A long history of saving oiled wildlife
A long history of saving oiled wildlife
Since 1971, IBRRC has been one of the leading authorities in oil spill response
An oiled scoter became the poster bird for IBRRC. The scoter was oiled during 1971 Oregon Standard spill in San Francisco Bay. See larger version of poster (IBRRC poster)
When two Standard Oil tankers collided in 1971 beneath the Golden Gate Bridge spilling 900,000 gallons of crude oil. Little was known about oiled bird care at that time and despite the courageous, attempts of hundreds of volunteers, only 300 birds survived from the 7,000 birds collected.
After the February 1971 spill a small group of volunteers formed the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) It's primary goals were developing oiled wildlife cleaning and rehabilitation techniques, promoting ongoing research in this field and providing oiled wildlife response capabilities. In 1975, IBRRC moved to permanent quarters at Aquatic Park in Berkeley, California.
As IBRRC began to grow, it responded to an increasing number of oil spills including spills outside of California, rapidly expanding its body of knowledge. IBRRC has cared for over 140 species of wild birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
Oiled grebe during 1971 Oregon Standard spill
in San Francisco. (IBRRC file photo)
In 1994, IBRRC joined California's Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN). This network has 24 participating organizations, permanent facilities and trained volunteers within the state. IBRRC acts as OWCN's primary bird response organization in California.
Beginning in 2001, IBRRC opened two new centers in California. In February, IBRRC moved from Berkeley to a new 12,000 square foot facility in Cordelia (the east bay area of San Francisco) and in March we opened a second facility of that size in San Pedro (near Los Angeles Harbor). Both are new additions to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, for which we manage oil spill response within California.
With staff and the help of volunteers, we operate wildlife hospitals at both locations 365 days a year, where we continue to develop new and better treatments and protocols for aquatic birds and waterfowl. Both facilities have education programs for both students and volunteers wanting to be trained in oil spill response. IBRRC maintains a library in Fairfield that contains a plethora of literature on all subjects related to the field of oiled wildlife response and rehabilitation and the field of aquatic bird rehabilitation.
With an oil spill response team of more than 25 wildlife experts , IBRRC has managed the oiled bird rehabilitation efforts in nearly 150 oil spills in 11 states, including the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. Our international work has taken us to seven different countries and two U.S. territories.
IBRRC provides training and consultation to the petroleum industry, local, state, and federal Fish and Wildlife agencies, wildlife rehabilitators and researchers. Federal and state permits grant IBRRC permission to work with wild birds in captivity. IBRRC is a non-profit 501-C3 organization that relies on the petroleum industry, fees for services, state generated response contracts, research grants, foundation grants, and individual contributions for financial support.
