Governments Buy Land Tainted By Exxon Spill

Nearly 60,000 acres of land damaged by the Exxon Valdez oil spill was turned over to the U.S. and Alaskan governments today to insure their recovery and future protection.

The land was purchased for $34 million from the Chenega Corp., an Alaskan native village. The funds came from the $1 billion settlement of the 1989 accident that fouled 1,500 miles of shoreline in Prince William Sound.

Most of the land will be incorporated into the Chugach National Forest. The rest will be managed as an Alaska state park.

“We can’t take back this manmade tragedy,” Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said before signing the agreement. “But we will do all we can to restore the land’s pristine character.”

The acquisition opens the land to recreational uses, tourism, sport fishing and hunting.