02/10/96
'Was the rescue worth it?'
As a volunteer with the bird rescue, I would like to give my opinions on the article 'Was the rescue worth it?' I believe it is very misleading.First and foremost, anyone who did not read the entire text of the article will not understand that the $100,000 figure is merely an estimate. This expense will be paid by the owner of the barge as part of the monetary settlement for the oil spill. Second, many of the birds arrived at the rehabilitation center in such poor condition that there was no hope of saving them. The extreme cold and winter storm conditions at the time of the spill, on top of the severe weather since last fall, lowered their chances of survival at the outset by contributing to their poor condition when found, and limiting the quick recovery of oiled birds. Third, despite the fact the Rhode Island has handled oil spills before, it was not prepared for a bird rehabilitation effort. A large portion of the costs involved in the bird rescue went toward basic equipment which will be put into storage for use in future rehabilitation efforts, whatever the cause. I urge you to clarify these points with your readers. A large number of volunteers were involved in the bird-rescue effort, working in concert with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Rehabilitation, the Department of Environmental Management and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in the fight to save whatever birds could be saved. The choices for oiled birds are few - let them die on the beach of exposure, euthanize them all regardless of condition, or set up a rehabilitation effort. If not rehabilitation, which course would you suggest we should have taken? Laurie J. McDonough Laurie_McDonough@Brown.edu
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