Research Center was contracted to assume overall responsibility of bird re- 

 habilitation. 



The local news media (through the U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Offi- 

 cer) provided information to the public about the operation (how to report 

 oiled birds, what to do, and what not to do), and asked for materials that 

 would be needed, such as rags and newspapers. 



On 28 February, the FRC's held a meeting with the volunteer group. The 

 volunteers received copies of "Saving Oiled Sea Birds" (Williams 1978) and 

 learned what was expected. Volunteer leaders were identified and group re- 

 sponsibilities were established. Although much of the volunteers' work would 

 require on-the-job training, this meeting identified job assignments and 

 numbers of people needed. 



Despite these arrangements, the operation was becoming more complex and 

 demanding. Problems were beginning to mushroom. It appeared as though there 

 were 50 people to answer to all at once and not enough hours available to 

 accomplish what was expected. 



Oiled birds began coming ashore on 28 February. Recovery teams searched 

 the shoreline each day. Private citizens brought in birds they had captured. 

 The telephone rang constantly with people reporting locations of oiled birds 

 and the news media requesting stories. The fire station was too small to 

 hold all the birds. Bird cleaning operations were relocated in a spacious 

 building that had been used to dry fish nets. U.S. Coast Guard personnel 

 were extremely helpful in building pens, improvising a hot water system, and 

 buying materials that we requested. 



Work forces were organized to handle the recording and pretreatment of 

 birds. Other people were assigned to feed, clean, wash, rinse, and dry the 

 birds. The work crews were divided into two shifts, so no volunteer would 

 be overworked. Organizing enough volunteers to assure that the work was done 

 was an overwhelming task. 



During this time, a continuous supply hot water system was being develop- 

 ed so washing operations could commence. Many different methods of heating 

 water were tried before full-scale operations finally began on 12 March -- 2 

 weeks after the spill occurred. 



By the second week after the spill, the volunteers were discontent. They 

 were impatient because of hot water problems. They could see little progress 

 being made and were tired of rolling up newspapers, cleaning pens, and feeding 

 and watering birds. The whole operation was taking longer than anticipated, 

 and they were losing interest \jery rapidly. There were personality clashes. 

 This frequently occurs with volunteers at oil spills. The FRC's tried to 

 resolve such conflicts by taking the time to explain the problems in the oper- 

 ation. A "Quack Board" was devised to keep the volunteers informed of oper- 

 ation progress. Nevertheless, low volunteer morale was not our only concern. 



138 



