anyway.)
Here are a few more contact numbers shared on local lists:
(from Nature in the City):
Oiled Wildlife Care Network at UC Davis
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/...
To Report Oiled Wildlife:
One bird: Call OWCN at (530) 752-4167
One mammal or more than one bird: Page OWCN at (916) 556-7509
To report oiled mammals:
Marine Mammal Center: 415.464-5170
Gulf of the Farallones Nat Marine Sanctuary 415.987-0412
Dead mammals, please call the Calif. Academy of Science at 415.289.7325
To Report an Oil Spill:
Call 800-OILS-911
I think this contact is the one to use for reporting dead wildlife so that authorities can determine the extent of the spill damage:
Office of Spill Prevention and Response,
California Department of Fish and Game
http://www.dfg. ca.gov/Ospr
Steve Sawyer (Coordinating Committee Member)
(916) 324-9812 - work
(916) 206-1078 - cell
(916) 324-5662 - fax
ssawyer@ospr. dfg.ca.gov
Bay Keeper is looking for volunteers for cleanup - contact them via http://www.baykeeper.org/