News release in PDF format - 1997 Humboldt Bay Oil Spill Restoration to Benefit North Coast Wildlife

News Release DATE: SEPT. 12, 2007 MEDIA CONTACTS Al Donner, US Fish & Wildlife Service: 916/414-6566; al_donner@fws.gov Rob Hughes, California Department of Fish and Game: 916/323-6286; rhughes@dfg.ca.gov 1997 Humboldt Bay Oil Spill Restoration to Benefit North Coast Wildlife Federal, State Agencies Release Draft Restoration Plan for Public Comment Public Meeting Set for Sept. 19 in Arcata Restoration and protection of rare native birds and wetlands along the North Coast would be achieved through six restoration projects to be carried out with the proceeds of a proposed settlement for injuries caused by the 1997 M/V Kure oil spill in Humboldt Bay. Federal and state agencies serving as natural resource trustees (Trustees) have proposed the plan on behalf of the public to compensate for the injuries caused by the spill. About 4,000 birds died and 6,200 acres of shoreline habitat were exposed to oil in the Nov. 5, 1997 incident at the Louisiana Pacific Export Dock in Samoa, CA. A mooring ???dolphin??? punctured a tank on the Kure, and 4,500 gallons of fuel oil discharged in the bay. Some of the oil flowed into the ocean and carried nearly 18 miles north. The Trustees are releasing the draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (DARP/EA) for public comment on Sept. 14. Written comments may be submitted through Oct. 29, 2007. A public meeting on the plan is set for Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7 pm in the Arcata Community Center Senior Dining Room, 321 Community Parkway, Arcata. The restoration projects described in the DARP/EA would help affected species and habitat. In Arcata, the restoration projects include a contribution to the McDaniel Slough Wetland Enhancement Project. Funding would be used to help remove the tide gate at McDaniel Slough, build some new levees and breach the bay-front levee as well as develop new hiking trails in the approximately 225-acre effort. Page 1 of 2 The Trustees also propose funding for five other projects to help rare native birds. Reading Rock, off the northern Humboldt coast, would be restored as a murre breeding ground. Reading Rock once was a breeding site for over 1,000 common murre pairs but now is nearly devoid of the species. Two other projects would benefit the marbled murrelet which is listed as ???threatened??? under the Endangered Species Act. One is the purchase of a conservation easement to protect old growth redwoods for nesting by murrelets in Del Norte County, the other is a project to control ravens, jays and crows that are murrelet predators. Two other projects would help protect Western and Clarks??? grebe colonies around Northern California lakes and help protect brown pelican roosting sites in Humboldt County. The following agencies are designated natural resource trustees under the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and State law, for natural resources injured by the Kure oil spill: the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG); the California State Lands Commission (CSLC); and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The Trustees prepared the draft DARP/EA, describing the injuries resulting from the Spill and proposing restoration alternatives. The plan reflects consideration of input from representatives of Kure Shipping S.A. and Patt Manfield & Co. (collectively ???Kure??? or the ???Responsible Party???), and work conducted in cooperation with the Responsible Party. Written comments may be sent through Oct. 29, 2007 to: Carolyn Marn, US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, CA 95825 (fax: 916-414-6713) or via email to Carolyn_Marn@fws.gov. To obtain a copy of the plan, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/ospr/spill/nrda/nrda_kure.html or contact Carolyn Marn. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 548 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. Page 2 of 2