Rebecca Dmytryk has been in the business of saving wildlife from oil spills and other emergencies for a long time. Until doing research on oil spills as a result of this recent tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, I'm aghast at how often this happens - it's not as rare as you'd think. Each time, Rebecca, her husband Duane Titus, and their team try to be there.

Rebecca is the Project Director of WildRescue, which provides 24 hour response to wildlife emergencies. At the organization, they "...are committed to improving how wildlife casualties, be it one or thousands, are responded to, setting standards of practice in wildlife emergency response to ensure animals receive that second chance they deserve." Not only does she perform as a first responder to wildlife emergencies for her own foundation, she serves on the board of the EarthWays Foundation, works as a first responder for the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), and also conducts training classes to teach people how to become responders, themselves.

Right now, in the Gulf of Mexico crisis, Rebecca is once again on the scene, saving as much of the wildlife of the gulf as she can. She is working in the Grand Isle area with the Tri-State Bird Rescue and the IBRRC, traveling the oil infested marshes looking for distressed wildlife. They are finding an enormous amount, and it's a long process. Depending on the species of bird, for example, the capture methods are different. Some species are quite delicate, and even more so with oil on their wings. Also, while we're all familiar with the gut-wrenching images of immobile birds soaked with oil, many of us don't know that a lot of birds remain mobile and able to fly, even with toxic oil on their wings. It is just as imperative to capture and nurse them, but obviously much harder to do so.

It was interesting to hear from a first responder what we all know now that images of oil-covered birds have finally made it to the media. This is the greatest oil catastrophe in history, and there is no silver lining here - it doesn't matter that the oil is moving slowly, as one expert put it. It's there right now, killing marshlands and wildlife, homes and careers and lives, and the only thing we can be sure about is that it will keep on moving in for an indeterminate period of time.

So how can you help Rebecca and her team? Even though we all want to nurture the birds and wash them clean, actually volunteering to help wildlife is a rugged and draining job, and of course most can't leave their jobs to get the proper training needed. However, you can help.

WildRescue has a Wishlist of items that they desperately need to operate. They are listed in price ranges, to better let you know what you can give. Some of the more expensive items, like equipment, would be great projects for a school or church or office group - if 200 people gave five dollars, they could purchase a set of transceivers that the team needs to manage their rescues. You can also donate securely through PayPal, to help support their current and future rescues.

Follow Rebecca's blog to keep up with the progress.

Much thanks to Rebecca for talking to me about this situation, and for the work she is doing for the wildlife of our beloved Gulf.

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