Each of the regional offices has assigned the duties of oil spill coor- 

 dinator to a specific individual. Part of his or her responsibilities is 

 to keep the Public Affairs Office informed of all developments in the field. 



Within the Washington staff, an oil spill coordinator has also been desig- 

 nated. This person is responsible for informing the Washington staff and 

 the Public Affairs staff of all developments relating to an oil spill. These 

 responsibilities remain in force throughout an incident. 



Service planning envisages an onsite Fish and Wildlife Service officer, 

 who is responsible for alerting the Service, through the coordinator and 

 Regional Director, of the impact of media and public information requests. 

 If the workload gets too heavy for the on-site team, the Public Affairs staff 

 in Washington and at the field level stand ready to deploy people to the site 

 or to wherever they may be needed. 



Out of this pattern comes a few ideas on how to prevent the near panic 

 and anxiety that besets public information officers and others during crises. 

 Some do's and don'ts are suggested. 



First, allow me to shock you all just a bit. Oil spills are sometimes 

 good in a very perverse sort of way. Accepting the reality that oil spills 

 are going to occur, I believe that each spill can and will draw intense public 

 attention to wildlife resources. There is no way to change that. In a democ- 

 racy, an informed public is essential to the functioning of government. In 

 the long run, it will be the public clamor for change that will bring about 

 the actions required to protect wildlife endangered by spills. This help 

 will go the EPA, the Coast Guard, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Adminis- 

 trators then might view oil spills in two ways — first, as the ecological 

 catastrophe that they are, and secondly, as an opportunity to emphasize the 

 needs of wildlife resources. 



This explanation may sound overly simplistic, but it is not intended 

 to be. Regrettably, when oil spills occur, a defensive and "fortress-under- 

 seige" situation seems to occur in the Fish and Wildlife Service. Some bird 

 managers act and react as if they are personally responsible for the spill 

 and the death of birds. Public affairs officers, too, tend to take the defen- 

 sive because of internal quibbling. Almost immediately, everyone gets bogged 

 down in hairsplitting over "body-count." Whether it is 6 ducks or 6,000 

 does not diminish public interest in the threat to fish and wildlife 

 resources. 



How, then, can we work toward providing a standard approach to public 

 affairs aspects of major oil spills? The public affairs officers at the 

 regional level need to support the overall Federal oil spill effort, regard- 

 less of whether they are on the team. Crucial to their efforts is basic 

 biology. For example, a fact sheet could be prepared immediately, giving 

 the most complete biological overview of the area concerned or areas likely 

 to be involved as the spill progresses. Estimates of wildlife populations 

 in the area or areas are essential. The press wants and is entitled to this 

 kind of information. 



As the situation unfolds after a spill and actions are taken, the public 

 expects to be kept informed of what is happening. At this point, the agencies 

 involved in the cleanup should provide reasonable figures on confirmed kills. 



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