reported spilled into U.S. waters in January every year since 1971. During 

 January, of course, waterfowl are concentrated in coastal and inland waters. 

 Unfortunately, the locations where oil spills occur most frequently, i.e., 

 port and harbor areas (U.S. Coast Guard 1977), are generally areas where 

 waterfowl and many sea birds winter in large concentrations. This is indicated 

 by maps illustrating locations of major port areas and areas of wintering 

 waterfowl concentrations (Figures 4 and 5). We need to focus a large part 

 of our attention on these major port and harbor areas in planning for oil 

 spill response. These include in particular: Puget Sound, Los Angeles, and 

 San Francisco in Region 1; Corpus Christi, Galveston Bay, and Beaumont-Port 

 Arthur in Region 2; Lake Charles and the Mississippi Delta in Region 4; and 

 Chesapeake Bay, Boston Harbor, Portland (Maine), Port of New York, and Dela- 

 •are Bay in Region 5. 



It may not be possible for the Service to be completely prepared to 

 respond to oil spills at every site where they might occur in the United 

 States, but it is possible to take steps now in those areas where spills 

 are most likely to occur. Service personnel who are located near key 

 oil pollution areas can be assigned to prepare for and respond to pollu- 

 tion incidents; supplies can be stockpiled within easy transport distance 

 to implement bird dispersal and other field actions; surrounding areas 

 can be examined before pollution incidents to determine what locations are 

 }f own to be particularly critical and should be protected first if threat- 

 ened by oil; and good communications should be established with State agen- 

 cies and private organizations that may respond to pollution incidents in 

 these areas. 



Without such preparation, unnecessarily high direct waterfowl mortality 

 may result from inadequate bird dispersal actions and pollution of important 

 habitats may occur that might have been prevented. Significant indirect 

 fisheries and wildlife losses might result from destruction of important 

 wildlife and fisheries food resources and contamination of breeding areas. 



The degree of effectiveness of Service actions will be limited consider- 

 ably by the circumstances of the spill and the species and kinds of habitats 

 involved. We can, however, prepare to respond rapidly and effectively in 

 many of these locations where oil spills happen frequently. 



The areas requiring our attention may shift in the next few years as 

 oil shipping patterns change. Those planning for Service response to oil 

 spills should keep this in mind. For example, East Coast ports currently 

 receive the greatest volume of imported crude oil; however, it is anticipated 

 that by 1980 the Gulf Coast will be receiving four times as much crude oil 

 as the East Coast and twice that of the West Coast (even including oil trans- 

 ported from Alaska!) (Department of Transportation 1976). 



Unfortunately, though the chances of oil spills occurring are greater 

 in some areas and from some sources, a spill may happen almost anywhere oil 

 is being transported or held. To complicate matters, every oil spill is 

 unique and presents new problems that need new solutions. No matter how you 

 look at it, oil spills offer complex problems. There are no easy answers. 



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