One of six beavers caught in an oil spill at a Utah state park rests at a wildlife center. Photo by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah.

Unfortunately, the dams couldn’t protect the beavers. The diesel flowing from a break in a pipeline covered beavers, including a mother and her two kits. Volunteers and staffers at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah are working to save six of the animals caught in the spill discovered March 18 in wetlands at Willard Bay State Park. All the beavers are improving, although two yearlings exposed to the oil for days are still in rough shape.

“Wildlife officials… had to dismantle the large lodge ‘stick by stick’ to gain access to the chamber where the mother and her two kits were hiding. The environment of the chamber was heavy with fuel vapors and all three beavers were covered in the toxic liquid,’’ according to staff at the wildlife center. The animals inhaled and ingested diesel, said DaLyn Erickson-Marthaler, the center’s executive director and wildlife specialist. Some of the beavers lost a lot of their fur and have abcesses.

At least 21,000 gallons of diesel have spilled from the Chevron pipeline that runs from Salt Lake City refineries to Spokane, Wash. Media reports indicate this is Chevron’s third oil pipeline spill in Utah in fewer than three years. Utah isn’t the only place where wildlife is suffering or facing threats because of oil and gas spills and leaks.

In Arkansas

Meanwhile, nearly 1,500 miles to the east, another oil spill is taking its toll on wildlife and their two-legged neighbors. The National Wildlife Federation’s Miles Grant and Geralyn Hoey have provided frontline reports about the tar sands oil spill from  Exxon Mobil’s Pegasus pipeline in Mayflower, Ark.  As of April 8, 139 creatures had been recovered.

Speak up for wildlife at risk from tar sands — Tell the White House to say NO! to Keystone XL.

In Colorado

Staffers at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah tends to one of the beavers caught in an oil spill. Photo by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah.

The contamination is near Parachute Creek, which supplies irrigation water and eventually runs into the Colorado River – a major source of water for communities, fish and wildlife. So far, state and federal environmental experts say the contamination hasn’t been found in the creek. Oil spills in 2006 and 2011 in Spring Creek, a tributary of the North Platte River in Colorado’s North Park area, have poisoned the creek bed, according to state and federal records. Colorado-based Lone Pine Gas Inc. has a permit allowing it to discharge hundreds of thousands of gallons of treated liquid waste into the creek. North Park is highly prized by hunters and anglers for its gold-medal fisheries and abundant wildlife, including mule deer, pronghorns, moose and greater sage-grouse. It’s home to the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.

Isn’t this supposed to be refuge?

One of the six beavers soaked in an oil spill rests against the side of a bathtub while the water runs. Photo by the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah.

When drilling and the location of pipelines are considered, when oil and gas regulations are written and updated, wildlife must be factored in. It’s clear that what’s good for wildlife and the environment is also good for people. Just think of those beaver dams.

“The irony of it all is the beavers’ dam absolutely contained the oil spill and saved the bay,”  Erickson-Marthaler. “But they’ve certainly paid a heavy price.”

Speak up for wildlife TODAY by urging President Obama to stop the Keystone XL pipeline once and for all. And watch our new video on the impacts tar sands oil poses to wildlife from Canada to the Gulf coast of Texas and beyond.

The photographer spotted a thunderstorm in the distance and quickly drove down a jeep trail to capture it passing over the Dirty Devil River in southern Utah. Photo by Bob Wells.

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Finding parks, trails, and other nature sites close to you is as easy as entering a city, state or zipcode. Explore the outdoors with NatureFind >>

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.

Last week a mix of crude and water spilled at an oil well near Killdeer, N.D., dumped more than 2,400 barrels of crude and water before the leak was stopped.  It’s just the latest.

The BP disaster has reminded the broader public that fossil fuel extraction, refining and transportation is an inherently risky business, and the problem is exacerbated by an industry that too often puts profit motive ahead of safety.

North Dakota’s stunningly all to common, and avoidable. A report we published looking back over the last decade found on average there’s an incident about once every 34 hours and someone dies about once every three weeks. We found that from 2000 to 2009, there were 2,554 significant pipeline accidents, causing 161 fatalities and 576 injuries. (Here’s a snapshot of a map from the report laying out incidents from the last decade).

The incidents seem to be happening so fast, our five week old report already starting to look dated.

33,000 Gallons In Utah. Utahans got a reminder themselves recently when, as the nation focused its attention on clumsy efforts to plug the gulf gusher, a major pipeline disaster 1,300 miles to the north dumped more than 33,000 gallons of crude oil into a creek near the University of Utah campus. Investigators later found a hole in the top of the pipeline, which transports crude from Colorado to feed Salt Lake City’s oil and gas refineries.

Industry’s Spill and Evade Strategy. This last decade makes one thing clear – the industry has evaded prevention in favor of a strategy to lobby and litigate its way out of responsibility after the fact. That’s a strategy that runs counter to the public’s interest. Because our nation is addicted to oil and gas, there is no quick fix, but the no-brainer should be to remove the legal liability cap that drives polluters to focus on the short term rather than safety and prevention.

NWF continues to blow the whistle on the industry and pushing Congress to hold polluters accountable. Warman recently did a nationwide satellite media tour to discuss the report with TV stations.

As we saw in Utah over the weekend, pipelines can and do burst with disastrous results for nature and property.  20,000 gallons leaked, heading to lakes and streams, oiling birds and damaging water supplies and land. NWF is working to stop construction of a massive 2,000 pipeline that would bring those risks to 6 heartland states.  Watch Larry talk about the dangers of Dirty Fuels, learn more, and take action to stop the risky Keystone XL pipeline.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s Larry’s tour stops this morning:

WGCL-TV / Atlanta / CBS / 8

WJBK-TV / Detroit / FOX / 11

WMYA-TV / Greenville / MNT / 36

WHSV-TV / Harrisonburg / ABC / 178

WFXT-TV / Boston / FOX / 7

KMID-TV / Odessa / ABC / 155

WFTL-AM / Miami / Radio / 17

WECI-TV / Missoula / NBC / 166

WISN-TV / Milwaukee / ABC / 35

WDPN-AM / Cleveland / Radio / 18

KMSP-TV / Minneapolis / FOX / 15

WLKF-AM / Tampa / Radio / 14

KNXV-TV / Phoenix / ABC / 12

WDJQ-FM / Cleveland / Radio / 18

WYAM-TV / Huntsville / IND / 81

XETV-TV / San Diego / CW / 28

WCHS & WVAH-TV / Charleston / ABC & FOX / 63

KJTV-TV / Lubbock / FOX / 143

The Art of the Interview / National / Radio

KCTU-TV / Wichita / IND / 69

KMIR-TV / Palm Springs / NBC / 142

WCAP-AM / Boston / Radio / 7

WLOX-TV / Biloxi / ABC / 163

KKZN-AM / Denver / Radio / 16

KSAZ-TV / Phoenix / FOX / 12

Times of India reports:

“A Utah-based company has found a new way to store solar energy – in a small ceramic disk which can store more power for less. Researchers at Ceramatec have created the disk, which can hold up to 20-kilowatt hours, enough to power an entire house for a large portion of the day. The new battery runs on sodium-sulfur — a composition that typically operates at greater than 600°F. “Sodium-sulfur is more energetic than lead-acid, so if you can somehow get it to a lower temperature, it would be valuable for residential use”, Ralph Brodd, an independent energy conversion consultant, says. Ceramatec’s new battery runs at less than 200°F. ” See full article >>

CNet News: GreenTech reports:

“The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, in conjunction with the Department of Energy, this week released six maps that could help determine the location of the next big push in solar energy.The BLM maps cover areas within the six U.S. states most suitable for solar energy generation and transmission as judged by the U.S. government: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

“Only lands with excellent solar resources, suitable slope, proximity to roads and transmission lines or designated corridors, and containing at least 2,000 acres of BLM-administered public lands were considered for solar energy study areas. Sensitive lands, wilderness and other high-conservation-value lands as well as lands with conflicting uses were excluded,” according to a BLM statement released with the maps.”

See full article.

It seems perfect that we have all the oil we need for the next hundred years right in our own backyard.

That backyard, however, is literally my backyard. I grew up in western Colorado virtually on top of where this treasure waits for us. It is my home, along with hundreds of thousands of other people. We live here for the slow pace of life, for the clean air, the pronghorn and mule deer outside our living room windows, the cold, clear rivers and the simple beauty of this land. For people who have not seen this area, it may seem an easy trade but we who live here ask that the nation proceeds slowly on oil shale.

In Canada we’ve seen tar sands development (similar to oil shale) rip up large swaths of wildlife habitat, leaving it a virtual moonscape. In the US, new technologies are being tested to extract oil from shale rock while it is still underground. However, too many questions still remain about the environmental impacts of oil shale development, the largest of which is how much water it will use.

Water is vital to your life, my life and the lives of every creature on this earth. Water is also one resource we just cannot produce more of. Right now, the amount of water needed to develop oil shale will drain the habitats of native fish, destroy agricultural communities and put us all at risk. Ways to reduce the amount of water needed to develop oil shale are on the way and we need to wait for them before gambling on this precious resource.

We all use oil and know its importance even as we explore new, alternative fuel sources. And, with such a large prize waiting beneath us, oil shale promises to remain a potential energy source well into the foreseeable future. But for now, we need to be patient and not put the homes and water of thousands of Americans and wildlife unnecessarily at risk.

There’s still work to do on oil shale and other public lands issues! Please spread the word about public lands with an eCard!

See what tar sands development looks like in Canada: National Geographic – The Canadian Oil Boom

In early January, the U.S. Senate passed sweeping legislation to provide historic protections for millions of acres of America’s cherished public lands. Last week, new Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, canceled 77 leases that would have allowed oil and gas companies to disturb red rock areas in Utah.

We’ve won some great victories.

Now the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act– the same one passed by the Senate– is up for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. And our sources say the vote could be tight. Furthermore, if the House makes ANY amendments to the bill, it must return to the Senate, where it will be stalled indefinitely.

This bill has already come such a long way. Help make sure it gets to the President’s desk.

And the next time you take a family vacation to Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, you’ll know that those lands are going to be protected for generations to come.

Over the last five years, it’s been one thing after another threatening to take the character and beauty from our public lands. From fossil fuel development occurring at an unprecedented rate and conducted rashly and irresponsibly to dirty mining and threats to sell-off public lands for short term gains, public lands have been abused and all but forgotten as the national treasure they truly are.

Almost 1/3 of the United States is public lands — lands held in trust by all Americans that provide vital habitat for our wildlife, clean water and open space for recreation. They are also lands we will pass on to our children, and our children’s children to experience.

Last week the senate passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which contains more than 160 separate public lands bills, most of which will expand the protection of our public lands. The Act will provide the largest expansion of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 15 years, designating 2.1 million acres of permanent wilderness in nine states — California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Michigan, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Another one of the bills in the package — the National Landscape Conservation System Act — will provide permanent protection for the first new system of conservation lands in the United States in more than 50 years. Under the National Landscape Conservation System Act, over 850 federally recognized areas covering 27 million acres of the Bureau of Land Management’s most spectacular land and waters will be protected permanently.

The Act now moves to House of Representatives, which is expected to consider it in the coming weeks. Visit www.OurPublicLands.org for more information.