Update on migration and oil spill
Today, The US Fish and Wildlife Service issued its latest advisory, Oil and the Migration Season:
Millions of waterfowl and other migratory birds will soon begin their fall migration to wintering and stopover habitat along the Gulf Coast. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with partners to anticipate and minimize the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill on these birds.
The Service will continue to monitor the impact of the ongoing spill on waterfowl, and will take those impacts into account when establishing waterfowl hunting frameworks for the upcoming season.
Working with conservation partners, the Service is also preparing to implement a range of on-the-ground habitat conservation and management measures near the oil-impact area in the Gulf designed to minimize the entrance of oil into managed habitats along the Gulf and to enhance the availability of migratory bird food resources outside the oil impact area. Recently obtained results of annual spring waterfowl population surveys indicate that population sizes of most duck species and breeding habitat conditions are good this year.
"While the current information we have suggests that regulatory restrictions on waterfowl hunting are unnecessary, we remain very concerned about both the short and long-term impacts of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill on migratory birds, their habitats, and the resources on which the birds depend," said Paul Schmidt, the Service’s Assistant Director for Migratory Birds.
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