The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is closely coordinating with other federal departments to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the Gulf oil spill. USDA continues to provide expertise and resources to assist wildlife rescue, increase migratory bird habitat, as well as plan for longer-term needs for wetland restoration once the oil spill has been contained. And while the full impact of the spill on the regional economy of the Gulf States is not yet known, USDA continues to communicate with state officials in the affected region to ensure that their needs are met and USDA services are not interrupted. USDA is using all available options through its nutrition assistance programs to ensure no family goes hungry and rural housing mortgage assistance to ease financial burdens of rural low-income people in the area, not only for those affected by the oil spill, but all low-income people in those States.
Community Assistance
Nutrition Programs
- USDA nutrition assistance programs can help to mitigate the food insecurity likely to be faced by families affected by the BP Gulf oil spill. Each of these programs offers particular sources of food assistance to children and their families experiencing adverse economic conditions.
Housing Programs
- USDA Rural Development's Rural Housing Service (RHS) can respond rapidly and effectively to economic downturns and disruptions; USDA will continue to work with RHS borrowers to identify options and waivers available to improve access to needed mortgage assistance.
Migratory Birds
- The BP Gulf oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is adversely affecting the marshes and coastlands used by shorebirds, waterfowl and other birds that are traveling through the area on their annual migration south. Under a new Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative, USDA will work with farmers, ranchers and other landowners to manage portions of their land to enhance habitat for migrating birds.
Wildlife Support
- USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the USDA Forest Service continue to support the Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Activities include: surveying wildlife, property and livestock; responding to hotline reports of oiled wildlife; oiled wildlife capture for transfer to rehabilitators; collecting dead wildlife; as well as training staff on capture techniques.
Information provided on this site is provided to help inform the public about the activities of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the Deepwater Horizon Response effort. Only publically available information will be maintained or referenced on this or other USDA sites. No information accessed through this site alters, or impedes the ability to carry out, the authorities of the Federal Departments and Agencies to perform their responsibilities under law and consistent with applicable legal authorities, appropriations, and presidential guidance, nor does this information limit the protection afforded any information by other provisions of law. All references to non-Federal Government sites do not imply USDA endorsement of any particular product, service, organization, company, information provider, or content, nor does the USDA guarantee the scope, accuracy or timeliness of information on such sites.
Information is intended only to improve the management of information controlled by the United States Department of Agriculture and it is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by a party against the United States, its Departments, Agencies, or other entities, its officers, employees, or agents. Information on this is subject to change before, during, or after publication and may not represent all activities within the USDA Deepwater Horizon Response effort.
