The Deepwater Horizon Event was the nation's first Spill of National Significance and as such had significant challenges and complexities over a normal oil spill response. During this event, NOAA had both regulatory and response responsibilities and many activities are continuing today. The Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle group of the Wildlife Response of the Unified Command officially became operational on April 30, 2010 and was still operational in March 2011. The group enhanced the normal stranding response network in the northern Gulf to provide response for marine mammals (cetaceans and manatees) and sea turtles. Throughout the response, the group also used standardized protocols to collect samples, data and information under chain of custody that might be used as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and potential criminal and civil litigation. Coordination across such a complex response, assessment of both the impacts of the spill and the response, and the length of time and size of the spill provided significant challenges for the wildlife health community. Lessons learned from this event will provide information for better preparedness for future responses. The response was successful due to the tremendous effort of the wildlife and conservation medical communities including the stranding network and the wildlife health community.