Drilling in Alaska
The long, dark shadow of the Exxon Valdez — and why I oppose new offshore leases
My Alaska roots run deep, drawing from generations of Eyak Athabaskan tribal ancestors connected to the Gulf of Alaska for the past 3,500 years. My connection to this state’s vast land and waters is an intimate, personal one, developed as I grew up subsistence and commercial fishing with my family in Prince William Sound and the Copper River Delta.
Even as a boy, I was aware of the contrast between Alaska’s rich natural beauty and bounty — embodied for me by the powerful, storied salmon that I pulled from our pristine oceans — and the oil industry that sullied our beaches and ecosystems and corrupted our economy, politics, and fishing way of life.
The massive oil tankers are out of place against the stunning backdrop of Prince William Sound — alien invaders sent to siphon off our lifeblood. And then, on a crisp, clear spring day in 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground at Bligh Reef, spewing millions of gallons of crude oil.
This single event changed my life and the life of my community forever. Indeed, that devastating experience informs my roles as a tribal leader, a fisherman, a committed conservationist — and today, my strong opposition to the current push for new offshore oil leasing around Alaska.
Like many Alaskan Natives, I was incensed last month when the federal government announced its intention to offer three new offshore oil leases in Alaska’s waters. It stirred up heartbreaking memories of dying animals, orcas and herring awash in spilled crude oil, and people trying to clean thousands of miles of oiled beaches with rags and hot wash hoses. Not to mention the desperation and loss of hope felt by our communities. These were personal, close-to-home impacts that we as Alaskans felt from the exploitation of fossil fuels, long before the headlines alerted us to our melting glaciers and rising seas.
Thankfully, there is one hopeful spot. When Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced details of the proposed five-year offshore energy plan in March, she said the three Alaska-area leases could be removed from the final plan based on public testimony demonstrating opposition at a series of hearings across the potentially impacted regions.
“We’re particularly interested in hearing from the public and Alaska Native communities about whether these areas are appropriate for leasing,” Jewell told reporters.
Since then I’ve been working with my fellow Alaskans to tell our story to the visiting federal officials, hoping to convince them the new leases are not appropriate for our communities, our environment, our waters, and our irreplaceable thriving subsistence way of life.
Tribal members who joined the Anchorage rally from Kivalina and Shishmaref will be among the world’s first climate refugees. Alaskan residents and tribal people from across the state joined the rally and testimony with a clear message: “No more drilling, leave the Arctic alone.” I shared my own experience of the Exxon Valdez spill as living proof of what has, can, and likely will go wrong with more oil extraction.
Not only did the nation’s worst oil spill (at the time) happen in our backyard, but it was never properly cleaned up, and our herring have yet to recover. Meanwhile Exxon appealed our case 17 times until it reached the U.S. Supreme Court, a court that set a bad precedent on minimizing punitive damage awards.
Then to add more insult to injury, Exxon never paid the last $100 million for environmental restoration in the Prince William Sound spill-zone, as agreed to in the $1 billion restoration settlement. We heard a lot of promises from the oil industry and government regarding the Exxon spill. Exxon promised to “make our lives whole again,” pay us for our losses, and clean up their mess. None of which happened.
So the time is now to act on painful lessons learned about oil extraction. Our position is simple: “Keep it in the ground.”
We urge Secretary Jewell to honor her word and hear the concerns of Alaskans. We have already done more than our fair share to feed this country’s unquenchable thirst for fossil fuels, even at the loss of our precious environment, fisheries, and public trust. It’s time to write a new chapter and create a truly sustainable economy.
Dune Lankard is the Alaska representative for the Center for Biological Diversity, an Eyak Athabaskan Native, and lifelong resident and subsistence and commercial fisherman.
