UPDATE: Looks like the volunteer hotlines are overwhelmed. Don't panic; at this early stage, there simply isn't much that the untrained public can do. Some new info appears after the jump, but to summarize: DON'T APPROACH OILED ANIMALS. They'll hurt you, and the oil will hurt you, and everyone will be sad. Just report them instead, and take photos so the damage can be assessed later.

To volunteer: call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at (800) 228-4544, or email Baykeeper at volunteer - at - baykeeper - dot - org. Send Baykeeper your photos of oil damage, too.

To report oiled wildlife: call the OWCN at (877) 823-6926. They help all kinds of animals -- even the non-cute ones! Don't try to catch or clean animals yourself. Sick, injured wildlife does not typically react well to untrained human contact.

Make donations to Baykeeper here.

There's also a (private) cleanup company, The O'Brien's Group, to whom you can report oil damage: 985-781-0804.

Propaline advises contacting the Governor to ask him to seize ownership of the boat. That won't immediately help any animals, of course, but it'll ... um ... get revenge? Or something? Apparently the state's having difficulty determining exactly who owns the vessel, so presumably the real owners will reveal themselves if Arnold tries to steal it. Okay, maybe that's worth a shot -- but what if the owners actually WANT to get rid of the boat, and let the state go ahead and seize it? What do we do with it once it's ours?

This info was compiled by someone at the Parks Conservancy (with more info and pictures located here):

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

(From Oiled Wildlife Care Network, www.owcn.org) Calls from the general public wanting to volunteer outnumbered bird reports yesterday by about 5-1. Volunteer opportunities for untrained members of the public are going to be very limited over the next few days but here's a critical one: please make a special effort to look for oiled birds in places where the general public doesn't go. Don't approach or touch the birds but call 877-823-6926 and provide the location (be very specific, GPS coordinates are great), the species, number of birds seen, whether dead or alive, and percentage of oiling.

Please leave your name and a contact phone number. The sooner, the better. The faster we can get these birds stabilized and washed, the higher their chances of recovery and survival.

Under no circumstances should people touch or approach an oiled animal unless they have HAZWOPER training and are properly equipped. If you see someone doing this, please remind them that this is toxic material.

(From Save the Bay)

Our contacts at NOAA and other agencies are working to gather any damage information people are seeing on the ground- and get any info documented with photos and video. They are concerned about oyster and eelgrass impacts in addition to other fish and wildlife impacts. Please contact Natalie Cosentino-Manning at the NOAA Restoration Center if you have information or pictures: Natalie . dot . c-manning . at . noaa . dot . gov, please cc mlatta . at . savesfbay . dot . org.

The lead agency for spill response is CA Dept of Fish and Game- Oil Spill Prevention and Response.

(From the NPS)

This is a follow-up e-mail regarding the status of the oil spill which was a result of outbound container ship COSCO BUSAN. Please be advised that the Unified Incident Command Group is still in the process of assessing and monitoring the spill. To protect the health and safety of visitors and park staff, the temporary closures at Fort Point, Crissy Field Beach, China Beach, Baker Beach and Kirby Cove are still in place.

Although not included in the last update, Rodeo Beach was closed yesterday afternoon and remains closed. As of 7:00 a.m., November 8,

2007 Tennessee Valley Beach became closed temporarily due to oil contamination. The temporary closures will remain in effect until the extent of the contamination and health risks have been assessed. The Crissy Field Promenade is considered open and safe for recreation but the beach itself remains closed. The Unified Incident Command Group led by the US Coast Guard is managing the response to the incident. Please refer all public information calls to 510-772-8865.