The Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Prince William Sound of Alaska proved to be a disaster on many levels. The coastline, wildlife, and people of the all area were all devastated by the spill. Ten years later, the area is showing remarkable progress. Because of the cleanup efforts and new regulations, the Sound is getting ever closer to recovery.
             A few minutes after midnight on March 24, 1989, the T/V Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. A few minutes later the coast guard received a radio message from the ship's captain, Joseph Hazelwood: "We've fetched up – ah – hard aground north of Goose Island off Bligh Reef, and – ah – evidently leaking some oil. We're going to be here for a while."(Knickerbocker, Big Spill 12) That radio call was the beginning of the worst oil spill in United States history. The "some oil" that Hazelwood was referring to ended up being an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil. The oil covered nearly 1,300 miles of shoreline and eventually reached beaches 470 miles away. (McAllister C14).
             At the time of the spill, officials had no immediate plan for cleaning up the oil. The spill struck in a remote part of a state where the population of caribou easily outnumbers people. Spokesman for the Govoner's office David Ramseur agreed. "You need a lot of people and a lot of equipment, and we don't have enough."(McAllister C14) At the time, that statement was sadly true. The area just wasn't prepared to handle a spill of that magnitude.
             Other than the coastline, the spill also effected the local residents of the area, primarily the region's wildlife. The spill ultimately killed more than 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 150 bald eagles, and 14 to 22 killer whales, along with billions of herring eggs. (number6) This proved to be equally detrimental...