Seabirds, salmon seen on mend since Valdez spill
Date: 09-Aug-02
Country: USA
Author: Yereth Rosen
But the area's Pacific herring and harlequin ducks are on the list of species that have yet to show signs of recovery, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council said in a report issued on Tuesday. The council downgraded the status of herring to reflect a population crash and disease outbreaks.
The council decided against classifying killer whales, also known as orcas, as having recovered from the 11 million gallon spill.
"These are all judgment calls, and reasonable people can make different judgment calls," the executive director of the joint federal-state council, Molly McCammon, said on Wednesday.
"We are happy to see that they listened to public sentiment and that there are still concerns about the lingering oil that is out there," said Michelle Wilson of the Alaska Center for the Environment.
Exxon Mobil has taken issue with the way the trustee council tracks damaged species and resources, arguing that it uses a flawed definition of "recovery."
Exxon Mobil has said the definition requires a return to pre-spill numbers, even though other factors, such as climate shifts, are causing massive changes in Alaska's wildlife.
In all, six marine species are considered fully recovered from the Exxon Valdez spill, under the trustee council's newest status report.
Newly added to the recovered list are two types of seabirds - common murres and black oystercatchers - and pink salmon and sockeye salmon.
Also, archeological resources, which officials had feared would be vandalized, are now considered fully recovered.
Previously, only bald eagles and river otters were considered recovered.
Considered still recovering are clams, marbled murrelets, mussels, sea otters, sediments, designated wilderness areas and intertidal communities, as well as orcas.
Considered not recovering are common loons, cormorants, harbor seals and pigeon guillemots, as well as herring and harlequin ducks.
Subtidal communities were placed in a separate "unknown status" category. Also on that list of resources for which there is limited data and inconclusive research are two types of trout, rockfish and the Kittlitz's murrelet.
The trustee council was established by the 1991 settlement that Exxon Corp. struck with the state and federal governments.
The council's evaluation of the recovery status of resources could have financial implications for Exxon Mobil. One settlement clause allows for up to $100 million in additional payments if there are damages unforeseen in 1991.