Deaths of ducks increase calls for scrutiny in Trump's effort to renovate Lincoln Memorial pool, and the admin could wind up with legal liability on its hands

A duck family gathers at the Lincoln Memorial (NOTUS)

A nonprofit dedicated to protecting endangered species is calling for an investigation into the deaths of several ducks that came after the Trump administration began controversial renovations on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. A Washington, D.C.-based wildlife group has collected the bodies of the ducks and plans to conduct necropsies to discover what caused the deaths.

The renovation project, marked by shoddy workmanship and the awarding of corrupt no-bid contracts to Trump cronies, has drawn critics from the outset but now is under heightened scrutiny in the wake of the duck deaths. A jointly published report at Politico and Yahoo! News points to enhanced efforts to seek accountability for an administration that appears clueless about the complexities involved in working on a large, man-made pool that holds water -- to the point that Trumpers seem to be doing more harm than good. Under the headline "Dead ducks add to Trump's reflecting pool drama," Heather Richards writes:

The discovery of three dead ducks has prompted worries that President Donald Trump's $16-million overhaul of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has a flaw that can be fatal to wildlife.

A local wildlife organization collected two deceased ducks, found at a pond adjacent to the pool Sunday. The same day, a Washington Examiner journalist documented another dead adolescent duck floating in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. The presence of deceased waterfowl has sparked speculation of toxic algae, sometimes known as blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, in the lime-green gunk that swiftly proliferated after the Trump administration installed a commercial pool liner earlier last month.

There is no confirmation of the potentially harmful algae in the pool, but City Wildlife — a leading local wildlife rehabilitation organization that collected the birds Sunday — plans to perform necropsies to help gauge if the birds could have been affected by the pool renovation.

Many Americans likely have grown used to reading or hearing about Trump-administration screw-ups. But the Reflecting Pool project is reaching "fiasco" stage. The presence of dead ducks, some of them babies, is not a good look for the administration -- especially when the bodies are discovered in and around a national memorial.

Part of the problem seems to be Trump's Jupiter-sized ego. The one-time real-estate mogul, apparently fancies himself as a master builder and project manager. But time and again, the Reflecting Pool renovation has proven to be beyond his grasp. The last person to recognize that fact seems to be Trump. Now, a number of individuals and entities want to interject some competence into the proceedings. Richards writes:

The duck discoveries come amid near-daily drama at the normally placid memorial, where a no-bid renovation contract, an infusion of unsightly algae, peeling paint and public arrests have captured public attention in recent weeks. The president raises the issue of the renovation when he speaks to the press and has asserted criminal actions are at fault for many of the current problems at the pool.

"We appreciate everyone's concern for the duck family and other ducks currently visiting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as it undergoes continued repairs," City Wildlife said in a statement posted to its website. "City Wildlife's Duck Watch team continues to monitor the situation closely, including daily dedicated checks on the Reflecting Pool."

City Wildlife did not respond to requests for an interview and said in its statement posted online that it could not comment on the causes of the birds' death until after the necropsies are performed.

Calls for enhanced scrutiny come from beyond the city limits of Washington, D.C. One of the loudest voices belongs to a nonprofit based in Tucson, AZ. Richards writes:

The Center for Biological Diversity asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on Tuesday to investigate the deaths under a federal law that protects migratory birds, criticizing the use of concentrated peroxide to kill algae.

Tara Zuardo, a senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the pool a "giant duck death trap."

"Instead of letting this administration's bizarre boondoggle keep killing innocent ducks, I hope the Fish and Wildlife Service steps in to do its job and protect America's wildlife," Zuardo said in a statement.

FWS did not immediately provide comment for this story.

The FWS is not the only relevant government agency that seems reluctant to enter the fray:

The D.C. Department of Energy and Environment and the Interior Department did not respond to requests for comment on the waterfowl. Interior has previously said peroxide — used to combat the green scum in the pool — is a milder way to treat algae than chlorine and is used in spas and swimming pools.

"There are no harmful side effects to marine life or to the environment," the department said earlier this month.

Experts cautioned against jumping to conclusions on the bird deaths.

"I know a few more dead ducks have been found, but hydrogen peroxide remains an extremely unlikely cause," said Brad Bortner, the former national division chief of migratory bird management at FWS. "They [would] have to pour hundreds or thousands of gallons of industrial-strength hydrogen peroxide into the reflecting pool to reach a concentration that would kill a bird."

Trump has been quick to point toward vandals as the cause of problems at the Reflecting Pool. But a number of observers have concluded that Trump himself is more likely the problem. From the Politico/Yahoo! report: 

The renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was supposed to be a gleaming center point in the president's patriotic celebrations on July Fourth to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, including as a launching pad for some of the more than 800,000 fireworks set to go off in a matter of weeks.

Instead, it's become a public headache for the White House, following the president's idea to cut government cost by renovating the leaking and trash-filled pool with a rubber-like, commercial swimming pool liner, painted "American Flag Blue." Days after the liner was applied, and the pool refilled, algae swiftly infested its roughly 4 million gallons of water.

As the National Park Service tried to treat the algae with peroxide and ozone, as well as collecting and vacuuming the vegetation, pieces of the pool's liner began to peel off the bottom of the pool.

President Trump said Tuesday that the pool was looking "beautiful" but acknowledged that some water will have to be drained from the pool to make repairs. He blamed the degrading liner on vandalism. But a contractor working on the pool said Monday that the federal government is still actively investigating the cause of failure.

"Was it manual intervention that made those few places peel, or was that the chemical composition of what was in the water? We don't know until we have further results at this point," said Francois Rivard, vice president of Rhino Linings, the contractor that supplied the pool liner.

Bortner acknowledged the birds could have been harmed by ingesting the liner or algae but said that couldn't be confirmed without tests on the dead ducks. 

As several involved parties try to point fingers at "the other guys," the administration might wind up with legal problems on its hands, Richards reports:

The White House could be liable if it recklessly harmed native, wild ducks, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. But Bortner said the administration doesn't appear to have violated those protections.

"A violation requires a reasonably foreseeable risk to birds and using hydrogen peroxide at algae‑control levels is a standard, low‑risk practice," he said.

Mike Selckmann, associate director of aquatic habitats at the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, said toxic algae certainly is possible in the Lincoln Memorial pool. The shallow, warm and still pool — sitting in a sun-drenched location during the long days of summer — is a perfect "Petri dish" for algae to grow.

"Harmful algal blooms — toxic species or potentially toxic species — they can grow alongside nontoxic filaments" and it's unpredictable what type of algae will become dominant in the ecosystem, he said.

A water sample analysis would be needed to confirm a harmful algae bloom, he said.

Part of the problem for lovers of waterfowl is that ducks, especially young ones, face a myriad of dangers in the wild. Some reports estimate that only 10 to 30 percent of ducklings survive to adulthood. In areas with a strong presence of predators, that figure can lean toward 10 percent. From the Politico/Yahoo! report:

City Wildlife said in its statement that ducks often die in Washington from attacks by other wildlife and natural causes.

"While the loss of ducklings is always upsetting, many people are surprised to learn that in urban environments the leading cause of duckling mortality is predation," the group wrote. "Ducklings may also die from injuries sustained while attempting to follow their mother from elevated nesting sites, or from drowning if they are unable to safely exit the water."

The group said it "routinely" investigates duck deaths on the National Mall.

Meanwhile, the Reflecting Pool long has presented maintenance challenges. In the current situation, Trump has seemed reluctant to engage the services of experts -- even those from the government. After all, why involve experts when the president himself is a master builder? Richards writes:

More than 100-years-old, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has had leaks for generations and often suffered from algae blooms. The Obama administration did a massive renovation in 2012 for $34 million, installing pylons to stop the heavy monument from sinking, replacing the pool's base with treated concrete and installing a new water filtration system that pulls water from the Tidal Basin.

Trump said in May that his renovation of the pool with commercial swimming pool products would cost far less than estimates by the park service for a second extensive renovation to address the continued leaks.

In other words Trump decided to tackle the problem on the cheap, using contractors whose competence now is being called into question. No wonder the Reflecting Pool has turned into a headache. Trump has tried to ease his aching head by blaming "vandals" who probably do not exist -- leading to arrests of individuals who almost certainly have committed no crime, giving them textbook grounds for filing false-arrest lawsuits.

That Trump would blame others for problems  he largely caused should surprise no one. Many Americans probably would faint if Trump ever took responsibility for his actions or those of his subordinates. After all, Trump long has shown signs of being a malignant narcissist, and the words "I made a mistake" do not tend to be in the vocabulary of people with that personality disorder.