![photo of an oiled merganser](images/yampa1a.jpg)
Oiled merganser recovered from
the Yampa River
oil spill, June 1989. USFWS Photo by Rick Krueger.![photo of the booms in the Yampa River](images/yampa3a.jpg)
Boom work at the Yampa River
oil spill, June 1989.
USFWS Photo by Rick Krueger.
Oil and hazardous material spills can and do cause adverse effects on fish and wildlife
resources. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responds to spills to minimize and assess
impacts on fish and wildlife resources for which it has legal management authority and
responsibility, such as migratory birds and threatened and endangered species. Most spills
in Region 6 are caused by pipeline breaks or transportation-related accidents. In 1997,
1,740 spills were reported to EPA's Emergency
Response Notification System (ERNS) for the states in Region 6. Four hundred and
thirty of the 1,740 spills affected surface water. |