Join Apalachicola Riverkeeper
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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Latest News: Tar balls ranging in size from dimes to golf balls have washed ashore on Dauphin Island, Alabama.
Since it happened Riverkeeper's #1 order of business is the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill. Executive Director Andy Smith and Senior Policy Advisor Dave
McLain are deeply involved in local response planning, outreach, and volunteer efforts. Both are
working with the Franklin County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) assisting in
preliminary training of seafood workers and boat owners and developing the
local contingency action plan.
Apalachicola Riverkeeper Staffer Dave McLain conducts boom training with local seafood workers and boat owners.  |
At this stage of the crisis we have: Been designated by the Franklin County EOC as
the Emergency Support Function (ESF) 15 to coordinate volunteers and donations
Assigned staffer Dave McLain, an expert in oil
spill cleanup, to assist local county employees, and train oystermen and boat
owners in boom tactics. Helped lead development of the local contingency
action plan
Created a web page (www.oilspillrecovery.org) to provide
up-to-date information on the spill, and that allows volunteers to sign up to
help. It also provides a way for people to make donations targeted to the clean-up
activities. Coordinated initial preventative operations that
will remove trash from the beaches and shoreline prior to any spill reaching
the shore. This will facilitate later clean up in the event the spill reaches
the beaches. This should be completed by May 10.
Helped the County formulate a plan for staging area
management.
Dave McLain conducting advanced boom tactics training.  | We have established a bank account in our name that is directly
connected to the oil spill recovery website and serves our ESF-15 role. The expenditures from
this "immediate needs and close-the-gaps" fund will be used to pay for equipment,
travel, supplies, human and other needs related to the spill (see the above web
site for donation link.). The
Riverkeeper office is even busier than normal during this crisis. The staff is
constantly in motion responding to requests, attending meetings, and seeking
and coordinating volunteers. So, our phones may be busy, and our emails backing
up, and voice mails may take a little longer to respond to. Your patience is
appreciated
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Ways You Can Help
- Take
date-stamped photographs and videos of the shoreline. Go to your
favorite spot, relax and enjoy while you document the beauty. Have a GPS?
Record the GPS location of each photograph for future reference.
- Watch the shoreline and take notes, video, and photographs of any impacts, such as tar balls, from the oil spill. The Apalachicola Riverkeeper will have a form on www.oilspillrecovery.org and www.apalachicolariverkeeper.org for you to report what you saw, where you saw it, and when. You are our eyes and ears.
- Clean up the
coast of trash and debris. Remember: watch out
for, and protect those shorebird "nests"; only pickup man-made trash; clean from waters edge to high tide
mark only; use approved access points; natural debris should be left in place
as it often provides valuable nesting benefits to shorebirds and other
wildlife; do not place debris in the dunes or above the high water line; don't
use equipment such as rakes, shovels or tractors; do not bring dogs onto the
beach (dogs are a primary source of beach bird disturbance and mortality).
- Fill out the
online
form- (http://oilspillrecovery.org/volunteer)
for volunteering.
- Donate
through the online
form- (http://oilspillrecovery.org/home#donate).
Visit our
special web site often for up dates and links:
www.OilSpillRecovery.org
Also great
information, videos & photos on the Riverkeeper web site:
www.ApalachicolaRiverkeeper.org
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Video Updates on Oil Crisis
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Pre-impact Beach Clean-Up
 Pre-impact beach and shoreline clean-up is ongoing. If you are
interested in helping, check out the schedules and tips on www.oilspillrecovery.org and click on the
link for Beach Clean-up!
Check out the slide show of a recent beach clean-up:
Clean-up
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Flying for
Conservation
Nature Photographer John Moran checks his digital photograph of St. George Island while flying with SouthWings' volunteer pilot Tom Hutchings.  |
Recently, the Apalachicola Riverkeeper organization took
a look at our coastline from a different perspective, thanks to SouthWings, (www.southwings.org) a
conservation and public benefit aviation non-profit that provides skilled
pilots and aerial education to enhance conservation efforts across the
Southeast.
Pilots that fly for SouthWings volunteer their time, use
their own plane and donate the fuel for each flight. As you can imagine, in times of disasters
such as the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill, demands soar for the services of
SouthWings. Fortunately for us, a flight of the Apalachicola River had already
been scheduled prior to the oil spill, and we were able to expand the focus of
the flight to include the coastline for pre-oil spill photos. Pictured left to right: Apalachicola Riverkeeper Dan Tonsmeire, pilot Tom Hutchings and photographer John Moran.  |
Pilot Tom Hutchings of EcoSolutions out
of Montrose, Alabama, (ecosolutionsinc.net) and nature photographer extraordinaire
John Moran (www.johnmoranphoto.com)
flew from Pensacola to Apalachicola photographing the barrier island coastlines
of Florida's panhandle.
After a quick stop to pick up Neva Watford from the
Apalachicola Airport, the group flew along the Apalachicola River to photograph
points of restoration concern between Apalachicola and Wewahitchka. The flight then continued along the coastline,
flying eastward from St. George Island to Alligator Point.
While we all are hoping that the oil spill does not reach
our shores, we now have photographs of Franklin County's pristine coastline for
documentation if necessary. Many
thanks to SouthWings, Tom Hutchings and John Moran!
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ACF Stakeholders
Work continues on the ACF Stakeholders project www.acfstakeholders.org. The ACFS is a
grass roots organization working to create a solution to the contentious water
flow and sustainability issues on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint
Rivers.
Work now is getting to the hard issues.
Sub-groups on sustainability, data modeling and statement of needs will
be working to mesh their work products and outline a plan forward.
There are 14 interest areas represented in ACFS and each has identified
specific needs. The work of the group now is to define sustainability and mesh
with the needs of the basins.
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Keeping Up to Date
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We have various ways for you to stay up-to-date and in touch:Visit the
Riverkeeper web page at Riverkeeper.
And the Oil Spill Recovery web has all the
latest on the oil spill.
Check out the
Apalachicola Riverkeeper Facebook
page. You can get there by going to the Riverkeeper web page and clicking on
the Facebook link on the main page.
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A Reminder-We Are Still Open for Business
The activities and planning described here for Franklin County are
contingency plans. No oil has reached our beaches and we hope and pray it does
not come. Our beaches and bays are open
and as pristine as ever.
We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with the hope the
worst case scenario doesn't materialize.
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