A homeowner’s photo of the Exxon Mobil Pegasus tar sands oil spilling through his front yard in Mayflower, Ark. (April 2013)

From that subdivision last Friday, the tar sands oil flowed down a storm drain, through a creek, and into a cove just before Lake Conway, a major sportfishing haven. Exxon Mobil crews are making a stand in that cove, hoping to keep the oil from flowing through a culvert under AR-89 and into Lake Conway. But that cove is also where tar sands oil-covered wildlife keep turning up — a fact Exxon Mobil can’t hide.

Community Hit Hard

Here in Mayflower, everyone’s happy to talk about how the spill has impacted them personally — but ask them to go on camera and they clam up. They know Exxon Mobil now has them over a barrel: the tar sands spill has left their homes somewhere on a scale between devalued and worthless, and an Exxon Mobil settlement is their best hope of getting that money back.

Joined by David Carruth, an Arkansas resident and member of the National Wildlife Federation’s board of directors, we walked into the local Hess gas station/bait shop to see if local sport fishermen had any insight into how local wildlife was faring. The man at the counter told us he lives on Starlite Drive, ground zero of the tar sands spill. He’s staying in a Holiday Inn Express in the next town over on Exxon Mobil’s tab while the cleanup continues.

Homeowner photo of a bird coated in tar sands oil after the Exxon Mobil Pegasus spill in Mayflower, Ark. (April 2013)

I mentioned that Exxon Mobil and other tar sands transporters haven’t been paying into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, claiming the provisions only cover conventional oil, not tar sands oil. He shook his head sadly. “My father landed on Omaha Beach. Back then, folks had a sense of civic duty.”

Wetlands Coated in Tar Sands Oil

From there, we headed to the cove to get a closer look. A homeowner pulled out her phone and showed us photos she’s taken of oiled birds and a muskrat in her backyard. She said she called state officials to report the oiled wildlife but was told they didn’t have the resources to respond. She then called the HAWK Center, which rescued several ducks. Yesterday — four days after the spill — Exxon Mobil finally set up its own wildlife rehabilitation center with an oiled wildlife hotline (1-800-876-9291) and took over cleaning wildlife from HAWK.

Marsh coated in tar sands oil from Exxon Mobil Pegasus pipeline spill, Mayflower, Ark., April 2013 (NWF photo)

We pushed through the marsh around the edge of the cove, seeing a steady stream of oily spots and finding some tar balls. We then came upon a huge area of oiled marsh with cleanup crews working to remove as much tar sands oil as possible.

Two workers approached David and I thought for sure they’d tell us to scram. But it turned out they were wildlife rescuers asking if we’d seen any oiled wildlife. “I can’t believe how thick this stuff is,” one told David. “It’s like road tar — it’s nothing like motor oil.”

They estimated wildlife rescuers had found about 30 oiled ducks and other birds, a half-dozen oiled venomous snakes, and an oiled muskrat. They’d also spotted an oiled beaver out in the marsh, but said it was impossible to catch.

The sight of the heavily oiled marsh was a tragic reminder that cleaning 100% of this thick, sticky tar sands oil will likely be impossible; the impacts will be felt for months and possibly years to come.

The National Wildlife Federation will continue to monitor the impacts of the Arkansas tar sands oil spill. See more photos on Flickr and keep checking back to Wildlife Promise for updates.

Take Action

It’s time for America to take a stand against tar sands oil –  the risks to our wildlife, communities and clean water are just too great. Please take a moment now to ask President Obama to say no to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Exxon Mobil pipeline oil spill, Mayflower, AR, March 2013 (AJ Zolten)

It’s unclear exactly how much oil spilled, but as we saw in the early days of BP’s Gulf oil disaster, the number is growing exponentially each day. “Exxon Mobil officials said the total amount of water and oil pumped out of a Mayflower subdivision nearly tripled Sunday, reaching 12,000 barrels, or 504,000 gallons, compared with estimates on Saturday that crews had pumped 4,500 barrels,” reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this morning.

The spill comes just days after a National Wildlife Federation-led coalition called on federal agencies to develop stronger safety standards for pipelines carrying heavy, corrosive tar sands oil. “It’s clear we need tough new standards to protect wildlife, our natural resources and public health,” said Jim Murphy, NWF’s senior counsel. “Until the right standards are put into place, we shouldn’t be exposing more communities and resources to tar sands risks.”

Watch this clip taken by a man who lives in the Mayflower, Ark. neighborhood where the pipeline ruptured:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Those storm drains head towards Lake Conway, a huge manmade reservoir stocked with bass, catfish, bream and crappie. Local authorities built several earthen dams to try to keep the tar sands oil out of Lake Conway, but if the water is fouled, it won’t just threaten the fish, it will threaten the area’s recreation economy.

As Reuters reports, the Arkansas spill comes at a critical juncture of America’s debate over whether to accept the risks inherent in transporting Canadian tar sands:

The 848-mile pipeline used to transport crude oil from Texas to Illinois. In 2006 Exxon reversed it to move crude from Illinois to Texas in response to growing Canadian oil production and the ability of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries to process heavy crude.

The Arkansas spill drew fast reaction from opponents of the 800,000 [barrel per day] Keystone XL pipeline, which also would carry heavy crude from Canada’s tar sands to the Gulf Coast refining hub.

Environmentalists have expressed concerns about the impact of developing the oil sands and say the crude is more corrosive to pipelines than conventional oil. On Wednesday, a train carrying Canadian crude derailed in Minnesota, spilling 15,000 gallons of oil.

“Whether it’s the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, or … (the) mess in Arkansas, Americans are realizing that transporting large amounts of this corrosive and polluting fuel is a bad deal for American taxpayers and for our environment,” said Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.

It’s not just Keystone XL – there’s also the Enbridge pipeline in Michigan that spilled into the Kalamazoo River in 2010 as well as the proposal to reverse New England’s Trailbreaker pipeline to carry tar sands from Canada to Maine. As NWF reported in 2010, oil disaster’s aren’t rare – they’re tragically common.

The National Wildlife Federation is working with staff, partners and our state affiliate, the Arkansas Wildlife Federation to monitor the impacts of the Arkansas oil spill. Keep checking back to this post and to Wildlife Promise for updates.

Take Action

The risks to our wildlife, communities and clean water are just too great — tell President Obama he should say no to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

UPDATE: The Helping Arkansas Wild Kritters (HAWK) Center is posting pictures of oiled birds to their Facebook page.

Lauren Ray, a University of the Ozarks student, sent NWF this photo of one of the ducks that was treated at the HAWK Center. According to Lauren, “This duck had already been washed multiple times, yet the oil was still very apparent.”

Oiled duck from Mayflower Ark. oil spill. Photo by Lauren Ray.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)

Photo by Flickr member Kenny Salazar

See more of Kenny Salazar’s photos on Flickr >>

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Two black-bellied whistling ducks in a marsh near Delray Beach, Florida. Photo by Candy Childrey.

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This Photo of the Day was donated by a participant in the annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. See more photos or sign up for the 42nd Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest.

A pair of northern pintails takes flight in Delaware's Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Larry Hitchens.

It’s easy to see why the northern pintail is known as the “greyhound of the air.” A long, slender, small-headed and long-necked duck—propelled by narrow, elongated wings—the sleek pintail seems designed for speed. This quick and graceful flier stands out easily in a mixed-species flock of ducks.

Legal Loopholes

But even the speedy pintail cannot escape threats facing its North American breeding habitat. One of the earliest-breeding waterfowl species, the northern pintail nests on the ground in open areas near shallow seasonal wetlands. As a result of two Supreme Court decisions, these wetlands no longer are guaranteed the protections they had for decades under the Clean Water Act.

Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 to protect “waters of the United States.” For nearly 30 years, both the courts and the agencies responsible for administering the law interpreted it broadly to safeguard virtually all of our nation’s waters. But the court decisions, the first in 2001 and the second in 2006, ignored congressional intent by narrowing the act’s focus, putting in doubt protection for seasonal water bodies that pintails and scores of other species rely on.

“Duck-Nesting Basket” at Risk

Particularly critical to pintails and other ducks is the Prairie Pothole Region. Located in south-central Canada and the north-central United States—chiefly the Dakotas, Montana and Minnesota—more than 3 million potholes created by glaciers during the last Ice Age are scattered throughout the region. Most of them are seasonal, filling with rain and snowmelt each spring.

More than half the U.S. and Canadian population of nesting ducks breeds in the Prairie Pothole Region. “The pothole region is absolutely crucial to migratory waterfowl,” says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetlands biologist Tom Dahl. “This is the duck-nesting basket of the North American continent.”

Restoring the Clean Water Act

To restore protection for millions of acres of prairie potholes and other wetlands, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently released draft Clean Water guidance. With the comment period over, the Obama administration is ready to move forward on the guidance but, through a rider attached to the Interior and Environment appropriations bill and other 2012 budget bills, Congress is trying to block the administration’s attempt to restore the Clean Water Act’s protections.

Pintails need your help. Once among the continent’s most abundant ducks, the birds “have suffered a disturbing decline since the 1950s,” notes Ducks Unlimited. “More than any other North American waterfowl species, the northern pintail population has suffered from persistent drought and loss of grassland habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region.” More than half the potholes themselves have been drained for agriculture, and the Clean Water Act loophole means the rest are even more vulnerable to destruction.

Speak up for Northern Pintails and Other Wildlife

Help northern pintails by urging the administration to restore Clean Water Act protections for the waters so crucial to these ducks, and by urging Congress to stand aside and let the expert agencies do their job to protect the nation’s waters.

Learn more about:

• The Supreme Court decision that weakened the Clean Water Act
• The Prairie Pothole Region in North America
• The Obama administration’s attempt to restore the Clean Water Act protections
• How the otter is also threatened

Wildlife in the Crossfire – About this Series

This  four-part blog series highlights wildlife caught in the crossfire of the federal budget battle raging in Congress and gives you the tools to fight back. Congress is in recess and members are back in their home districts. Now is the time to stand up for wildlife.

Fact: America’s investment in wildlife is not to blame for the budget problems we face today. Over the past 30 years, America’s investment in parks, wildlife, clean water and clean air has fallen from 1.7%  to 0.6% of federal spending.

Bald Eagle (NWF File Photo/John C Moerk)

As the Yellowstone River oil spill cleanup continues in Montana, we’re learning more about its impacts on wildlife. An estimated 42,000 gallons of  crude oil spilled from an Exxon Mobil pipeline under the river on July 1.

Now the Environmental Protection Agency is reporting one of the latest victims is a bald eagle:

Cleanup crews over the weekend found an oiled bald eagle and pockets of black crude trapped by debris piles along the Yellowstone River.

Biologists believe the bald eagle won’t survive the winter unless it’s cleaned, said Karen Nelson with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Crews are working now to trap the bird so it can be treated.

Workers also have found four geese and a cooper’s hawk covered in oil. They’ve trapped one goose and are working to capture the others, Nelson said.

The number of dead wildlife also increased over the weekend. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported finding dead two great horned owls, a wood duck, two ducklings, two fish, a fox, a beaver and a bunting.

Of those animals, one of the owls, the wood duck, the ducklings and the fish were covered in oil. All the animals will be tested to discover the cause of death.

Meanwhile, the Billings Gazette reports fish downstream from the spill are showing signs of stress and even illness:

Flesh samples from the fish will be tested in state labs. But visibly, gills on some of the captured fish aren’t the bright pink they’re supposed to be, and some of the fish have lesions.

Frazer said it’s common for river fish to show certain levels of stress throughout the year because of parasites and other conditions fish naturally carry.

However, in the samples that have been collected, the fish captured above the spill site show far fewer signs of stress than those below, leading Frazer to believe that the spill has had an effect.

Only 20 Critters Harmed in Oil Spill? Misleading, Says NWF Scientist

And as National Wildlife Federation Senior Scientist Dr. Doug Inkley tells Public News Service, the impacts we see may only be the tip of the iceberg:

“We need to observe not only the fish, but the entire food chain. The fish depend on all these little invertebrates – little mayflies, nymphs and things of this type – and those are very susceptible.”

A U.S. Senate subcommittee held a hearing on the Yellowstone spill on Wednesday. Inkley testified earlier before a similar subcommittee hearing in the House, calling for stronger federal safety regulations. He says that’s critically important as the Keystone XL pipeline is considered, which would also cross the Yellowstone, as well as the Missouri River and hundreds of other waterways.

Oil Spills: Tragically Common

While the oil and gas industry likes to paint spills like this as an aberration, the National Wildlife Federation has documented that oil and gas disasters are tragically common. Now the oil industry wants to build a new pipeline cutting right through America’s heartland. The Keystone XL pipeline wouldn’t carry just any oil – it would carry tar sands, one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet.

But we still have a chance to protect the people and wildlife along the proposed pipeline route. Please take a moment right now to ask President Obama to say no to tar sands.

Mallard ducks (from Flickr's ViaMoi)

There’s been another massive bird die-off, this time in South Dakota. But while the blackbird & fish deaths in Arkansas that captivated the nation turned out to have most likely been a result of natural causes, this event is more frustrating – the deaths were man-made and preventable.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center reports wildlife authorities have collected about 7,000 dead Mallard ducks near Pierre, South Dakota – and they’re still counting. The Minneapolis Star Tribune published a gut-wrenching photo yesterday of a pond filled with dead ducks. (The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks did not respond to our request to reprint the photos here; the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said the photos are not in the public domain.)

Officials are attributing the deaths to aspergillosis (PDF), a respiratory disease caused by a fungus. The disease is deadly to birds. Mallards are often susceptible during bad weather when they may feed in waste grain and silage pits that aren’t properly covered. They can inhale spores when feeding on old moldy grain such as corn, which is the prime suspect in this case.

And there’s a worry the disease could spread:

The [U.S. Fish and Wildlife] Service was concerned that an eagle die-off might also occur in the area because the big birds — hundreds had been wintering there — were seen feasting on the dead ducks.

“The sad part of this is that it is totally preventable with good farm management,” Dr. Doug Inkley told me. He’s the National Wildlife Federation’s senior scientist. “It’s ironic that this ongoing die-off caused by mankind utterly pales in comparison to what the future holds for Mallards and the many other waterfowl species that depend upon America’s prairie pothole region for  breeding.

America’s waterfowl are more vulnerable thanks to a 2001 Supreme Court decision weakening the Clean Water Act. A narrow reading of the Court’s decision meant that “isolated, non-navigable, intrastate waters” like prairie potholes – depressions that often fill with snowmelt and water in the spring - would no longer be afforded Clean Water Act protection just because they are used by migratory birds.

This puts prairie pothole wetlands at immediate risk to plowing and development. And that’s not the only threat they face. “With global warming, hundreds of thousands of prairie potholes are expected to either dry up completely, or dry up so quickly in the spring that they will no longer provide the essential habitat for millions of waterfowl to breed,” says Dr. Inkley.

What can you ask your member of Congress to do to protect these birds?

• Enact legislation to restore protections
• Develop a new energy future, one that relies on clean energy and breaks our dependence on polluting coal & oil, to curb the carbon pollution that is driving global warming

While bird die-offs like this are tragic, it’s reassuring to know we can protect these species from much greater, long-term threats – but only if we act now.