Gulf of Mexico -

As an oil sheen sits just over two miles offshore, workers in Port Fourchon, Louisiana loaded their latest creation, a four-story, 200-ton containment vessel onto a barge enroute to the ruptured wellhead currently gushing 200,000 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico every day as it has since the Deepwater Horizon blew out, burned and sank.

In the meantime, officials, cleanup volunteers, National Guardsmen, and idled fishermen wait.

And it seems that wait that New Orleans Times Picayune's Bob Marshall called "waiting on death row" will continue-at least for the next three days. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projections indicate the growing "oil cloud" that continues to spread in the Gulf of Mexico's water column won't move much in the next three days.

In the long picture, that's probably good news.

To those on the ground; it's a continuance of a waiting game that has nerves frayed and futures uncertain. When you're preparing for a worst-case scenario, it's damned tough to hold your ground. After a time, putting out oil containment booms, preparing oil absorbent mats and then staring out at the Gulf for a massive sheen of oil -or the tiny tar balls some officials say will be coming ashore for "years to come" is maddening.

As preparations continue, the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine says it will grant emergency waivers to veterinary specialists with experience treating distressed species including dolphins, whales, sea turtles, migratory, wading and shore birds- the most likely casualties if the oil moves in and coats the shoreline. Veterinarians from Delaware, California and Alaska have already volunteered to assist US Fish and Wildlife Service veterinarians in the recovery and rehabilitation efforts that being stated in Plaquemines Parish.

Similar preparations across the Gulf coast.

Meanwhile, British Petroleum officials express optimism that their heretofore untried containment strategy will work, turning the gigantic concrete structure being moved from Port Fourchon into what is, essentially, a gigantic funnel, directing the stream of oil upward to tankers waiting on the surface.

A ray of hope for the containment efforts yesterday as BP used a slip valve to close off the smallest of the three leaks. While it didn't have significant impact, it was the first sign that efforts to stop the hemorrhaging pipes might actually work.

Last night, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) hosted a telephone town hall meeting, briefing more than 9,000 hunters and anglers heard first-hand reports. There, there was very little good news for the self-described "Sportsman's Paradise."

"With a huge volume of oil flowing in the Gulf of Mexico unabated, we clearly have an epic catastrophe unfolding," NWF President and CEO Larry Schweiger said. "The
greatest coastal wetland system in America is at the height of spring wildlife nesting season. It now faces what may be the largest oil spill in the nation's history. It is hard to imagine a more dire situation."

Having been on the ground since Saturday, Schweiger expressed the same sentiment we've heard from nearly everyone "it's been a difficult week watching what's happening."

"This could be the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history," he told listeners, "and it's not about making oil platforms safer; it's about healing this vitally important region."

The Gulf of Mexico truly is more than home to some 4,000 oil and natural gas rigs, it's the source for 50 percent of the nation's domestic shrimp, 35 percent of the blue crab, 40 percent of the oysters, and a vacation destination to millions each year. It's also home to more than 400 species of birds, fish and wildlife, and the migratory stopover for nearly seventy percent of all of North America's migratory waterfowl.

Eleven men died in the initial catastrophe; this morning an entire region continues waiting to see if their way of life will survive - or be suffocated by the crude oil that has helped feed the economy of the region -and the nation's thirst for energy-for decades.

As the story continues to unfold, we'll keep working to keep you posted.

Article by Jim Shepherd
The Outdoor Wire

Read original story