The first Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference (EOW) was founded and hosted by Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research in 1982, and the conference has since gained international recognition as the premier oiled wildlife response conference. Since its inception, the purpose of this conference has been to encourage collaborative efforts focused on the care and conservation of oiled wildlife and their habitats.
The impact of EOW Conferences has been great. There is now a worldwide understanding and recognition of the problems connected to the oiling of wildlife and increasingly governments and responsible industries have included oiled wildlife response as a fully integrated activity in their oil spill contingency plans. In addition, a truly global community of oiled wildlife responders has come forth from this series of conferences. Together they have developed a shared understanding of standards of good practice which are increasingly recognised and applied all over the world. This is not surprising for an event with a history of almost 30 years!
Overview of the 9 previous EOW conferences
| Edition | When | Where | Organised by | Proceedings* |
| 1 | 1982 | Wilmington, Delaware, USA | Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research | Printed |
| 2 | 1990 | Herndon, Virginia, USA | International Bird Rescue Research Center | Printed |
| 3 | 1993 | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA | Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research | Printed |
| 4 | 1995 | Seattle, Washington, USA | International Bird Rescue Research Center | Printed |
| 5 | 1997 | Monterey, California, USA | International Bird Rescue and Research Center, Dept Fish and Game, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine | Printed |
| 6 | 2000 | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA | Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research | CD-ROM |
| 7 | 2003 | Hamburg, Germany | International Bird Rescue Research Center, International Fund for Animal Welfare | CD-ROM |
| 8 | 2005 | St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada | Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, Environment Canada | CD-ROM |
| 9 | 2007 | Monterey, California, USA | International Bird Rescue Research Center, Oiled Wildlife Care Network | CD-ROM |
The most recent EOW conference was held in Alaska in May 2015 and organised jointly by International Bird Rescue and Aiuka. Visit the 2015 EOW site here.
* A continuous effort will be made to re-publish the proceedings from all historic editions electronically. This will depend on their electronic availability and the approval of the organisations that have the copy rights.