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"When one tugs at a single
thing in nature, he finds it attached
to the rest of the world." —
John Muir
By Jay Holcomb, Executive
Director, IBRRC
2004
year in review
In
1971 Alice Berkner and a handful
of other wildlife professionals
founded the International Bird Rescue
Research Center (IBRRC). They participated
in the development of this organization
with great enthusiasm, excitement
and a lot of optimism. Thirty-five
years later, I am happy to say that
we still approach the challenges
thrown our way with enthusiasm,
lots of excitement and for the most
part, plenty of optimism.
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Jay Holcomb:
New Carrisa spill 1999
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However, IBRRC has matured
and changed in many ways. We have
become realists and in the process
have shed some of the naiveté.
The horrible nature of oil spills
will do that to you. After thirty
years, there are still the dying,
oiled soaked birds and ridiculous
politics that hamper our efforts
to save more animals. Furthermore,
funding limitations present a constant
challenge to treat and rehabilitate
in an adequate manner. Obviously,
the loss of sleep because of 20
hour work days during the initial
phases in a spill or a personal
life left on hold (during the Exxon
Valdez disaster most of us were
in Alaska for 6 months) can dampen
ones enthusiasm for the cause.
Learning from more
than 100 oil spills
We learned to toughened
up over the years in order to "survive"
on a personal as well as organizational
level. Team members have to block
out the many negative aspects that
surround our work in order to succeed
and treat the animals in an effective
and professional manner. Not surprisingly,
our personal lives are centered
around responding to oil spill incidents.
It is an unusual and sometimes unsettling
way of life for the staff, but it
has paid dividends for IBRRC in
many ways. The experience and knowledge
gained through 30 plus years of
responding to more than 100 oil
spills is invaluable and unprecedented
in the world. It has established
IBRRC as today's leader in oiled
wildlife response.
San
Francisco Chronicle story: Jay Holcomb
I believe that IBRRC
has survived and prospered because
we look at every obstacle as an
opportunity to grow; every oil spill
volunteer as a valuable member within
our organization; industry as well
as federal and state wildlife resource
trustees as partners in responding
to a disaster and of course the
life of each individual animal as
a life that is worth preserving.
We "manage" oiled wildlife
responses. We don't just wash birds!
(I wish it were that easy!) We have
learned to "crisis manage"
a chaotic situation and change it
into what we call "controlled
chaos".
Obviously, oiled wildlife
response has not been without criticism.
There are the usual accusations
of being a patsy of the oil industry
by helping them cover up their misdeeds
or the ever present question of
the enormous cost associated with
a rescue effort. Rather than dismiss
our critics off hand, we have tried
to keep an open dialogue with them
in order to educate as well as learn
. We have tried to convey the message
to the public that since everybody
is using oil products, we are all
part of the problem created by this
demand. IBRRC's role is to minimize
the impact of oil in the environment
by rehabilitating the affected animals.
It has been a long and
tough road for IBRRC. I was there
at the first spill that started
it all in 1971 as a naive volunteer
that witnessed and was part of the
noble, but pathetic attempts to
save 7,000 oiled birds. Later I
volunteered at all the bay area
oil spills up until 1986 when I
became an IBRRC employee. I am proud
of that and honored to be a part
of an ethical organization that
stays true to it's mission.
I would be amiss if
I did not take this opportunity
to credit Alice Berkner, the one
person who truly deserves all of
the credit for setting the IBRRC
ball in motion and keeping it rolling.
Most people do not know this, but
Alice was the "non-salaried"
director for the first 15 years
of IBRRC's existence. In the early
years, salaries were a luxury. All
funds went to caring for the animals.
In the early 70's Alice
bridged a very wide gap that existed
between the petroleum industry and
the environmental community by taking
the novel, neutral approach to oil
spill response, maintaining that
again, "we are all part of
the problem" and we must work
together towards the cleanup and
the solution. This approach developed
a level of trust and interest in
IBRRC from within the petroleum
industry and laid the groundwork
for the excellent relationship and
support that we still maintain with
industry today. Through Alice's
foresight, perseverance and personal
commitment she alone kept IBRRC
alive and flourishing.
Recognizing the city
of Berkeley
I also want to recognize
the city and people of Berkeley,
CA. IBRRC utilized a Berkeley owned
facility for 28 years. The city
is known throughout the world for
it's proactive approach and sensitivity
towards the environment. They gave
us a home to do the work that they
supported and recognized as vital.
The facility was made available
to IBRRC at the cost of $5 a year.
Thousands of birds have come through
the doors and the vast majority
of the injured creatures were rehabilitated
and sent back into the wild. Our
work nationally and internationally
could not have been achieved without
the facility and the ability to
focus all of our limited time and
funds on animal care, rehabilitation
and research. We are extremely grateful
and forever indebted to the city
of Berkeley for their years of support
and contribution to IBRRC and to
the environment.
30 plus years and growing...
In the past three decades
we have grown up from concerned
bird lovers to professional oil
spill responders, from volunteers
to crisis managers and from naive
to worldly.
When looking back at
34 years of IBRRC we see proof of
what can be achieved through commitment,
dedication, passion and focus. We
experienced first hand how generous
support given by the community and
industry can make a difference and
how an idea that was born in a major
environmental disaster can become
reality, endure many changes and
mature into a truly unique organization.
It also showed how one determined
woman fought all odds to develop
the initial protocols and procedures
that would give oiled wildlife a
chance.
Now we are even on the
net. Go figure! Finally we have
a forum that lets us interact with
anyone interested in IBRRC, oiled
wildlife response, rehabilitation
and all other subjects pertaining
to this field. At the beginning
of a new era I am proud to report
that we feel as excited and enthusiastic
about our work as ever. After thirty
years, we are just a little bit
more wiser, but a lot more experienced.
Most importantly (no matter what
anyone might say) we remain as always:
"In it only for the birds." |
