Dear Austin EcoNetwork Community,

The Gulf Coast oil spill is a rapidly evolving catastrophe and there is a lot we don’t yet know about the full magnitude of the ecological devastation. But here is what we do know so far:

• The oil is spilling at a current rate of more than 200,000 gallons of oil per day.
• Recovery and restoration of the wetlands that harbor hundreds of species and provide a natural hurricane barrier will take years or even decades.
• Even before the spill, Louisiana had lost more wetlands since the 1930s — 2,300 square miles — than the size of the state of Delaware, leaving the region particularly vulnerable to this oil spill catastrophe.

We’re going to need a lot of help over the coming days, months and years to ramp up our coastal conservation and fisheries work to restore the Gulf Coast to full environmental health.

Here are three things you can do right now to provide assistance to our efforts:

1. Volunteer: Register to provide on-the-ground volunteer assistance with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana or with National Audubon.
2. Engage Online: Check out our Oil Crisis Response page and follow us on Facebook and Twitterto keep up with the latest news.
3. Donate Now: Support our coordinated oil spill emergency response efforts with a generous donation.

Our Emergency Response

We have deployed a number of EDF experts to the Gulf Coast to work with federal and local agencies, colleague environmental groups and local partners, including fishermen, local business, and members of the energy industry.

As you read this message, our team of EDF wetlands and marine scientists and experts are:

• Coordinating response and recovery efforts among the many local communities and partners with whom we have developed long-standing relationships.
• Working with our local partners and with federal officials to ensure that all possible steps are taken to ensure the safety of the 35,000 miles of oil pipelines and 4000 oil rigs currently in the Gulf.
• Providing scientific expertise to federal and local agencies to determine how best to deploy restoration resources once the spill is under control.
• Advocating at the federal and local levels for the funding necessary to properly clean up the ecological disaster and to promote restoration efforts.

EDF has been at work in the Gulf Coast regions for many years — protecting and restoring critical wetlands, pioneering new sustainably fishing strategies, and developing productive partnerships with conservationists, business, and government.

We are committed to the full restoration of the fragile Gulf Coast and the affected wetlands and marine ecosystems.

It’s true that the financial responsibility of the clean up rests legally and morally with the oil industry. However, there is still a very real and important role that EDF experts will play in the weeks and months to come.

Our thoughts and hopes are with the hard-working and beleaguered folks who make the Gulf Coast their home.

Thank you for your advocacy and support,

Courtney Taylor

Coastal Louisiana Project

P.S. If you cannot volunteer or afford a donation, here are 10 more things you can do to help.