Category Archives: hazards

Spills Are Sandy’s Latest Wildlife Impact

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The New York State Department of Wildlife Conservation (DEC) is reporting some oiled birds as a result of an oil spill on a Hudson River tributary in Kingston, NY.

More details about the spill are available from the Watershed Post and a report from the Hudson River’s Riverkeeper.
Read the Watershed Post piece, here.
And see the Riverkeeper site for more information about non-point source pollution in the area affected by Sandy.

There is also an oil spill in the Arthur Kill, a narrow waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey. The Hudson Valley Press Online is reporting a spill and clean-up at a local oil company on the Arthur Kill and nearby waterways. Read the story, here.

It appears a nearby marina is stumped by by the appearance of oil. New Jersey News 12 offers a brief write-up and a clip. See it here.

The New York State DEC also announced that shellfishing is closed off Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk Counties until next week because of sewage in the water. Read the details in the NYS DEC press release, here.

Photo: DEC staff rescuing a great blue heron harmed by an oil spill in the Hudson Valley after Hurricane Sandy. Photo used courtesy of NYS DEC.

Monofilament Recycling Danger

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Recycling fishing line is a great idea. It prevents wildlife from dieing or being injured by getting tangled in discarded line, a process that can sometimes be slow and painful.

Unfortunately, the most common kind of monofilament fishing line recycling bin — a PVC pipe capped with an elbow, is creating its own danger to wildlife, the Missouri Department of Conservation has revealed. Cavity nesting birds are entering the pipes, getting tangled in the fishing line, and dying.

In other places, uncapped PVC pipes, used as boundary markers and in irrigation systems are trapping and killing birds and lizards. We’ve written about that before. (Here.)

That the elbow-capped pipes are also a danger is a surprise. Kudos to the Missouri Department of Conservation for retro-fitting its monofilament recycling bins with a rubber covering over the opening– and especially for getting the word out on the danger of this design.

-Read the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) press release, here.
-Get all the details on the MDC blog. (It includes a video)
-More information is available from the MDC’s Stream Team, here.
The press release includes a link to more info from Audubon California. Find it here.

 Photo of dead tree swallows above courtesy of Dianne Fieri