nbc's lisa myers is in new orleans this morning. lisa, good morning to you. >> hey, matt, good morning. we spent ten hours out over the gulf over the last few days and found only isolated patches of oil on the surface. but scientists say there is still plenty of oil out there. and they remain greatly concerned about the continuing damage to the environment, and to wildlife. we went out to track the oil with pilot bonnie shumaker, a committed environmentalist. who has been out over the oil almost daily since mid-may. >> every day there's less and less to see. >> there was thick oil as far as the eye could see. now we find occasional blotches of orange. >> we're having trouble finding patches of oil. that doesn't mean we're not going to stay prepared until the flow is killed. >> reporter: but as we traveled offed southern coast of louisiana on wednesday, it didn't take us long to find oil. >> we are six miles off louisiana and are beginning to see significant fingers of crude oil, both on and underneath the water. streaks of emulsifie