The Gulf BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster
The Gulf Waterkeepers are our first line of defense against the BP oil disaster. Their incredible knowledge of the marshes, wetlands, beaches and inner-coastal waters makes them invaluable first responders. Their commitment makes them critical and effective community leaders. Their wealth of scientific, legal and political expertise provides answers to the questions we have about our environment. Their dedication to a full recovery of the Gulf is unmatched.
-SaveOurGulf.org
Gulf Waterkeepers
In March, Waterkeepers around the world began discussing President Obama’s plan to open offshore drilling for the first time. “Not a good coastal health plan,” said Pete Nichols, Executive Director of Humboldt Baykeeper in Eureka, California. Just a few weeks later the BP Deepwater Horizon oil explosion and leak happened.
Suddenly, the Gulf Waterkeepers were faced with one of the biggest environmental disasters in history. Supported by the Waterkeeper Alliance, and with quick advice from those like Bob Shavelson, Alaska’s Cook Inletkeeper, who was there when Exon-Valdez hit, the Gulf Waterkeepers braced themselves to be at the forefront of the BP oil crisis. As Shavelson said, “The spill is ALWAYS bigger than industry and government initially say. Always.”
Sérgio Mattos-Fonseca, the Guanabara Baykeeper in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, gave advice based on ten years prior, when Rio faced an oil spill of 4.5 million liters of oil in the Guanabara Bay. Other Waterkeepers from around the world wrote in to offer support, volunteers, and advice on anything from bird rescue to safety to breaking through the Deepwater Horizon Response Unified Command. What we saw was a vast sea of support from Waterkeepers around the world rallying around the Gulf Waterkeepers, and in many cases, flying to the Gulf to work side-by-side with them.
In a recent Larry King Live exclusive, Philippe Cousteau, CEO of EarthEcho International and the grandson of famed ocean explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau, highly commended groups like Waterkeeper Alliance working to save the Gulf.
Mark Twain once wrote, “A man’s first duty is to his conscience and his honor.” As this recent expedition from the shores of Grand Isle to the beaches of Alabama reminded me, there is no honor in this catastrophe and its consequences are unconscionable, but nor is there honor in the circumstances that created it.
- Philippe Cousteau
In Larry King Live’s blog are listed the many ways in which Waterkeepers are working in the Gulf:
- Meeting regularly with the Coast Guard, EPA, NOAA, and state and local agencies to provide input on response strategies
- Assessing sensitive shoreline strategies and ensuring that the most fragile ecosystems are protected first
- Working with fisherman helping with spill response to make sure they have the tools to report back from the backwaters and deploy boom safely
- Providing protective gear, including respirators, to fishermen who are working on the spill
- Working with National Park Service on wildlife rehabilitation stations
- Responding to 1000s of community hotline calls, emails, and national media requests
- Fielding calls from tens of thousands of volunteers and working with state and federal agencies to organize and channel that interest
- Documenting pre-impact and post-impact shoreline conditions to support Natural Resources Damage claims by state and federal agencies
- Monitoring the coastal areas for the first signs of tar balls, rainbow sheens, and hydrocarbon slicks as they come in to the coastal areas
- Conducting water quality monitoring and analysis for dispersants and oil
- Advocating for enhanced regulatory oversight of safety protocols and mechanisms
Meet our Gulf Waterkeepers
Waterkeeper Alliance has many more Keepers in the Gulf, but the following are in site of direct impact.
Casi Callaway: Mobile Baykeeper
Based in Mobile, Alabama. Mobile Baykeeper’s mission is to protect the beauty, health and heritage of the Mobile Bay watershed, which encompasses two-thirds of the land area and includes more than 250 separate waterways in the state of Alabama.
Casi has been key in communicating the problems of this oil disaster and how it will affect the delicate ecosystem of the bay. Just days after the BP explosion, Casi appeared on CNN to discuss how this oil spill could decimate seafood industries in the gulf, and has continued to stand strong at the frontlines. Lifetime honored Casi in their Remarkable Women series based on her continued leadership during the BP oil crisis.
This honor belongs as much to the inspiring people with whom I work every day as it does to me. The staff at Mobile Baykeeper, and all the folks that stepped forward to help respond to the BP oil disaster, are shining examples to our country of what team work, commitment and good, old-fashioned determination and hope can do for a community in crisis.
-Casi Callaway
Dan Tonsmeire: Apalachicola Riverkeeper
Based in Apalachicola, Florida, they monitor the Apalachicola from the upper reaches at the Florida/Georgia line downstream 108 miles, through the middle reaches around Wewahitchka, to the estuary and Bay on the Gulf, with particular reduction of life-sustaining freshwater, loss of floodplain habitat, point and non-point source pollution, and explosive growth and development.
The Apalachicola Riverkeeper is coordinating the non-governmental response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impact for Franklin County Florida. They are the lead volunteer agency for Emergency Support Function 15 in Franklin County, Florida. Visit their response site at OilSpillRecovery.org.
See Phillippe Cousteau’s visit to Apalachicola Riverkeeper.
Chasidy Fisher Hobbs: Emerald Coastkeeper
Based in Pensacola, Florida, the Emerald Coastkeeper serves the watershed in Northwest Florida, working to respond to citizen reports of pollution and adverse environmental impacts from the Alabama/Florida state line to Perdido Bay, and Panama City to West Bay.
Hobbs draws daily inspiration from Margaret Mead’s famous words, “Never underestimate the power a few dedicated citizens have to change the world; indeed that is all that ever has.” These words reflect the Waterkeepers tirelessly working in the Gulf to save our coasts, communities, and marine ecology. Chasidy has put together information about controlling the spill to following health and safety to understanding where the spill on Emerald Coastkeeper’s website.
Paul Orr: Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper works to preserve and restore the ecological integrity of the Mississippi River Basin and the surrounding waterways in Louisiana.
The LMRK’s site has a section dedicated to the oil disaster and another with Grand Isle photos. Paul, along with other Keepers in the Gulf, has been active in the community during this crisis. He also spoke at a large Stop the BP Flood rally in New Orleans.
Dean Wilson: Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper is dedicated to preserving the ecosystems within your Atchafalaya Basin. The Atchafalaya Basinkeeper has a page on Water News Network in their fight to heal the Mississippi.
Charlotte Wells: Galveston Baykeeper
Based in Galveston, Texas, the Galveston Baykeeper’s mission is to protect and enhance the water quality of Galveston Bay for the benefit of its ecosystems and human communities.
Tracy Kuhns: Louisiana Bayoukeeper
Based in Barataria, Louisiana, the Louisiana Bayoukeeper works closely with coastal communities in Coastal Louisiana’s Bayou Country to promote sustainable management of its local waterways and natural resources.
Louisiana Bayoukeeper is out front working to support local fisher families and communities bearing the brunt of the BP Horizon Deepwater Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill, like it has done for years, and following other disasters like Hurricanes Katrina & Rita. Members are working hard throughout our ecosystem and fishing grounds to track and mitigate the effects of the oil spill. Many families are fishing the open fishing grounds, urgently, before additional fishing grounds close due to the adverse impacts from BP’s oil spill. The social and economic survival of coastal fishing families, their communities and culture are threatened with collapse.
-Louisiana Bayoukeeper
Tracy and her husband, a long-time fisherman, were featured in a Time.com video and on The Gulf Oil Spill Blog. The Louisiana Bayoukeeper site has a section on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
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John Wathen
John Wathen, Hurricane Creekkeeper in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is photo-documenting the oil disaster on his blog. Wathen is one of the Waterkeepers impacted by this catastrophe; he has been gathering video and photographs since day one as a way to document the event’s enormity and severity. John has flown over ground zero a number of times with SouthWings, and creates and edits video with footage from his flights. He was named Local Person of the Year, by Alabama Rivers, his videos have been shown on Rachel Maddow’s blog, and he’s been in articles by Sophie B. Hawkins/Larry King Live and The Guardian.
Joe Payne, Casca Baykeeper, who had just participated in a mock oil spill response project, got hands-on experience to be active with the Gulf Keepers. There are plenty of other Waterkeepers in the South and all over the world who are on the spot, helping with this crisis.
Robert Kennedy, Jr., President of Waterkeeper Alliance, has been at the forefront of this great disaster, and spoke at Waterkeeper Alliance’s Annual Conference this year, in La Paz, Mexico, extolling the great network that the Waterkeeper Alliance has in order to meet the challenges of this crisis. Kennedy appeared on a CNN video to discuss the delicate balance between oil and wetlands.
Waterkeeper Alliance set up a site for donating to the Gulf Keepers at Save Our Gulf. Save Our Gulf is an initiative by Waterkeeper Alliance to support the Gulf Waterkeepers fighting to protect the Gulf Coast’s communities and environment from the long-term devastating impacts of the BP oil disaster. Waterkeepers are your trustworthy source for updates from the front lines, transparent news and action.
