| |
An
oiled scoter became the poster
bird for IBRRC. The scoter
was oiled during 1971 Oregon
Standard spill in San Francisco
Bay. See
larger version of poster
(IBRRC poster) |
When
two Standard Oil tankers collided
in 1971 beneath the Golden Gate
Bridge spilling 900,000 gallons
of crude oil. Little was known about
oiled bird care at that time and
despite the courageous, attempts
of hundreds of volunteers, only
300 birds survived from the 7,000
birds collected.
After the February 1971
spill a small group of volunteers
formed the International Bird Rescue
Research Center (IBRRC) It's primary
goals were developing oiled wildlife
cleaning and rehabilitation techniques,
promoting ongoing research in this
field and providing oiled wildlife
response capabilities. In 1975,
IBRRC moved to permanent quarters
at Aquatic Park in Berkeley, California.
As IBRRC began to grow,
it responded to an increasing number
of oil spills including spills outside
of California, rapidly expanding
its body of knowledge. IBRRC has
cared for over 140 species of wild
birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
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| Oiled
grebe during 1971 Oregon Standard
spill
in San Francisco. (IBRRC file
photo) |
In 1994, IBRRC joined
California's Oiled
Wildlife Care Network (OWCN).
This network has 24 participating
organizations, permanent facilities
and trained volunteers within the
state. IBRRC acts as OWCN's primary
bird response organization in California.
Beginning in 2001, IBRRC
helped open two new state-funded centers in California.
In February, IBRRC moved from Berkeley
to a new 10,000 square foot facility
in the Cordelia/Fairfield areaabout 45 miles from San Francisco. In March we opened
a second facility in
San Pedro near the busy Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor.
Both are new additions to the Oiled
Wildlife Care Network, for which
we manage oil spill response within
California.
With staff and the help
of volunteers, we operate wildlife
hospitals at both locations 365
days a year, where we continue to
develop new and better treatments
and protocols for aquatic birds
and waterfowl. Both facilities have
education programs for both students
and volunteers wanting to be trained
in oil spill response. IBRRC maintains
a library in Fairfield that contains
a plethora of literature on all
subjects related to the field of
oiled wildlife response and rehabilitation
and the field of aquatic bird rehabilitation.
With an oil spill response
team of more than 25 wildlife
experts , IBRRC has managed the
oiled bird rehabilitation efforts
in over 200 oil spills in 11 states,
including the 1989 Exxon Valdez
oil spill in Alaska. Our international
work has taken us to seven different
countries and two U.S. territories.
IBRRC provides training
and consultation to the petroleum
industry, local, state, and federal
Fish and Wildlife agencies, wildlife
rehabilitators and researchers.
Federal and state permits grant
IBRRC permission to work with wild
birds in captivity. IBRRC is a non-profit
501-c-3 organization that relies
on the petroleum industry, fees
for services, state generated response
contracts, research grants, foundation
grants, and individual contributions
for financial support. |
(PDF 372 kb)