As Florida offshore drilling looms, birds less protected from spills under Trump

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Richard Baker remembers the feathers: bright white and striking.

Just 20 days earlier, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig had exploded, killing 11 people and igniting one of the worst environmental disasters in modern history. A pelican and a Northern gannet were the first two birds plucked by wildlife rescuers from the oily waters near the disaster zone. Once-regal feathers had been doused with dark, sticky oil.

After days of cleaning and rehabilitation, the avian duo was released into Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s east coast. Baker recalls the oil-free feathers as a vivid streak in the sky as the birds flew away.

“It was very impressive to me that we could do this,” said Baker, who as a local Audubon society leader releas