During the same period, birds also were coming ashore in southern 

 Virginia and northern North Carolina. Reedville is 3 miles south of the 

 Maryland-Virginia line, so Service personnel had a huge area to cover. Trips 

 were made to southern Virginia (3 hours away) to set up a bird collection sta- 

 tion and enlist additional manpower and equipment. Service supervisors were 

 asking that their people be relieved because normal workloads were piling up. 

 Replacements had to be found. The On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) was demanding 

 that we start washing birds. He was upset that we did not have an adequate 

 hot water system and concerned about the time that was being wasted trying to 

 devise one. We lost our volunteer force on two occasions, but after meetings 

 with them they returned. Those in coordinating positions had been working 17 

 to 21 hours each day; mental and physical pressures were beginning to show. 

 Each night the coordinators met to discuss the day's events, problems, solu- 

 tions, and plans for the next day. 



After the hot water system was operable and birds were being washed, 

 things began to run more smoothly. Bird recovery had slowed. Our remaining 

 tasks were to complete washing, waterproofing, and, finally, banding, and 

 release. 



One other problem delayed our progress: an outbreak of avian cholera in 

 the Chesapeake Bay. Blood samples had to be analyzed before the birds could 

 be released. Finally on April 1 -- 5 weeks after the spill occurred -- the 

 birds were released and except for a Congressional investigation, FWS's in- 

 volvement was over. 



A lot was learned from this experience and the following are ways to im- 

 prove response for future spills. After what these coordinators went through, 

 any way to be better prepared was well worth trying. 



A major problem was dealing with the volunteers. They were elderly. 

 Many were retired from the military. Consequently, they expected a highly 

 organized operation. We could not give them as much attention as they re- 

 quired. One person was assigned to coordinate the volunteer leaders, but he 

 was in charge of pretreatment and had other duties as well. If these volun- 

 teers had been trained or been involved in previous spills, there would have 

 been fewer difficulties. Experienced volunteers understand the pressures and 

 the confusion that can occur. 



Some of the volunteers who were helping at the Reedville spill had pre- 

 viously attended a leadership training workshop for oiled bird rehabilitation. 

 At this skill session, which was held at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 

 in November 1977, tasks for rehabilitating oiled birds were identified. 



Since the spill, the FRC's have spent many hours with local groups iden- 

 tifying ways of improving their effectiveness. One volunteer group in 

 Delaware has been involved with us in prespill organization for the past 2 

 years. These volunteers have been through the problems that arose at 

 Reedville. They have found their own rehabilitation center, which is one less 

 problem to worry about. They have been stockpiling equipment and presently 



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