Translating settlement money into larger numbers of common murres is a complex project. The immediate goal is to reestablish a breeding colony where Apex oil had driven one away. At its peak, Devil's Slide Rock hosted 2,900 murres. The larger goals are to help the local murre population return to its pre-spill numbers and to protect the species from future ecological disasters. The more breeding colonies spread out along the coast, the better the chances that at least some will escape the next oil spill.
Biologists know better than to keep all their eggs in one breeding colony.