Many of us remember the images from the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that left 11 people dead. The disaster opened a gushing wellhead that emptied 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the ocean off the coast of Louisiana. I worked as a teacher in Louisiana as these events unfolded, and for me, what happened eight days later was as poignant as the news on that first terrible night because it happened in my classroom.

On April 28, 2010, the world watched as clean-up crews set the Gulf of Mexico’s waters ablaze—the latest attempt to control the vast oil slick. The disaster became the topic for discussion among my 7th grade students in Jefferson Parish, less than 100 miles from the smoldering oil rig. The local news had just reported that oil would be washing ashore within hours.

My students were scared. They sought assurance and answers. They wanted to know why it was happening. The BP oil spill was more than an ecological disaster happening offshore; the impacts were real and they were quickly hitting home.

One student heard from his father, a commercial fisherman, that “all of the oysters and fish were going to die and there was going to be no more seafood.”

As students pictured the oil washing ashore and destroying beaches, many feared that their parents would lose their jobs in the tourism-based economy that the Gulf Coast relied upon. They talked about the places they had visited and loved—Jean Lafitte down the road, the beaches of Alabama and Gulf Islands. “Will we be able to go this summer?”

They turned to me and asked, “How did they let this happen?”

Being an English teacher, this would have been a great opportunity for me to invoke the lessons of The Lorax and provide a literary analogy. But I just told them to hold on to how they felt in that moment and not forget it.

This was just the beginning of a nightmare that went on to last 87 days. Over 210 million gallons of oil later, gulf ecosystems have been permanently changed. As we mark the three-year anniversary, the restoration continues. We still do not know the long-term consequences of the BP oil spill and how it will affect the landscape and aquatic life for years to come. A recent National Wildlife Federation report states the remnants of oil and dispersants continue to plague dolphins, sea turtles, and coral, which are dying at an abnormally high rate.

Three years later, more oil rigs are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico than before the BP oil spill. In the past year, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued 112 new drilling permits for wells deeper than 500 feet—more than each of the two years prior to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Have we forgotten the lesson from three years ago? I at least hope that my students have not.

BP and other responsible parties are currently on trial in a federal court in Louisiana to determine the extent of their negligence. Learn how financial penalties from the proceedings could help fund projects to strengthen Gulf waters and national parks in our recent story, “Three Years Later: Gulf Coast Still Recovering from BP Oil Spill.”

This Saturday, April 20, marks the third anniversary of the oil rig explosion that devastated coastal communities, waters, and lands in the Gulf of Mexico and imposed tragic loss among 11 families.

Nearly three years ago, I flew over the Gulf of Mexico in a small plane, to see firsthand the devastating impacts the 2010 Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill was inflicting on our national parks and the local communities, especially Gulf Islands National Seashore. I met with many workers and toured the National Park Service’s Oil Spill Command Center to discuss clean-up efforts, staff capacity, and the challenges they faced trying to protect park resources and wildlife.

As I walked along the beach of Gulf Islands National Seashore, the wind and rain from Tropical Storm Bonnie was strong. The brown-stained sea foam rolled in and out, leaving behind a thin sheen of oil on the beach. Though officials advised against it, I reached down to pick up some of the brown sand and felt the oil between my fingertips. I was not prepared for the stinging sensation on my fingers—a slight and persistent chemical sting. It was heartbreaking to imagine the oil spreading over the Gulf Islands’ beaches, into its wetlands, and onto its wildlife. The work ahead for the National Park Service was daunting, especially for the more than 600 staff from 120 national parks deployed to assist in the Gulf Coast cleanup efforts, in addition to thousands of others from federal agencies, national and local organizations, and nearby communities.

Recognizing that one of the worst environmental disasters to hit the Gulf Coast in U.S. history could bring about an unprecedented opportunity for recovery and restoration, Congress passed the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourism, Opportunities Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (also referred to as the RESTORE Act) last year. This bipartisan legislation ensures that 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalty payments stemming from the BP oil spill would be directed toward environmental restoration and economic development in the Gulf region, including national parks like Gulf Islands National Seashore, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, and Padre Island National Seashore, where the health of the Gulf is directly linked to the health of the parks.

Today, BP and other responsible parties are on trial in a federal court in Louisiana to determine the extent of their negligence and the financial penalties that will be leveed. In the meantime, there are many projects that could make a tremendous impact on the Gulf through the RESTORE Act.

The entire Gulf is one large ecosystem. Improving the health of places like Florida Bay, the Mississippi Delta, and Galveston Bay will support vibrant fisheries, wildlife habitat, and livelihoods that depend on a healthy Gulf. NPCA supports a variety of restoration projects with a goal of improving the overall health of the Gulf to allow it to be more resilient to future disasters.

At Gulf Islands National Seashore, one potential project would remove asphalt and road-base debris from areas that were once pristine sugar-white sand, but have been damaged by years of storm events. At Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve, a proposed project would restore wetlands damaged by old oil exploration and drilling canals, levees, and platforms in the Barrataria Preserve portion of the park. At Everglades National Park, another proposed project would bridge spans of a major access road known as the Tamiami Trail, allowing water to flow back into the park and out to Florida Bay, a highly productive Gulf estuary that has experienced a decline in fisheries and wading birds due to the lack of fresh water.

With five of America’s Great Waters and eight national parks located in the Gulf Coast region, we must not forget how these cherished places suffered, either by direct impacts from the oil or indirect effects such as lost revenues from spring and summer tourism seasons. These communities have been waiting for funds to begin critical shovel-ready environmental restoration projects that will rebuild the Gulf Coast, making it stronger and more resilient.

We must not forget how we felt when we heard the news three years ago and watched damage spread day after day. The communities, businesses and national parks in the Gulf Coast still need help to recover from it. The federal government must hold the responsible parties accountable and use the financial penalties to jumpstart these restoration projects that, once funded, will help to restore and rebuild the Gulf Coast to make it stronger than ever.

Each month, NPCA puts together a slideshow exploring one of the 398 amazing places in our National Park System. To get the featured park delivered to your inbox each month, sign up for Park Lines, NPCA’s newsletter, at www.npca.org/join.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The resulting underwater oil spill transfixed the nation’s attention, with daily (even hourly) live reports from national television stations, print and internet outlets, and radio programs. For those having trouble visualizing what tens of thousands of barrels of oil gushing into the ocean each day looked like, there was a live feed accessible online. When BP finally sealed the well on July 15, 2010, the nation breathed a collective sigh of relief. Our long national environmental nightmare was finally over.

Or was it? Several recent research studies suggest that the environmental impacts of the Deepwater Horizon spill are still with us. One study recently in the news documented the presence of the oil in Gulf of Mexico zooplankton. Zooplankton, little floating animals, play a central role in aquatic food webs, and one study found chemical residues tied specifically to the Deepwater Horizon spill in Gulf zooplankton. The implication: Oil from that spill is now contaminating an important food source for predatory fish, and that chemical contamination may extend further into the sport and commercial fisheries so important in this region.

Another study, this one headed by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), showed that, in Barataria Bay, Louisiana (a location that received heavy and prolonged exposure to oil during the spill), the resident dolphins are underweight, anemic, and have symptoms of lung and liver disease. While these symptoms are consistent with exposure to oil, they have not been specifically linked to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A third study documented the impact to a very small, remote ecosystem: deep-water corals that live 1,300 meters below the ocean’s surface. Deep-water coral colonies that were closest to the oil spill exhibit signs of stress and tissue damage, while colonies farther away appear intact and thriving.

While these aren’t the types of news stories that generate widespread interest, hourly televised updates, or the ominous feel of the oil cam, they are exactly the types of studies that will ultimately define the long-term impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Resource protection certainly means addressing immediate threats: oil-covered birds, washed-up tar balls, fish consumption advisories. But it also means painstaking research to determine and understand the long-term impacts to resources, long after the camera crews have moved on to the next big story. Unfortunately, for places that are supposed to be protected from environmental damage—such as Gulf Islands National Seashore, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Breton and Delta National Wildlife Refuges—the real story may just be beginning.

Find information on the Park Service’s response to the oil spill on their website.