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Gaomei wetland sustains serious environmental disaster
The Gaomei wetland in central Taiwan's Taichung County, one of the most important wildlife sanctuaries along Taiwan's coastline, has been polluted by waste heavy oil dumped by unknown sources, environmental officials said Wednesday.
The waste oil pollution, stretching for nearly 2 kilometers and covering some 1,000 square meters of the wetland, is the worst man-made environmental damage the sanctuary has sustained in recent memory, said Jiang Chu-nung, head of the central Taiwan environmental monitoring corps under the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration.
. . . After leading a group of Tunghai University professors to inspect the polluted region Wednesday morning, Lee said an endangered wetland plant species Bolboschoenus planiculmis (F. Schmidt) T. Koyama was seriously polluted and might be wiped out. Other special wetland species such as fiddler crabs and various fish have also sustained damage, she added.
30 June 2010
C Ching-ping and S Wu
Photo courtesy of Focus Taiwan
Location: Gaomei wetland, Taichung County, Taiwan - Map It
Hundreds of dead fish reported in Potomac River
Hundreds of fish carcasses found in the Potomac River since June 13 might have been a macabre sight, but researchers say the mortalities are not the result of toxic water conditions; it is likely the high temperatures.
The several hundred Channel Catfish found dead between the Harpers Ferry, W.Va., area of the Shenandoah River and Great Falls on the Potomac River likely succumbed to a bacterial disease brought on by a rapid increase in water temperature, low oxygen levels and natural environmental stresses at end of their spawning season, said Chris Luckett, natural resources planner with the Maryland Department of the Environment.
30 June 2010
C Calamaio
Location: between Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA - Map It
and Great Falls, Maryland, USA - Map It 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Develops Strategy to Help Waterfowl and other Migratory Birds Weather the Gulf Coast Oil SpillIn a few weeks, millions of waterfowl and other migratory birds will soon begin their fall migration to wintering and stopover habitat along the Gulf Coast. In anticipation of this event, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with partners to anticipate and minimize the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill on these birds.
The Service will continue to monitor the impact of the ongoing spill on waterfowl, and will take those impacts into account when establishing waterfowl hunting frameworks for the upcoming season.
Working with conservation partners, the Service is also preparing to implement a range of on-the-ground habitat conservation and management measures near the oil-impact area in the Gulf designed to minimize the entrance of oil into managed habitats along the Gulf and to enhance the availability of migratory bird food resources outside the oil impact area.
30 June 2010
Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
More Gulf Oil Spill News
>>> FWS Oil Spill Response [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website]
>>> What will get sick from the slick?
>>> The US Oil Spill Endangers the Rare Bird’s Habitat Near the Coastal Islands [includes map and image gallery]
>>> Rescued Louisiana pelicans released into Georgia waters
OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH RELATED NEWS
Photo credit: J Sitters/ETH Zurich
TB fears re-ignited after badger vaccination plan abandoned- Many caves remain closed as bat-killing fungus spreads [Kentucky and Indiana, USA]
- International Law Failing to Protect Coral Reefs and Tropical Fish, Experts Argue
- Zoonotic Diseases: WSU Breaks Ground On School For Global Animal Health Building
- Ships' ballast water - one new alien species enters the Med every nine days
- Effect of Fire on Birds Evaluated
- Returning Farmland to Wilderness in Tanzania
Endangered Species News
- California to Consider Endangered Species Act Protection for Imperiled Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs
- Conservation Groups Petition to Protect Bumblebee Under Endangered Species Act
It Ain't All Bad News
