Friday, February 4, 2011

Full Oil Spill Recovery By 2012, NOT! (VIDEO)

February 4, 2011 8:08 am

By Debbie Williams
WKRG
Original Article

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama – Looks can be deceiving. There may not be oil visible in the Gulf of Mexico but signs still linger of the impact it had on the gulf coast.
“It is impossible to forecast when all this stuff will be back to normal,” says charter boat captain Ben Fairey. But that’s exactly what Kenneth Feinberg says is contained in a report from a Texas A&M professor and what he is basing his calculations on when paying for damages caused by the BP oil spill.
Fairey calls it premature and reckless. “This hasn’t even been a year so how can we make an informed decision on what the long term recovery of the Gulf of Mexico is?”
To prove his point Fairey says you only have to look back about six years to the west coast of Florida where a red tide incident impacted the gag grouper population.
“That didn’t show up until this past year,” he says, “and unfortunately now the fishermen are not going to be able to harvest gag grouper for the first six months of 2011 because of something that happened at 2005.”
“This is not over just cause someone wants it to be.” Mobile Baykeeper executive director Casi Callaway read the report and says Feinberg needs to do his job. “Feinberg’s job is to deal with the economic impacts to individuals and businesses. it it not to do environmental work.”
She believes there is another reason Feinberg commissioned the report and BP paid for it.
“What Feinberg would like to do, and BP would like to do is wrap everything in a nice little bow and call it finished, and put a timeline on it, and we never have to look at the gulf again.”
According to the study, shrimp in the gulf coast should return to normal harvest levels by 2012, excluding royal red shrimp. Blue crab should be back this year. Oyster reefs could take as long as ten years to fully recover. The recovery of finfish depends largely on how much the juvenile classes were impacted during the disaster.
See video here: http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/full-oil-spill-recovery-by-2012-not/1204499/Feb-03-2011_7-35-pm/

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Mayor pleased with judge's ruling on claims czar | Fox10tv.com

Mayor pleased with judge's ruling on claims czar Fox10tv.com: "Mayor pleased with judge's ruling on claims czar"

Updated: Wednesday, 02 Feb 2011, 8:51 PM CST

Published : Wednesday, 02 Feb 2011, 8:49 PM CST

Paige Malone

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama (WALA) - The news that Ken Feinberg must not claim independence from BP was music to Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon’s ears.

Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that claim Czar Ken Feinberg was not independent of BP and he must stop telling claimants that he is.

Kennon said this ruling validates everything they have been saying.

“We do not consider Mr. Feinberg independent of BP. We do not consider his actions in our best interest, the claimants best interest and we do not consider him an advocate as he says he is for the claimants and we see no way he could follow through on BP’s promises to make us whole,” said Kennon.

The judge also said that Fienberg must make it clear to claimants that he is acting on behalf of BP in all of his communications.

Kennon said this is a big step in the right direction.

“At this point and based on this judges ruling the White House needs to recalculate Mr. Feinberg as the administrator and look at some other checks and balances to make sure that the process becomes fair because as it stands now, its not fair,” said Kennon.

Possibly, the next step will be to look further into controversial topics in the claims conversation

Big blob of gunk found in the Gulf | HeraldTribune.com

Big Blob of Gun Found off Perdido Pass HeraldTribune.com: "Big blob of gunk found in the Gulf"

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Just off the Florida Panhandle coastline, within site of Perdido Key, scientists have discovered an underwater mass of dead sea life that appears to be growing as microscopic algae and bacteria get trapped and die.
Early samples indicate the glob is at least three feet thick and spans two-thirds of a mile parallel to the coast.
No one knows where it came from or where it will go.
Scientists are trying to determine if oil from last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster led to the glob. But tests so far have found no sign of oil.
"It seems to be a combination of algae and bacteria," said David Hollander, a chemical oceanographer with the University of South Florida, describing the substance as "extraordinarily sticky" and toxic.
While scientists have drawn no conclusions about the gooey mat's origin, they are not ruling out a potential connection to the oil spill. Oil gummed and slicked that part of the Gulf for 30 to 40 days during the three-month well gusher, which pumped 186 million to 227 million gallons of crude into the Gulf.
"We don't know all the ramifications, the implications of a spill like this," Hollander said.
He and other scientists plan to return to the glob in a few weeks for more samples. The equipment available on the last cruise was not long enough to reach the bottom of the mat. The bottom sediments could hold important clues about how the glob formed. The scientists also did not have the time or equipment to map out the entire blob.
Researchers found the substance while on a December search for oily sediments on the Gulf floor. Scientists found such sediments, but were diverted when they got a tip about something unusual about a half mile from Perdido Pass.
The environment near the blob is a relatively pristine sloping shelf, where wave action usually sweeps away sediments.
Tests show it had no connection to land, was less than a year old and almost 100 percent biological. Tests also showed that tiny organisms had been getting stuck to the blob and dying as a result.
George Crozier, executive director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Louisiana, said such material is foreign to the northern Gulf coast environment.
"It sounds a lot like an organic deposit, the source of which is frankly very difficult to ascertain," Crozier said.
He speculates that a bloom of algae may have feasted on something - possibly oil - ran out of food and then died. The decaying algae might have then sucked all the oxygen out of the water and killed whatever was in the way.
The blob is equally puzzling to local ecologists who study the coastal resources near Perdido Pass. But it could be one of many strange discoveries that scientists find as they conduct oil spill research. Gulf research has been limited over the decades, so every odd discovery may not have a link to the spill.
"The scrutiny and the eyes and the awareness and the attention on the water these days, people are noticing things they've never noticed before," said Phillip West, coastal resources manager for the city of Orange Beach, Alabama.
But all of the damage caused by the oil and the 1.8 million gallons of chemical dispersants used to break it up will be difficult to trace, especially as time passes.

In his nine years with Orange Beach, West said he has never heard of a substance matching Hollander's description. Occasional mats of decayed marsh muck turn up, but those are far different.
West also is not ruling out a potential link to the oil.
"Ecology tells us there are chains of events that occur for inputs or disturbances in the environment. One thing can lead to another," West said.

Perdido Key park in trouble | pnj.com | Pensacola News Journal

Perdido Key park in trouble pnj.com Pensacola News Journal: "Perdido Key park in trouble"

Perdido Key park in trouble

Proposed budget cuts could close 53 state parks

Travis Griggs • tgriggs@pnj.com • February 2, 2011

Perdido Key State Park is among 53 Florida parks that could be closed later this year as state officials scramble to meet a nearly $4 billion budget shortfall.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection included the closures in a budget proposal outlining how it could cut 15 percent from its budget in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in July.

Perdido Key State Park is a 247-acre barrier island tract, located about 15 miles southwest of Pensacola on Gulf Beach Highway.
"Everybody would just be sick if they closed it. It's lovely," said Ann Griffin, a board member with the Perdido Key Association, a nonprofit advocate for environmental preservation and responsible development. "I hope they would think long and hard before closing it."
The park, which is open from 8 a.m. to sundown, has basic facilities including a parking lot, boardwalk, covered picnic tables and restrooms. It provides a habitat for several endangered species, including the Perdido Key beach mouse, which is one of North America's rarest mammals.
Details of how the closures would be carried out, including how much access the public would have to closed park land, had yet to be decided, said Kristin Lock, DEP spokeswoman.
"The proposed closures are still just that, proposed," Lock said.
Lock said details would be worked out once the state budget gets final approval, which usually occurs in May.
Jim Lane, president of the Friends of Perdido Bay community organization, said that while the park may not be fancy, it is a community asset.
The park is only occasionally attended by state employees, and admission fees of $3 per vehicle and $2 per pedestrian are collected in an "honor system" drop box near the park entrance.
"It seems like it's pretty low maintenance," Lane said.
Low attendance
Statewide, the closures would save $6.4 million per year in expenses but would cost the DEP more than $900,000 in lost park entry fees and other revenues, according to the budget proposal.
Parks selected for the proposed closure list have the lowest attendance numbers and don't offer camping or other overnight accommodations, DEP officials said.
In the 2009-10 fiscal year, 31,133 people visited Perdido Key State Park, DEP officials said, and the park's operating budget was $33,571.
During a legislative committee meeting last week, DEP's deputy secretary for policy and planning, Jennifer Fitzwater, said the agency does not plan to sell any closed park land, because the parks could be reopened at a later date when the budget allows.
Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino, whose district includes Perdido Key State Park, said he planned to ask Gov. Scott for more details on the possible park closure during a conference call today.
"I respect very much his aggressive approach at getting our financial matters under control at the state level," Valentino said. "The concern I have is I'm not looking to have the state continue to own property and have local tax dollars maintain it."

Monday, January 31, 2011

Gulf Coast chamber names Island Spirit winner for January - Baldwin County NOW - A Gulf Coast Information Source for South Alabama

Gulf Coast chamber names Island Spirit winner for January - Baldwin County NOW - A Gulf Coast Information Source for South Alabama: "Gulf Coast chamber names Island Spirit winner for January"

JOE BARNETT The Best Surfer in all of ALABAMA!

GULF SHORES, Ala. —The Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce Catch the Island Spirit Committee presented its Award for the month of January to Joe Barnett with Barnett Wood Working. At the ceremony, from left, are, Jan Umphrey, Deborah Pineda, AGCACC; Steve Jones, Kaiser Realty; Judy Smith, Vision Bank; Nora Mandoki, Island Spirit Chairwoman; Joe Barnett, Island Spirit Recipient; Linda Whitlock, Ann Motes, AGCACC; Allen McElroy. In addition to a plaque, Joe received an ‘Island Spirit’ lapel pin, a cash award, and a Shrimp Festival gift bag. The Catch the Island Spirit Award is presented each month to an individual who works on our island and offers great customer service to our guests or residents. Do you know someone who deserves this recognition? Contact the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce so that your nominee can be considered. Written nominations are necessary. Contact Vicki Stillings at 968-7200 for more information or to download an application, visit www.alagulfcoastchamber.com.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Press Release: N. Gunter Guy Jr. Appointed Alabama Conservation Commissioner

N. Gunter Guy Jr. Appointed Alabama Conservation Commissioner

January 21, 2011

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has appointed N. Gunter Guy Jr. as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Guy is a graduate of Auburn University and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Most recently he practiced law with the firm of Ball, Ball, Mathews & Novak, P.A. in Montgomery.

Guy is a native of Alabama and lives on a family farm near Pintlala, Ala. He is an avid hunter and angler and looks forward to serving as Conservation Commissioner. “I am honored to have been selected by Governor Bentley for this position,” he said. “I have a lifelong love of the outdoors and am looking forward to overseeing the agency that is responsible for managing much of Alabama’s natural resources.”

One priority Guy will have is helping fulfill Gov. Bentley’s directive to state agencies to create jobs. Rebuilding the hotel and convention center at Gulf State Park will be a priority. “We need to get a first class facility built on the Gulf Coast so that in-state and out-of-state groups will have a place to meet in Alabama,” Guy said.

Guy is married to the former Patsy Lynn Wright of Montgomery. They have two children: Catherine, who attends Auburn University, and Ashley, who is a student at Hooper Academy.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visit www.outdooralabama.com .

Friday, January 21, 2011

242 sea turtles released into the Gulf of Mexico

242 sea turtles released into the Gulf of Mexico

Posted from http://www.orangebeach.ws/ Fri Jan 21 2011

January 20, 2011 - Orange Beach, AL (OBA) - Gulf of Mexico (GOM) - Two hundred forty-two cold-stunned sea turtles removed from St. Joseph Bay this winter were released Wednesday into the Gulf of Mexico off Cape San Blas in Gulf County. All were green turtles. Twenty-five Kemp’s ridleys, also rescued from the cold, will be released at a later date, along with green turtles that need additional rehabilitation.

Dedicated volunteers fanned out around the southern end of St. Joseph Bay Jan. 13-16 when a frigid cold front enveloped the South, triggering the third sea turtle cold-stunning event in the bay this winter. Local residents, University of Florida turtle researchers, and volunteers from the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve braved the cold to search marshy shorelines and inshore waters and to bring the immobile animals to safety. Rescuers took the turtles to Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, where they were evaluated and warmed. About half of the turtles were then moved to Florida’s Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach to provide them with more swimming space.

Dr. Allen Foley, a sea turtle biologist who oversees sea turtle rescues for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), said the cold-stunning event was triggered by the latest bout of cold weather, causing the shallow-water temperatures in the southern end of St. Joseph Bay to drop into the 40s.

“Sea turtles can tolerate water temperatures down to about 50 degrees, but when it drops below that, they’re in trouble,” Foley said. “St. Joseph Bay is a long bay that is open only at the north end, and turtles may become trapped when the water cools quickly.” Dr. Robbin Trindell, an FWC biological administrator who oversees sea turtle management efforts, offered high praise for the volunteers who scoured the bay, sometimes several times a day, and for staff at Gulf World Marine Park and Florida’s Gulfarium.

“In addition to efforts by the volunteers and by the marine parks, Florida’s sea turtles are regularly helped by the funds received from the sea turtle license plate program and by grants from the NOAA Fisheries Service, which provide funds needed for the supplies, equipment and transportation used to respond to these events,” she said.

The public can help conserve and fund research for sea turtles by purchasing a specialty license plate or making $5 donations to receive a decal. Every dollar for the sea turtle plate helps sea turtles. Approximately 30 percent of the money goes to the Sea Turtle Grants program, which the nonprofit Sea Turtle Conservancy administers (visit www.HelpingSeaTurtles.org for more information). The other 70 percent of tag revenue goes to the FWC’s Marine Turtle Protection Program to support research and management activities related to sea turtles, such as the rescues during cold weather events.

Plates and decals are available at county tax collectors’ offices.

To report sea turtles near the bay acting abnormally, call the FWC Wildlife Alert hotline: 888-404-FWCC (3922).