U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Division of Environmental Quality
Division Chief: Dr. Roger Helm
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 820
Arlington, Virginia 22203
703-358-2148

Environmental Contaminants Program Ecologist Named to Professional Organization Board of Directors

SETAC's mission is to support the development of principles and practices for protection, enhancement and management of sustainable environmental quality and ecosystem integrity. Logo used with permission from SETAC.

Congratulations to Tom Augspurger, of the Service's Raliegh, North Carolina office, for being elected the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North America Board of Directors! SETAC is a not-for-profit, global professional organization comprised of some 6,000 individual members and institutions from academia, business and government. Since 1979, the Society has provided a forum where scientists, managers and other professionals exchange information and ideas on the study, analysis and solution of environmental problems, the management and regulation of natural resources, research and development, and environmental education. Each board member will serve a 3-year term, beginning at the SETAC North America 33rd Annual Meeting, 11-15 November 2012.

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office

Silent Spring - 50th Anniversary

An Essay Series

Rachel Carson worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1936 to 1952 and is recognized as one of the world’s foremost leaders in conservation. Credit: USFWS

September 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring, which warned of the dangers of DDT and launched the environmental movement.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is commemorating the work of Rachel Carson, an employee of the Service for 16 years, with a series of articles on environmental contaminant issues in the Midwest.

Rachel Carson worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1936 to 1952 and is recognized as one of the world’s foremost leaders in conservation. Her work as an educator, scientist and writer revolutionized America’s interest in environmental issues. In addition to sounding the warning about DDT in “Silent Spring,” she is remembered for her passion for the oceans and coasts, her inspiration as one of the first female scientists and government leaders, and her overall footprint on the history of conservation.

To learn more, visit Silent Spring 50th Anniversary- An Essay Series

Pollution and predators: a double whammy for tadpoles.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The occurrence of skeletal abnormalities in amphibians has been identified as a major source of concern, potentially linked to global amphibian declines. Whereas there have been numerous studies reporting the effects of individual factors (e.g., parasites, toxicants, predators) on the occurrence of skeletal abnormalities in amphibians, there is not agreement about specific mechanisms for this widespread phenomenon.

Copper is an important environmental pollutant. It is a primary constituent in road runoff due to vehicular brake wear, in agricultural runoff as a component or active ingredient in biocides, and a major constituent of hard rock mining waste and resultant runoff into aquatic environments.

Fish and Wildlife Service biologists recently studied how low levels of copper - below known toxicity thresholds and water quality standards - might interact with the stress caused by their predators to influence tadpole behavior. They found that both copper and predators caused the tadpoles to reduce their activity. The biologists think this reduced activity might cause greater attack rates for tadpoles in contaminated areas.

The behaviors studied experimentally provide much-needed mechanistic linkages between toxicants and predation as prime factors causing skeletal abnormalities in Alaskan wood frogs.

Environmental Health News Article | Ecosphere, (June 2011) Journal Publication

Mining Company to Pay $12.3 Million, Protect 715 Acres to Compensate for Natural Resource Damages

Service Environmental Contaminants Specialist, Russ MacRae, at mine site. Carcasses of migratory birds are circled. Credit: USFWS

The owners of several copper mines in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona have agreed to pay $12.3 million to resolve their civil liability for natural resource damages. The damages were first documented during a successful Service Law Enforcement and Environmental Contaminants investigation that secured criminal prosecutions for the deaths of migratory birds linked to the release of sulfuric acid, metals, and other hazardous substances at the companies' mines.

The Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Program

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Region NRDAR Program

Department of Justice News Release

Proposed Consent Decree (4 MB pdf)

Being Prepared for an Oil Spill at San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge is Essential

The yellow boom barrier was placed at the mouths of each wetland on the San Diego Bay NWR to practice protecting it from oil entering from the main Sweetwater River Channel. - Photo Credit: Lisa Cox/USFWS

The San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for the federally-listed California least tern, Light-footed clapper rail and Western snowy plover as well as an endangered plant species, Salt marsh bird’s beak. Being prepared to respond to an oil spill is essential to protecting these endangered and threatened species. Recently, Federal and state agencies, and non-profit organizations, teamed up to tested a number of strategies to deal accidental spills in this area.

Read More | Learn More

Acreage Acquired in Cherokee County, Kansas, as Part of Mining Restoration Plan

Forested area in Cherokee County, Kansas Credit:Gibran Suleiman / USFWS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Kansas Field Office and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), collectively known as “Trustees”, have acquired 711 acres in Cherokee County, Kansas.  The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT) will hold title to the property and be responsible for its operation and maintenance. This marks the first restoration acquisition in Kansas since the implementation of the Cherokee County Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment. 

Cherokee County is part of the Tri-State Mining District in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, which was mined extensively for lead, cadmium, and zinc for more than a century. As a consequence of these mining and mine-related activities, large amounts of metals were released into the Cherokee County environment. Lead, cadmium, and zinc are potentially toxic to a wide variety of organisms, including birds, mammals, fish, mussels, plants, and other biota.  The Trustees have been documenting these injuries since the mid-1990’s.   The Restoration Plan outlines specific goals to compensate for mining-related injuries to trust natural resources.

Read More | Learn More

Phosphate Mine and Selenium in the News

Photo Caption: Smoky Canyon Mine. Credit: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Pocatello Field Office

Concerns about selenium contamination from the Smoky Canyon phosphate mine in southeastern Idaho, prompted Congress to formally request U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service experts in the Division of Environmental Quality, prepare a scientific technical review of the draft report titled, "Interpretive Findings for Field and Laboratory Studies and Literature Review in Support of a Site-specific Selenium Criterion, Smoky Canyon Mine."

The Smoky Canyon mine facility was developed in 1983 and is located in the rugged highlands of the Caribou National Forest, approximately 20 miles from Afton, Wyoming in Idaho. Operations at Smoky Canyon consist primarily of open-pit mining for phosphate ore. Earlier this month, the J.R. Simplot Company requested a relaxation of water quality standards to allow selenium to remain in area creeks at higher levels than are now permitted under regulatory guidelines.

Links:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Review of Smoky Canyon Mine Selenium Report

New York Times - Mutated Trout Raise New Concerns Near Mine Sites

Scientific American - Idaho mine understates impact on fish deformities: U.S.

Bi-National Seabird Restoration Effort Launched on the Baja California Pacific Islands

Photo Caption: The Cassin's Auklet is one of seventeen species that breed on the islands off the coast of Mexico. Credit: L. Lauber / USFWS

The Montrose and Luckenbach Trustee Councils and the Government of Mexico have announced a $4 million dollar award to a U.S-Mexico partnership that will implement a comprehensive five-year program focused on restoring seabird populations on seven islands off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Improvement of nesting grounds in Mexico will create more stable and viable populations of seabirds in California and the Mexican islands off the Baja California peninsula

News Release

NOAA: Montrose Settlements Restoration Program

Workshop – Joining the National Discussion on Nutrient Problems

Hydrologist Josh Eash from the Region 3 Regional Office lists ideas from Contaminants Biologists Dave Mosby and Scott Hamilton from the Columbia, MO Ecological Services Field Office for resource management tools and actions to mitigate nutrient pollution in the Midwest. Credit: Mike Coffey/USFWS

Managers and specialists from the National Wildlife Refuge System, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Endangered Species Program, and the Environmental Contaminants Program met in Illinois to discuss nutrient enrichment problems and solutions for trust natural resources.

$36.8 Million Natural Resource Damages Settlement to Restore Natural Resources and Improve Recreational Opportunities in Areas Affected by Cosco Busan Oil Spill

San Francisco - Oil booms line a San Francisco, California, beach. November 9, 2007. The beach was closed after oil spilled when acontainer ship struck a tower supporting the San Francsico-Oakland Bay Bridge. Credit: Desmond Thorsson/U.S. Coast Guard Auxillary.

State and federal trustee agencies will use most of the funds from a $36.8 million settlement of natural resource damages to restore natural resources injured by the Nov. 7, 2007 oil spill in the San Francisco Bay and improve Bay Area recreational opportunities impacted by the spill. The funds are part of a $44.4 million settlement with Regal Stone Limited and Fleet Management Limited, the companies responsible for the container ship Cosco Busan that spilled 53,000 gallons of oil into the bay after hitting the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

More information

SF Gate — $44 million settles Cosco Busan oil spill in bay

KQED (NPR) audio segment on Cosco Busan settlement

Federal funds will continue restoring Massachusetts harbor

Roseate terns nest in shelters on Bird Island in Buzzards Bay. Credit: Susi von Oettingen/USFWS

About $6.5 million from a natural resource damage settlement will fund six projects in New Bedford, Mass. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts recently announced the selection of projects that include creating a public river walk, protecting Acushnet land, monitoring roseate and common terns in Buzzards Bay, and restoring Palmer’s Island, the former Acushnet sawmill property and the Round Hill salt marsh in Dartmouth. The funds represent the last installment from the $20-million settlement reached in 1991 for the discharge of wastes into the harbor from the 1940s to the 1970s.

South Coast Today — New Bedford gets its share of harbor money

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region

Idaho Settlement Resolves One of the Largest Superfund Cases Ever Filed

1993 Photo of the Bunker HIll Superfund Site in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. The majority of the settlement funds will be dedicated to restoration and remediation at Bunker Hill. Photo credit: USFWS/Dan Audet

A settlement has been reached with Hecla Mining Company to resolve one of the largest cases ever filed under the Superfund statute.  Under the settlement, Hecla will pay $263.4 million plus interest to the United States, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the state of Idaho to resolve claims stemming from releases of wastes from its mining operations.

The settlement brings in new funding for important cleanup to restore critical fish and wildlife habitat in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin. Although many measurable improvements in people’s and environmental health have taken place over the years, the contamination is widespread and much more cleanup is needed. The settlement also includes a process for coordinating Hecla’s future mining operations with cleanup activities in the Coeur d’Alene Basin. Cleanup and mining can now move forward together in the Silver Valley. This will help establish a stronger future: one built on mining stewardship, a healthier environment, and a growing, vibrant economy.

Learn more in this full press release

The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.  A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. 

NRDA Trustees Announce $1 Billion Agreement to Fund Early Gulf Coast Restoration Projects

Coastal marshes, like these in Louisiana, could be restored with this funding.. Photo: NOAA

Under an unprecedented agreement, BP has agreed to provide $1 billion toward early restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the largest agreement of its kind ever reached. These projects will begin to address impacts to natural resources caused by the Deepwater BP oil spill.

Early restoration is restoration that can beimplemented prior to the completion of the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) process to achieve restoration faster. So, this agreement can be seen as BP’s down payment toward the yet-to-be determined full cost of the damage to the Gulf Coast.

The agreement does not affect the ultimate liability from the spill for BP (and the other responsible parties) but provides an opportunity to help restoration get started sooner. This money will put people to work restoring the Gulf without having to wait for the results of the NRDA and pending litigation.

Restoration also will address the lost use of natural resources by the people living, working, and visiting the area. Project selection will follow a transparent process, overseen by the trustees.

BP will continue to fund the NRDA and, together with the other responsible parties, ultimately will compensate the public for all the impacts from the spill.

Learn more in this press release issued by the trustees or read the full text of the agreement (pdf). You can also read the allocation agreement to see how the funds will be distributed to each of the trustees.

Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Cases in Northeast Highlighted

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Northeast Region is commemorating the Deepwater Horizon oil spill anniversary by highlighting restoration on contaminated sites across 13 states through an interactive map featured on the new regional Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (NRDAR) website.

MAP of Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Recovery Cases - Northeast Region

Northeast Region NRDAR website

Deepwater Horizon Response Information Available on Data.Gov

In response to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Data.gov is featuring data from the Department of Energy (DOE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the states of Florida and Louisiana related to the spill, its effects, and the cleanup effort. Data include oil and gas flow and recovery measurements, air and water sample data, oil spill-related exposure information, and other data of interest to scientists, recovery workers, and citizens.

Deepwater Horizon Response data on Data.Gov

Contaminants Program Sparks Conversation with Facebook Page

The USFWS, lead by the Environmental Contaminants Program, is the main federal agency dedicated to protecting wildlife and their habitat from pollution's harmful effects, helping to create a healthy world for all living things.

Follow our efforts to protect our treasured wildlife on the new Environmental Quality Facebook page.