| What: | Wildlife specialists from UC Davis and International Bird Rescue Research Center will release birds oiled earlier this week |
| Who: | Scott Newman (response veterinarian, Oiled Wildlife Care Network) and Jay Holcomb (director, International Bird Rescue Research Center) |
| When: | 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3 |
| Where: | On beach at Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, on West Crissy Field, San Francisco |
| Visuals | Newman, Holcomb and rehabilitators will release common murres (large, black-and-white seabirds) into San Francisco Bay. |
| Background: |
About two dozen oiled murres were collected along the Central Coast earlier this week following an oil spill of unknown origin. Murres are the species of seabird most commonly affected by oil spills in California. The birds were treated, cleaned and rehabilitated at the new San Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care and Education Center in Suisun City by IBRRC staff and volunteers and UC Davis veterinarians. The new San Francisco Bay center is one of 25 rescue sites in the statewide Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN), the world's most advanced rescue system for oiled wildlife. The 12,000-square-foot facility can care for up to 1,000 birds affected by an oil spill in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care and Education Center is operated by UC Davis and the IBRRC, with funds from the California Department of Fish & Game. |
| Directions and Parking: |
A map to the Farallones Visitor Center is online at http://www.nps.gov/prsf/home.htm. Meet Newman and Holcomb on the beach adjacent to the visitor center. |
Media Resources
Scott Newman, Oiled Wildlife Care Network, (916) 523-7941