Richardson Bay Oil Spill Clean-up

Belvedere Community Foundation Recognizes Richardson Bay Audubon Center Efforts in Oil Spill Clean-Up

The Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Belvedere Community Foundation in gratitude for the Sanctuary’s tireless efforts in their clean-up actions on our shores following the catastrophic oil spill of last November. From November 7 through late December, the board, staff and volunteers at the Richardson Bay Sanctuary fielded calls from hundreds of residents reporting oiled birds and acted as a hub to receive the birds for care and redirection. In the early weeks, the staff and volunteers were working 24/7 to provide what director Brooke Langston called “a human element.” “People finding hurt birds could talk to a person and get an answer,” she said. The Sanctuary’s Boston Whaler was used daily to pick up birds and to report the status of the oil spill to the Coast Guard. All told, the expenses to the Audubon were $48,000. Residents of the Tiburon Peninsula owe a huge debt of gratitude to this little organization that plays such an important role in our community. The Belvedere Community Foundation grant will be used to help fund a research project studying the effect of the oil on the Richardson Bay native oysters and eelgrass, and to determine impacts on the soil. Director Langston said, “Research has been ongoing for two years so there is a lot of good baseline data for the project.”