Uploaded March 2019 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
On March 24, 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Blight Reef in Prince William Sound in Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and killing thousands of birds and other marine mammals.
Curt Clumpner, then with International Bird Rescue, was part of the emergency wildlife response team that mobilized for this spill.
This spill highlighted the importance of preparedness in the face of environmental disasters.
The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) was established in 1994 by the Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spiill Prevention and Response (OSPR) as a direct response to the Exxon Valdez spill.
On March 24, 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Blight Reef in Prince William Sound in Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and killing thousands of birds and other marine mammals.
Curt Clumpner, then with International Bird Rescue, was part of the emergency wildlife response team that mobilized for this spill.
This spill highlighted the importance of preparedness in the face of environmental disasters.
The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) was established in 1994 by the Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spiill Prevention and Response (OSPR) as a direct response to the Exxon Valdez spill.
