When the Refugio Oil Spill of May 19th 2015 reached the Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve, breeding ground for the threatened Western Snowy Plover, the federally contracted clean up crew arrived with the intention of following protocol and decimating the protected nesting grounds. This is the story of how biologist Cristina Sandoval, director of the reserve managed the clean up so that it cause minimal damage and in the process educated the crew, largely from urban areas, about the Snowy Plovers and how to help rather than hinder their survival.