How does the oil spill impact wildlife?

Since the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon burned, sank and began spilling oil on April 20, 2010, we’ve all seen the tragic images of oily wildlife in the waters off Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. With nearly 5 million barrels of oil discharged into the water there are long-term effects of oil contamination for birds, sea turtles, dolphins, fish and other water-dwelling wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports the oil could impact the food chain and habitat, with less available food and lower breeding success for some time to come.

Fisheries biologist Amanda Hill holds an oiled brown pelican rescued from the Gulf of Mexico.
Photo: Kim Bretton/USFWS/Flickr

What are we doing?

As a land conservation organization, we remain focused on protecting healthy coastal habitat for wildlife throughout the region. While we do not work on the frontlines—fighting the oil washing ashore or assisting animals that have been oiled—we are dedicated to saving and restoring habitat. We have conserved or restored unimpacted coastal wetlands, as well as bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands along the Mississippi River and other rivers that feed into the Gulf of Mexico. This work is more important than ever, as birds forced from contaminated marshes must look for healthy habitat nearby to rest and feed.

Moving forward, we’re committed to actively helping our partners in federal, state and local agencies as they work to restore this damaged ecosystem. As these agencies plan to acquire healthy new habitat for birds and wildlife affected by the spill, we continue to play an active role. To date, The Conservation Fund has helped protect or restore more than 300,000 acres in the region.

Pelican flying with contamination boom in the background.Photo: USFWS Southeast/Tom Mackenzie