Submitted by the San Juans Alliance

On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez (a 984-foot long tanker)  struck a reef in Prince William Sound, spilling more than 11 million gallons (about 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools) of crude oil. Despite containment efforts, the oil coated 1,300 miles of coastline (over three times of all combined coastlines in San Juan County), and covered an area about 25 times the area of San Juan County waters. 25 years later, an estimated 20,000 gallons of Valdez crude oil is still in Alaska’s sand and soil.

The tragic ripples of ecological and economic devastation are still being felt today; several marine species and commercial fishing are still recovering or have yet to recover from the spill.

According to the  San Juans Alliance, the waters surrounding San Juan County could become one of North America’s busiest fossil fuel trans-shipment corridors.

In 2010 there were 10,000 deep draft vessel transits through the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  With new and expanded projects in Canada and Washington, 2,620 additional deep draft vessel transits are proposed per year.

There are various events in San Juan County to recognize the 25th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.

The lecture  “Our Islands at Risk:  Increased Vessel Traffic and Increased Risk of a Major Oil Spill” is Friday, March 14, 7-8:30 p.m. at Lopez Center

Learn about what would happen in the event of a major oil spill. Gary Shigenaka, a marine biologist for NOAA, who specializes in marine life studies during oil spills, will talk about how various cargo and propulsion oils would likely behave if spilled in our marine environment. Julie Knight, director of Islands Oil Spill Association  will talk about local spill response preparedness.

The movie “Black Wave: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez”  is Monday, March 24, 7 p.m. at the Lopez Library. The event is sponsored by the San Juans Alliance and Lopez Library is co-sponsoring.

You can also look for “drift cards.”

Drift card drops co-sponsored by Friends of the San Juans, Georgia Straits Alliance and the Raincoast Conservation Foundation

On March 24, the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, a drift card drop will simulate what would happen if a spill occurred in Turn Point/Arachne Reef  in Boundary Pass and, Bird Rocks in Rosario Strait. People who find drift cards can report the location where they were found at www.salishseaspillmap.org or call 360-378-2319.

– San Juans Alliance is concerned about the impacts to our economy and our environment from the transport of fossil fuels through the Salish Sea.