Salish Sea Spill Map Project
In an effort to predict the behaviour of oil from a spill in the Salish Sea, and to alert coastal residents to that very real possibility, Raincoast and its partner the Georgia Strait Alliance have launched a study to map the potential spread of oil along the Kinder Morgan tanker route. For some of our drops, we have also teamed up with the Friends of the San Juans and the City of Vancouver.
Where could oil go?
To help answer this question, we have released over 4,000 small drift cards (4” x 6” pieces of bright yellow plywood, each with a unique serial number) at select locations along the shipping route from Vancouver to the Pacific Ocean. Just like a message in a bottle, the drift cards carry a simple reminder: THIS COULD BE OIL. When the drift cards are found and reported to us, their recovery locations help us map the course spilled oil might take, and how far it could travel. Our unique website allows real time drift card reporting and tracking of specific cards from drop to recovery.
www.salishseaspillmap.org
While increasing public awareness of Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline expansion is important, this study will also be published in peer-reviewed journals, be used to validate and improve state-of-the-art ocean circulation models and ultimately help to establish which communities, recreational sites, species and sensitive habitats could be affected in the event of a spill.
Preliminary Results

Currently in its second year, the project has completed nearly 30 drift card drops releasing roughly 4,000 cards. With more than 1,500 recoveries reported, preliminary results show that impacts could be far-ranging with many areas along the shipping route at risk.
Adopt a Drift Card

Support the Spill Map Project and follow the results by Adopting a Drift Card. You will be provided with drift card numbers, their drop locations, and notified when and where your card has been found.
Drift Card Reporting

Drift cards recoveries from any location are important to us. View Drift Card Reporting and find out how the public is becoming part of this study.
Support the Salish Sea Spill Map Project
Chris Genovali / Times Colonist
To no one’s surprise, the provincial government of British Columbia has signed off on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain project…
Ecojustice, Raincoast and Livings Oceans launch lawsuit to protect endangered killer whales from Trans Mountain oil tankers…
CTV goes in depth with Raincoast to discuss implications to Southern Resident killer whales from Kinder Morgan approval…
Raincoast’s latest report demonstrates how the region’s biological diversity is captured in our values, has shaped our cultural identity and is linked to economic benefits in the billions of dollars. It is not a place for oil tankers or a carbon energy corridor.
The NEB’s approval of Kinder Morgan’s TMX jeopardizes the survival of BC’s endangered southern resident killer whales, increasing the probability that they will ultimately go extinct, asserted Raincoast.
Raincoast biologists are at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference this week discussing their work in the Salish Sea and the Fraser Estuary.
Jenny Uechi / Vancouver Observer
Tamara Phillips was swimming near Stanley Park when her eye caught a glimpse of a yellow card floating along the water’s surface…
The Huffington Post B.C.
Researchers place bright yellow cards into the Fraser River to simulate how far a potential oil spill from the Trans Canada pipeline would spread…
Graeme Wood / Richmond News
If you’ve walked along the dyke recently, you might be asking yourself: What are those yellow things floating in the Fraser River or stuck on the rocks…
Larry Pynn / Vancouver Sun
400 drift cards were released into the Fraser River to better understand where a Kinder Morgan oil spill might go…
Emily Jackson / Metro
Four hundred plywood drift cards stamped with the warning “This could be oil” were tossed into the Fraser River Tuesday to simulate how far oil could travel…
Jen St. Denis / Business In Vancouver
Two environmental groups are asking British Columbians to help them track where and how oil would spill in the waters around Vancouver in the event of a tanker leak…