WDFW Oiled Wildlife Program 2009 Annual Report

This 2009 Annual Report summarizes the efforts and accomplishments made by the Oiled Wildlife Response Unit within the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Oil Spill Team. The mission of WDFW is to preserve and protect fish, wildlife and their habitats. The Wildlife Response Unit supports this mission by planning for and managing oiled wildlife incidents in Washington. Our primary goal is to minimize impacts to Washington’s wildlife by ensuring that the proper equipment, personnel and response strategies are available to oiled wildlife in a timely manner.

Oiled wildlife rescue and rehabilitation planning and response capabilities in the Northwest were significantly advanced in 2009, especially in the areas of facilities, equipment and training. Although this annual report is authored by WDFW, the successes of 2009 were, and will continue to be, largely dependent on the many individuals in the various federal and state agencies, the petroleum industry, the response community (oil and wildlife), aquaria and wildlife rehabilitation groups who work together in a cooperative manner to achieve mutual goals. We look forward to continuing to work with you in 2010. Please visit our web page at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/habitat/oil_spill/ for additional information and links.