MORE Geese die in Berkley Pit

Waterfowl land in pit, die
By Justin Post, of The Montana Standard - 11/30/2007

Thirty seven waterfowl died after landing in the Berkeley Pit last weekend, in what may be the largest single mortality since 342 snow geese succumbed to acidic water here in November 1995.

Reminiscent of the deaths 12 years ago, the fowl landed in the pit during foggy and snowy conditions.

Montana Resources employees recovered 17 snow geese, 10 mallard ducks, nine goldeneye ducks and one swan floating dead on the surface of the pit water once fog moved out of the area last weekend.

“All the conditions were right to where they came in, and we couldn’t do anything about it but do our patrols like we are supposed to,” Tad Dale, Montana Resources spokesman, told The Montana Standard Thursday.

The company reported the matter to the Environmental Protection Agency, Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as required in its waterfowl mitigation plan that’s part of the consent decree spelling out a permanent Berkeley Pit water treatment plan.

Russ Forba, EPA project manager for mine-flooding, said the plan sets criteria for MR to keep birds off the pit surface. In this case, however, employees were blinded by fog and unable to see birds that had landed on the water.

“They did everything they were supposed to do according to the mitigation plan,” he said. “Weather conditions were such that it was difficult to see anything down there.” Dale defended MR’s efforts to keep waterfowl out of the pit and said mortality rates have been relatively low in the more than a decade since 342 snow geese died.

“This is probably the largest single event since the ’90s,” he said. “The main thing is that the public knows there is a process and the recording is done diligently and people in authority are aware of the situation and realize the protocol has been followed.” MR hopes to prevent future deaths during inclement weather, he said, and is reviewing new technology to help deter waterfowl from landing in the pit during periods when other hazing methods are ineffective.

Among the technology being considered are radar detectors and computer-controlled noise makers, but Dale admits finding technology for the pit might be challenging.

“There are a lot of people who have a better mouse trap,” he said. “But it isn’t something that is easily adaptable to a body of water of this size.” The pit surface water is about one mile long and one and one-half miles wide.

Tests from 1995 showed the birds died after the acidic water had eaten at the epithelium tissue that lines the esophagus and moved into internal organs.

That one massive bird kill prompted the government agencies that oversee the pit Superfund site to request development of the waterfowl mitigation plan.

The plan is three-pronged: — Twice a month from March through December or until ice forms over the pit, MR sends out a pontoon boat to scour the shoreline looking for dead birds and to try to haze away any live ones they see.

— Hourly during the day and every four hours at night during the peak migration season of March through May and mid-August through mid-December, a staffer goes to the observation station on the pit’s south rim and scans the water for bird activity. They use binoculars, scopes and searchlights at night. If birds are spotted on the water, they can usually be scared away by firing a rifle, Dale said.

— Finally, noisemakers designed specifically to frighten birds are positioned around the pit. They emit recorded sounds such as bird distress calls, helicopters, motor boats and gunfire. Each bird sighting and fatality is noted and compiled into monthly reports.

Because of floating mine timbers and other obstructions in the pit, employees do not launch the boat during heavy fog conditions such as last weekend, Dale said.

“It’s dangerous for humans to get out on that pit in the fog,” he said. “We don’t want to lose a person over a bird.”