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Otters training
MarinePollutionBulletin US Senator has introduced legislation that calls for negotiations to be initiated toward a new agreement for the "full protection of Antarctica as a global ecological commons".
Otters Training The Monterey Bay Aquarium, located to the south of San Francisco, has initiated an experimental programme to parent ophaned otter pups. The programme takes in otter pups that have washed ashore and nurtures and coaches them as their otter mothers would to prepare them for adult existence in the wild. Three otters have been returned to the wild, having graduated from the programme which can take nine months of individual care by a staff member. The staff member swims with the otter and feeds it its daily diet of mashed fish, clams, and cream. The otters later learn to mimic their surrogate mothers in the gathering of seafood in the open water. The programme utilizes the aquarium's artificial tide pool and the kelp forests located just off its pier in the historic Cannery Row area of Monterey. When the otters are ready to be released, a tiny radio transmitter is implanted beneath their fur so that their locations can be tracked. One of the graduates was monitored for over nine months in his new habitat near Santa Cruz, to the north of Monterey. Two Alaskan pups, which were orphaned in the Exxon Valdez spill, were nurtured back to health in the programme, and were transported closer to their home waters to the Vancouver Aquarium, where they are still thriving. Four other otter orphans are currently in the aquarium's programme. The goal of the programme is to learn how best to ensure the survival of sick or abandoned young sea otters in the event of a catastrophic occurrence in the limited environment in which they currently thrive (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18,577; 19,250).
Reservoir Clean-up A final ruling has determined that the California Kesterson Reservoir will not be cleaned completely of its selenium contamination. The reservoir, which once was a thriving wildlife refuge, was found in 1983 to have been severely contaminated with selenium that leached from agricultural irrigation drainage waters shunted to the reservoir. Waterfowl deaths and deformities caused authorities to study ways to reduce the selenium concentrations in the reservoir and to reduce wildlife exposure to the contaminants (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18, 103). Although many clean-up plans have been proposed and assessed, the Bureau of Reclamation has determined that there are no feasible, shortterm clean-up measures to solve the problem. The State of California Regional Water Quality Control Board has agreed with the Bureau's conclusions and has approved its proposed clean-up plan. The Bureau's plan requires grading and filling the area to prevent pooling and encourage run-off of the contaminated waters. The site will function in the future as upland wildlife habitat. Further studies will be performed in a continuing longterm effort to reduce selenium at the site. Environ54
mental groups are not satisfied with the Bureau's plan, citing that it does not address the root cause of the problem. These groups want research to identify techniques that will preclude the run-off and collection of agricultural waters in evaporation pools that allow selenium to concentrate.
Flood Insurance Under Fire The recent, massively destructive hurricane off the US East Coast has revitalized private and governmental concerns regarding coastal development. In testimony before Congress, John Knauss, the newly appointed Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has stated his commitment to better wetland protection, improved water quality, broader access to coastal lands, and better protection from natural hazards. He stated the need to utilize natural buffers along the coast to protect development from natural disasters, such as Hurricane Hugo. Dr. Knauss has also stated that his agency will be reviewing the Coastal Zone Management Act to evaluate means to strengthen and coordinate efforts to achieve the Administration's goals of "no net loss" of wetlands and to control non-point source pollution. Both the NOAA Administrator and environmental groups cited the federal flood insurance programme as evidence that damages caused by extensive coastal development must be reduced in the future. The environmental groups fault the flood insurance programme for contributing to pollution in near-shore waters, destruction of wetlands, and increased risk of death and property loss by encouraging coastal development. A recent report by the National Wildlife Federation and the Coast Alliance has called for extensive changes in the programme to reverse this trend. One example of the recommended changes is that construction should not be covered by the insurance programme if it is located in erosion-prone areas. While the report cites fifty-one federal programmes that support coastal development or redevelopment, the national flood insurance programme is singled out as the largest. Indeed, in his testimony, Dr. Kanuss cited the programme as the federal government's second largest liability, with only the federal Social Security programme being larger.
Alaska Spill Work The Alaska Governor has instituted a $21 million oil spill plan to continue local clean-up efforts during the winter months and to prepare for further work in the spring. The State estimates more than half of the 38 million 1 of the oil that was spilled in the grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound in March 1989 has never been recovered. The funds, for which the State will seek reimbursement from Exxon, will be used to assist the State and local communities in efforts to continue the clean-up, particularly in areas supporting critical fish and wildlife habitat or those supporting subsistence economies. Areas surrounding sensitive fish hatcheries will receive particular attention and protection. State clean-up offices in Valdez, Seard,
Otters Training The Monterey Bay Aquarium, located to the south of San Francisco, has initiated an experimental programme to parent ophaned otter pups. The programme takes in otter pups that have washed ashore and nurtures and coaches them as their otter mothers would to prepare them for adult existence in the wild. Three otters have been returned to the wild, having graduated from the programme which can take nine months of individual care by a staff member. The staff member swims with the otter and feeds it its daily diet of mashed fish, clams, and cream. The otters later learn to mimic their surrogate mothers in the gathering of seafood in the open water. The programme utilizes the aquarium's artificial tide pool and the kelp forests located just off its pier in the historic Cannery Row area of Monterey. When the otters are ready to be released, a tiny radio transmitter is implanted beneath their fur so that their locations can be tracked. One of the graduates was monitored for over nine months in his new habitat near Santa Cruz, to the north of Monterey. Two Alaskan pups, which were orphaned in the Exxon Valdez spill, were nurtured back to health in the programme, and were transported closer to their home waters to the Vancouver Aquarium, where they are still thriving. Four other otter orphans are currently in the aquarium's programme. The goal of the programme is to learn how best to ensure the survival of sick or abandoned young sea otters in the event of a catastrophic occurrence in the limited environment in which they currently thrive (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18,577; 19,250).
Reservoir Clean-up A final ruling has determined that the California Kesterson Reservoir will not be cleaned completely of its selenium contamination. The reservoir, which once was a thriving wildlife refuge, was found in 1983 to have been severely contaminated with selenium that leached from agricultural irrigation drainage waters shunted to the reservoir. Waterfowl deaths and deformities caused authorities to study ways to reduce the selenium concentrations in the reservoir and to reduce wildlife exposure to the contaminants (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18, 103). Although many clean-up plans have been proposed and assessed, the Bureau of Reclamation has determined that there are no feasible, shortterm clean-up measures to solve the problem. The State of California Regional Water Quality Control Board has agreed with the Bureau's conclusions and has approved its proposed clean-up plan. The Bureau's plan requires grading and filling the area to prevent pooling and encourage run-off of the contaminated waters. The site will function in the future as upland wildlife habitat. Further studies will be performed in a continuing longterm effort to reduce selenium at the site. Environ54
mental groups are not satisfied with the Bureau's plan, citing that it does not address the root cause of the problem. These groups want research to identify techniques that will preclude the run-off and collection of agricultural waters in evaporation pools that allow selenium to concentrate.
Flood Insurance Under Fire The recent, massively destructive hurricane off the US East Coast has revitalized private and governmental concerns regarding coastal development. In testimony before Congress, John Knauss, the newly appointed Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has stated his commitment to better wetland protection, improved water quality, broader access to coastal lands, and better protection from natural hazards. He stated the need to utilize natural buffers along the coast to protect development from natural disasters, such as Hurricane Hugo. Dr. Knauss has also stated that his agency will be reviewing the Coastal Zone Management Act to evaluate means to strengthen and coordinate efforts to achieve the Administration's goals of "no net loss" of wetlands and to control non-point source pollution. Both the NOAA Administrator and environmental groups cited the federal flood insurance programme as evidence that damages caused by extensive coastal development must be reduced in the future. The environmental groups fault the flood insurance programme for contributing to pollution in near-shore waters, destruction of wetlands, and increased risk of death and property loss by encouraging coastal development. A recent report by the National Wildlife Federation and the Coast Alliance has called for extensive changes in the programme to reverse this trend. One example of the recommended changes is that construction should not be covered by the insurance programme if it is located in erosion-prone areas. While the report cites fifty-one federal programmes that support coastal development or redevelopment, the national flood insurance programme is singled out as the largest. Indeed, in his testimony, Dr. Kanuss cited the programme as the federal government's second largest liability, with only the federal Social Security programme being larger.
Alaska Spill Work The Alaska Governor has instituted a $21 million oil spill plan to continue local clean-up efforts during the winter months and to prepare for further work in the spring. The State estimates more than half of the 38 million 1 of the oil that was spilled in the grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound in March 1989 has never been recovered. The funds, for which the State will seek reimbursement from Exxon, will be used to assist the State and local communities in efforts to continue the clean-up, particularly in areas supporting critical fish and wildlife habitat or those supporting subsistence economies. Areas surrounding sensitive fish hatcheries will receive particular attention and protection. State clean-up offices in Valdez, Seard,