ABSTRACT:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and partners measured pollutants in wood duck (Aix sponsa) eggs collected near a North Carolina paper mill. The mill, on the Roanoke River near Plymouth, is adjacent to one of the National Wildlife Refuges we manage in the public trust. In the early 1990ﾒs we found pollution levels of concern in wood duck eggs near Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge. In the mid-1990ﾒs, a mill modernization reduced pollutant loading to the river, so we re-assessed pollution risks to birds between 2002 and 2005.