On September 16, the Houston Chronicle reported that Tim Cooper, project leader for McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Texas, reported to the Associated Press that the tidal surge from Hurricane Ike had left a “sheen” of oil at the refuge. Cooper also reported that a smaller amount of oil had flowed into the nearby Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.

According to the Chronicle:

Cooper described the oil as a “continuing seep” and said he believes it is coming from ruptured tanks and pipelines that are part of an oil field within the McFaddin refuge.

Papco Inc., a Warren, Pa., company that drills within the refuge, notified the Texas Railroad Commission on Tuesday of an oil spill in Jefferson County near Sabine Pass. All spills of five barrels or more must be reported to the state.

However, company officials said the spill it reported involved less than two barrels and was unrelated to the oil discovered in the McFaddin Refuge…

In addition to the oil, Cooper said the refuges also lost much their infrastructure due to the storm surge.

“The wildlife will come back,” he said. “I don’t know what we’ll have to greet the public and manage the marsh.”

On September 18, the Houston Chronicle did a follow-up story detailing the damage that Hurricane Ike inflicted on many state parks and refuges. The following was the news regarding national wildlife refuges:

Federal officials said the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge had severe damage to all buildings.

“We estimate the water to have been 6 to 7 feet inside the buildings at the refuge. As water rose outside the buildings, the doors and windows were broken out, allowing water to flow through buildings,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown.

“All that remains from these buildings is the cinder block walls and roof structure,” she said.

Fish and Wildlife officials are sending trailers from other sites for employees and temporary work space.

Slown said the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge and Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge on the upper Texas coast received catastrophic damage from the hurricane. Slown said an oil spill was discovered at McFaddin and booms were placed to halt the spread.

Note: USA Today published an update on the damage at the Texas refuges.

Tags:
wildlife, wildlife refuge, conservation, McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas