Oil Makes Landfall in Wildlife Refuge - Oceana USA
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May 7, 2010

Oil Makes Landfall in Wildlife Refuge

Oil has begun washing ashore in Louisiana’s Chandeleur and Breton Island chain, part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge.

The refuge is a nesting site for the brown pelican, which was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List last year. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement agents also discovered two dead gannets covered in oil on Wednesday. And today, the Fish and Wildlife Service closed the Refuge to the public.

Yesterday Interior Secretary Salazar announced that new approvals for offshore oil drilling will be halted for three weeks until the Department of the Interior completes the safety review process requested by President Obama.

Meanwhile, BP continues to try and stem the flow of oil into the Gulf, using skimmers, controlled burns, chemical dispersants, and a 40 foot-tall containment dome. Google now has a map of the spill here.

A three week postponement is not enough. Tell President Obama and Congress to ban new offshore drilling today.

Matt Niemerski is an Ocean Advocate at Oceana.