GOWRS Project partners meet in California

Partners in the Global Oiled Wildlife Response System (GOWRS) Project met in March to discuss and develop their international cooperation in relation to the oil industry.

The project partners gathered in California, at the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) in March to discuss and develop their international cooperation in relation to the oil industry and the outcomes of the two phases of the project from 2015 to 2018. The five-day meeting, cohosted by UC Davis and International Bird Rescue, included various discussions, brainstorming sessions and a table-top exercise exploring ways international mobilisation could work under a number of different scenarios.

Other activities included exploring the operational resources of the California Oiled Wildlife Care Network (managed by the Wildlife Health Center at Davis), reviewing their equipment stockpile and touring the San Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care Center, which is one of two primary care facilities in the state for oiled wildlife and also serves as the base for International Bird Rescue’s year-round Aquatic Bird Rehabilitation program in Northern California.

For much of this year, the project partners will meet remotely to continue the work begun at this meeting, gathering in Hamburg, Germany in October to finalise their long-term strategic planning.