OWCN Blog

After a lengthy planning and permit process the OWCN Management Team is happy to announce that the construction of the new SFBOWCEC training center has begun. Our general contractor moved onsite and broke ground at the beginning of last month. 

As 2023 comes to a close, the OWCN Management Team would like to thank our amazing Network of responders, friends, and colleagues for another great year.

Some OWCN highlights from 2023 include:

Although not an oil spill, my first response is definitely one to remember. I was 4.5 months into my new position when the OWCN Management Team took on the Tulare Lake: Avian Botulism Response… and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.  

One year ago, on November 14, 2022, the Oiled Wildlife Care Network was activated to respond after an estimated 6,000 gallons of red-dye diesel spilled from a fuel storage tank for a back-up generator system that flowed through stormwater infrastructure into a pond at Tanzanite Park near Sacramento, California. Along with various other species of birds and mammals, a total of 34 Canada Geese were captured alive, of which 24 were released back to the area after both the geese and Tanzanite Park pond were cleaned.

Emergency Response organizations typically have large caches of equipment and supplies to maintain readiness for emergencies that have yet to happen. If these caches didn’t exist, then initial response would be delayed until all necessary equipment and supplies were procured. And post COVID many of you have probably experienced issues in the supply chain, which would further delay initial response. OWCN is no stranger to this concept, READINESS is one of our core principles, which includes maintaining caches of equipment and supplies.

In early July, members of our Management Team responded to the Los Gatos Creek Incident in Coalinga. Field teams collected 94 oil-impacted Western Toads and 1 Western Spadefoot from the spill site across several days. The amphibians were transported up to UC Davis where staff washed, provided species-appropriate housing, and fed a diet of insects to the patients until their habitat was deemed clean and safe for their return. Of the 95 oiled toads collected, 94 survived and were released! 

As a veterinarian, a scientist, and honestly a human, I consider myself a lifelong learner. I believe in constantly asking questions, seeking answers, and asking myself, “how can I do better?” Not to mention, the California State Veterinary Medical Board thinks so too. Licensed veterinarians in the state of California are required to obtain 36 hours of continuing education every two years in order to keep their skills and knowledge up to date.

As many of you know OWCN has an extensive network of member organizations as well as a network of purpose-built facilities. Each of these facilities were strategically placed throughout California to facilitate a rapid response in the event of an oil spill. Many of these facilities built at the turn of the millennium with our partners at OSPR, require constant upkeep to maintain functionality of the facilities systems.

It’s been a hot summer so far, and it is not over yet! Fortunately, several of us from the Management Team had the good fortune of spending a day on the water recently. A good excuse to get away from our desks, you might ask? Well, maybe…let me explain.

Hello to the OWCN Network!

I can’t believe I am entering my 4th month with the with the OWCN! To say I am settling in is an understatement! I have had the pleasure of joining several working groups, committees AND of course joining in on the planning fun. With each passing week I continue to meet new people and connect some faces to names, and I couldn't be more thankful for each interaction. 

The OWCN is committed to ongoing excellence, education, and progress. As a part of our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA), we will be interviewing figures from our community and Network who are leading DEIA efforts in their organizations and presenting those interviews here, in the OWCN blog, to serve as inspiration for others.

Here’s the next in the series: Learning, Unlearning & Sharing the Power

Do you love field work and wildlife response? Does the idea of being one of the first responders out the door to  rescue oil-affected wildlife sound like a thrill? If so, we hope you will consider joining our team at the Oiled Wildlife Care Network! The OWCN has an opening for a Wildlife Operations Specialist. This position is based in Davis, California, but statewide travel is part of the job. 

One of the big questions in oil spill response is what happens to rehabilitated animals after they are released? Do they survive? Do they go back to their normal habitats and behaviors?

As many of you already know I joined the OWCN management team back in June of 2022. Since joining OWCN I have spent my time attending trainings/drills, developing SOPs, maintaining equipment, and even responding to my first oil spill, but all this has mostly related to how we as OWCN respond when there is oiled affected wildlife. So how about oil spill response on a grander scale? It can be easy to get “tunnel vision” within our respected disciplines but I am constantly reminded that there are a lot more moving parts to oil spill response than just the wildlife portion. 

Greetings to the OWCN Network. My name is Frankie Lill, to some of you I am a familiar face, and to most I am the newest member of the OWCN Management Team! I will be working with Danene as a Wildlife Planning Specialist.  Although I am new to Davis and the OWCN MGMT Team, I have served as an OWCN volunteer for the last several years. Since then, I have been activated once for an oil spill, Pipeline 00547, and I have participated in recent UMEs out of LA, including a few grebe incidents, the Pelicans and the Elegant Tern response which was quite literally in the Aquarium’s Harbor.