DI Sea Lab: Leave tar balls on beach

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (WALA) - Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said thousands of pounds of tar balls are lying on the sand on the western end of the island, and the Coast Guard is not cleaning it up.

A local wildlife expert thinks the Coast Guard is right, and that oil should be left alone. All the tar balls are on the far western side of the island, west of the Katrina Cut. It's only accessible by boat.

The Coast Guard said cleanup operations could put migratory birds in danger. An official from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab agreed, saying it is much ado about nothing.

Dauphin Island's Mayor and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management believe it should be removed, but the Coast Guard decided to leave it there because cleaning it up could endanger some migratory birds.

"I don't see any reason to clean it up all,” said Dr. George Crozier of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

Crozier said migratory birds are currently nesting, and cleanup crews could scare the birds away.

"You don't want to scare them off, and one person going out probably wouldn't do it, but a lot of people out there or return visits over several days to clean up ... I think [there is] the possibility they'd abandon the nests completely,” he said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said a federal law called the "Migratory Bird Treaty Act" protects migratory bird nests from being disturbed. Crozier said the birds need to be left alone so the babies can hatch.

He said this tar is not aesthetically pleasing, but it's not a health hazard for the birds.

"From a public relations point of view, they want to be able to advertise to the public, 'We cleaned the beach! We cleaned it from stem to stern, top to bottom.' But it's a marketing tool. It's not environmentally that big an issue," Crozier said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the nesting should be over sometime in July. Officials also add that there’s a possibility that turtles could be nesting in the area too. On August 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials will bring out K-9 dogs that are specially trained to sniff for turtle nests.

An official from the Coast Guard said the agency does plan to clean up the area after the birds are gone, but at this time, they don’t know when that will be.

Dr. Crozier thinks the oil should just be left alone. He said it could make for a valuable research opportunity, looking into whether the tar balls will still remain years down the road.