We, the Friends of the Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico, would like to express our deepest and heartfelt concern for the people, birds, wildlife and ocean life affected by this terrible Gulf Oil Spill. We support our fellow National Wildlife Refuges and all the people and organizations working to help. We are a very strong and caring membership, and we will do whatever we possibly can to help! See below for exactly how to help
Let's not forget that we can help the many other wonderful, dedicated and hard working Friends' groups nationwide who work to sustain our National Wildlife Refuges and the birds and wildlife who depend on them for their survival! We can each support our fellow Friends' groups by joining or contributing. We have an unsurpassed love for out Refuge, the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - we even added land to our Refuge in a great fundraising drive in which every one of you particiapted! We know how the other Friends' groups are suffering and worried for the places they love. Let's help them! Let's show solidarity with our Gulf Friends! Contributions made to the National Wildlife Refuge Association's oil spill response page are tax-deductible and will support local non-profit Refuge Friends groups along the Gulf Coast. Refuge Friends are vital to the success of our wildlife refuges - particularly during times of crisis such as this. See more below from NWRA.
NEWS- August 12, 2010
Hello all,
As mutually agreed upon at the July 17th Board Meeting, the Friends of the Bosque sought out and achieved partnership with the 3 other Friends groups in the state (Bitter Lake, Sevilleta, and Las Vegas) for a joint letter calling BP to task for the damage to wildlife and habitat along the Gulf coast. This letter went out today with copies to the partnering Friends, the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA), the USFWS Regional Director, our 2 Senators, and our 3 Representatives. Now that there is an open line of communication with the other Friends groups, we will see if Bitter Lake or Las Vegas would like to join with us and Sevilleta in a donation to the NWRA. Thank you to Paul for writing an effective letter and getting those partnerships going. Leigh Ann Vradenburg
Executive Director
Friends of the Bosque del Apache NWR
P.O. Box 340
San Antonio, NM 87832
575-838-2120
www.FriendsoftheBosque.org
Please- Everyone! Read this powerful, important and thoughtful letter
NEWS- July 10
Refuge Association Announces Grants to Assist Gulf Coast Refuges
First Grant Awarded to Friends of Bon Secour for Dune Planting Project
Washington, DC- The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) has announced the award of a $3,000 grant to the Friends of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Gulf Shores, Alabama, for a project to stabilize the refuge's fragile sand dunes and attempt to keep oil out of fragile wetlands. Bon Secour NWR is one of the first Gulf coast wildlife refuges to be impacted by the BP oil gusher that began April 20. The Refuge Association's grant is the first to be awarded from a special fund set up to aid refuge "Friends" groups responding to the Gulf disaster.
Please See Important Bird Areas threatened by Gulf oil spill This is an article from Birder's World magazine, with details of the birds impacted and the National Wildlife Refuges. and state parks and other critical areas.
The timing of the spill, National Audubon reported, could not be worse for birds, which are now nesting and therefore especially vulnerable in many of the places where the oil could come ashore. Said an Audubon bird conservation director: "We have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, including a true catastrophe for birds."
Cornell Lab Cornell Lab of Ornithology
How to Help Gulf Coast Birds
A Message from the Cornell Lab's Conservation Science Director, Ken Rosenberg
"Dear friend,
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has affected everyone who cares about birds and nature.
We appreciate the many calls and messages we have received from people expressing concern and the desire to help. In this update, I'll share what our team is seeing along Louisiana's coast--and explain the enormous need for monitoring and recovery. You can help by reporting your sightings to eBird or by
donating now to support our conservation work.
Let's Make Sure That Birds Surviving the Oil Today Will Have a Future Tomorrow"
National Audubon Society Gulf Coast Oil Spill disaster for birds and wildlife- Here is how you can help and stay in touch with what's happening! How To Help Please consider donating. Audubon Magazine is reporting on the spill at the Perch, their blog- Help! The Perch
Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research is ocerseeing wildlife rehab on the coast. You can also donate here!
A team of bird rescue specialists from International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) have been deployed to the Gulf Coast to help with an all-hands-on-deck effort to rescue seabirds caught in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.IBRRC is working with Tri-State Bird Rescue, the lead oiled wildlife organization on the ground, to set up and staff rehabilitation centers in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, where the oil slick will impact birds. You can also donate to help here!
National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) Urges Donations to Aid Gulf Coast Refuge Friends Groups Washington, DC- See the complete letter from NWRA (see full letter below)
Exerpts: There are at least 20 national wildlife refuges in the immediate path of the oil spill, and they depend on Friends organization volunteers to provide critical support... The National Wildlife Refuge Association works with more than 220 Refuge Friends Groups throughout the country, of which 192 are affiliates. These local not-for-profit organizations along with dedicated volunteers nationwide are crucial to protecting our national wildlife refuges and Americas wildlife heritage.
To donate to NWRA's fund, register to volunteer, or learn about how oil will impact Gulf refuges and wildlife, visit: http://www.refugeassociation.org/new-issues/delta.html
How To Help from MSNBC They have compiled a great list of what yo can do to help- they are updating this on a regular basis
The Ocean Conservancy Working on The Gulf Oil Disaster. "Ocean Conservancy has a proud history on the ground in the Gulf region protecting and restoring marine resources.....Our expert team in the Gulf is deploying rapidly to help respond to the crisis -assessing the impacts, advising on plans for restoration, and developing a toolkit to help ensure that those most affected receive the assistance they need. Intense and sustained efforts will be required to help fish and wildlife populations, habitats, and the communities that depend on them rebound. Ocean Conservancy is committed to being part of that long-term effort"
National Wildlife Federation, in partnership with its colleagues in the Gulf states, is recruiting volunteers for an "extensive volunteer wildlife surveillance network."
Please check the many vital non-profits you personaly support,some of which may be:
NRDC, National Resources Defense Council
Defenders of Wildlife
Environmental Defense Fund
National Wildlife Federation
World Wildlife Fund
and others
The following is a quote from a letter sent from NWRA to members and concerned others.
" NWRA Urges Donations to Aid Gulf Coast Refuge Friends Groups Washington, DC-
The National Wildlife Refuge Association, which works with tens of thousands of volunteers across the country in support of the 150-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, today launched a Gulf oil spill relief fund and volunteer registry. With oil expected to severely impact critical wildlife refuge habitat in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, funds and volunteers will be vital in supporting the efforts of local volunteer refuge "Friends" organizations.
'There are 20 national wildlife refuges in the immediate path of the oil spill, and they depend on Friends organization volunteers to provide critical support to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service professionals,' said Evan Hirsche, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. '20 percent of the work done on our federal refuges is already being done by volunteers; the disaster in the Gulf is going to require an even greater volunteer commitment.'
While BP must be held accountable for clean up costs, groups such as the Friends of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on the Alabama coast are doing whatever they can to help refuge professionals now to prepare for oil which is expected to reach their refuge by the weekend. Friends groups and volunteers at refuges in the path of the spill will assist refuge staff gather as much baseline data as possible before the oil makes landfall. From water samples to bird, mammal and turtle counts, Friends will help refuge staff accurately detail what could be lost.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified an additional five national wildlife refuges that are under most immediate threat by the oil spill: Delta NWR, LA; Breton NWR, LA; Bayou Sauvage NWR, LA; Grand Bay NWR, MS and Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR, MS. These refuges are historically and ecologically significant and the timing of the spill could not happen at a worse time. Birds that are nesting right now include wading birds such as egrets and herons, seabirds, and beach nesters that live in large colonies, such as gulls, terns and skimmers. Contact with a drop of oil as small a dime can cause fatalities in many birds.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association works with more than 220 Refuge Friends Groups throughout the country, of which 192 are affiliates. These local not-for-profit organizations along with dedicated volunteers nationwide are crucial to protecting our national wildlife refuges and Americas wildlife heritage.
To donate to NWRA's fund, register to volunteer, or learn about how oil will impact Gulf refuges and wildlife, visit: http://www.refugeassociation.org/new-issues/delta.html The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge Association is to conserve America's wildlife heritage for future generations through strategic programs that protect, enhance, and expand the National Wildlife Refuge System and the landscapes beyond its boundaries that secure its ecological integrity."
copyright 2010 National Wildlife Refuge Association
Evan Hirsche, May 6, 2010, ehirsche@refugeassociation.org, (202) 292-2429
Important Bird Areas threatened by Gulf oil spill
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