It was obvious from this seminar that the most comprehensive wildlife oil spill contingency plan had been developed by the State of California. Copies of this plan (Oil and Hazardous Materials Contingency Plan, California Department of Fish and Game, July 1974) were later distributed to all coastal States as a prototype or model plan by API.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been conducting experiments on various bird-cleaning agents and techniques at its Migratory Bird and Habitat Research Laboratory near Laurel, Maryland. The Fish and Wildlife Service is also working with the API in developing information on migratory patterns and winter waterfowl concentration areas on the East Coast as they relate to petroleum transport traffic and oil terminals.
In Canada, the Petroleum Association for Conservation of the Canadian Environment (PACCE) employed the services of a consulting firm to make a comprehensive review of dispersal and rehabilitation of waterfowl associated with oil spills. The resulting PACCE report (LGL Ltd. 1974) codified what was known about the problem, identified research needs, and developed effective wildlife oil-spill contingency plans for critical areas on Canada's east and west coasts, the Great Lakes, and the Arctic.
The Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission has initiated a program for the rehabilitation and treatment of oiled birds. It is being organized by veterinarian Harold F. Albers of St. Petersburg. He is working in cooperation with the Florida Associated Marine Institutes, the Shell Oil Company, Clean Gulf Associates, and the API.
The Standard Oil Company of California provided a grant to James Naviaux of Pleasant Hill, California, to develop bird-cleaning technology, including the testing of various cleaners. Dr. Naviaux had treated birds from the 1971 San Francisco spill. A publication on the after-care of oil-covered birds (Naviaux 1972) resulted from the collaboration with Alan Pittman, research chemist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Western Research Laboratory.
In 1971, the API in cooperation with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) initiated an NWF/API Fellowship program. One of the first grants under this program was to Charles W. Kirkpatrick, Professor of Wildlife Management at Purdue University. He and assistants studied for 4 years the nesting ecology and productivity of the emperor goose (Philacte canagica) in the Igiak Bay area of the Yukon Delta in Alaska (Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977).
An extensive program of marine bird research was initiated on the North Slope of Alaska by the Atlantic Richfield Company in 1969. It has been continued ever since and includes the acquisition of extensive base-line data on all waterfowl, including June surveys of breeding pair counts and August surveys for brood counts. The results of these surveys for 1969-73 are presented by Gavin (1975).
Base-line data on marine birds of the Gulf of Alaska are currently being collected and compiled through grants to various universities and institutions by the American petroleum industry. These data will constitute elements of a report on the environmental status of the Gulf of Alaska. Such information is essential prior to development of the Gulf's offshore petroleum resources.
Marine Mammals
Most sea mammals are relatively resistant to oil slicks and tend to avoid contaminated waters. As a result, little research has been conducted on cleaning and treatment techniques except for experiments on live beavers and on the carcasses and pelts of sea otters and beavers.