Alaska commits more cleanup resources to Gulf of Mexico

June 08, 2010

Alaskan bird rescue specialists are cleaning oil-soaked brown pelicans on the Gulf Coast this week. (NBC News)

by Ted Land
Monday, June 7, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Some of the most critical oil-spill cleanup work in the Gulf of Mexico is being carried out by Alaskans who are rescuing birds and teaching local fishermen new skills.

Alaska has some of the most skilled oil-spill first responders in the nation, and their expertise is very much needed these days on the Gulf Coast.

Some of the region's suffocating, shivering, oil-soaked birds along the might survive -- if they're caught in time.

"Anything that's oiled comes to us, and we've had several hundred birds so far," said Alaskan bird rescue specialist Barbara Callahan, who's helping to rehabilitate wildlife in the gulf. "Predominantly we're getting brown pelicans, and those were just recently taken off the threatened list, so it is an important population and an important species."

Alaska Clean Seas, the company in charge of cleaning up spills on the North Slope, is also on the scene.

"A lot of this happens just because you start talking about what we can do for that spill down there, and they say, ‘Bring it on -- bring your folks down here,'" said Alaska Clean Seas' Ron Morris.

One of the company's tasks is to outfit local shrimpers with booms to collect the oil.

"These shrimp boats are good: they're shallow vessels, these guys know the waters, they're familiar, they're good mariners," Morris said. "We should be able to utilize a lot of that local talent to help with the problem."

In addition, the Shell Oil spill response vessel Nanuq is about to head south. Shell says it's the most technologically advanced response vessel in the United States -- and with President Obama's suspension of the company's summer drilling plans, it no longer needs the ship in Alaska this year.

A Shell spokesperson says the company is putting the finishing touches on a deal with BP that would transfer the Nanuq to the gulf.

Monday saw a reminder of why the cleanup work is so critical, as nearly a dozen cleaned birds were released into a Florida sanctuary.

"As long as there's oil going into the gulf, I think we'll need to have some presence here, and that may be for several months," Callahan said.

When BP takes control of the Nanuq, it could mean lost jobs for the Alaskans who were set to work aboard it this summer. It's unclear if BP plans to retain the same crew or if it intends to hire a new crew in the gulf.

Alaska Clean Seas says it's scheduling workers so as to maintain a typical staff size on the North Slope, where the company still has obligations. Many of these workers have two weeks on the Slope, followed by two weeks off -- which they're using to help out in the gulf.

Contact Ted Land at tland@ktuu.com

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