The oil rig has been spewing an estimated 200,000 gallons a day, and it's obviously a threat to wildlife.
The Avian Conservation Center in Awendaw just outside Charleston is on standby, waiting to help the affected wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands rich in life - marine life, plant life and wildlife. All that life is now threatened by the hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil flowing into the Gulf.
"One of the most vital, vibrant ecological systems that we know of are the salt marshes," said Jim Elliott, Executive Director of the Avian Conservation Center. "When you get something on this scale that can contaminate and eliminate on such a scale, it's got implications we can't even begin to imagine," continued Elliott.
Elliott says the Gulf could be feeling the impact of the spill for decades to come.
According to Elliott, other shoreline types - like sandy or rocky shores - can often be cleaned easier than salt marsh areas.
"You can't go in and scrub them. The impact has to be flushed out over time with things like tides and winds, so we're talking about lifetimes," he said.
In the midst of all this, there's one thing that stands out to Elliott.
"I think that's something that's overlooked sometimes, just how beautiful the choreography is, how intricate the system is and how it all works together, not to mention what a major part we play in it," described Elliott.
When evaluating how it's all working together, Elliott, the passionate bird expert knows just where to look.
"There's really no better indicators for us than wild birds. They're environmentally sensitive, they reflect the conditions of the ecosystems better and more obvious than most other species. Monitoring the health of wild birds is a great way to evaluate how we're doing in managing that system that we're responsible for," said Elliott.
While efforts have begun to contain the oil, many experts predict the worst, that this could become an unprecedented environmental disaster.
The Avian Conservation Center says they should know in the next few days exactly how they'll be utilized to help in the Gulf cleanup efforts.
The center is open to the public for bird flight demonstrations, guided tours and natural history discussions. For more information click here
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