NOAA Fisheries

About NOAA Fisheries' EVOS Office

On March 24, 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil across 1,300 miles of coastline - a catastrophic event that lead to one of the most thorough examinations of the effects of oil on the environment. While the vast majority of the spill area now appears to have recovered, pockets of crude oil remain in some locations, and there is evidence that some damage is continuing.

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Trustee Council was established with funds from the legal settlement between the State of Alaska, the Federal Government and Exxon to develop research, restoration and habitat conservation plans for the spill area. The NMFS Alaska Regional Administrator represents NOAA on the Council and oversees the NMFS Office of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Damage Assessment and Restoration. The EVOS office administers projects carried out by NMFS researchers and outside contractors, and facilitates research planning and coordination between EVOS projects and other programs.

Research and Restoration

Research and Restoration

• Project Details and History
• Alaska Fisheries Science Center Spill Research
• EVOS Trustee Council Restoration Projects
  • Gulf Ecosystem Monitoring (GEM) Program
  • Habitat Protection and Lingering Oil
  • Injured Resources and Services

Research Publications

• EVOS Trustee Council Annual Reports
• Long-Term Ecosystem Response to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Charles H. Peterson, Stanley D. Rice, Jeffrey W. Short, Daniel Esler, James L.Bodkin, Brenda E. Ballachey, and David B.Irons. Science, 2003 December 19; 302: 2082-2086.
• Prince William Sound Oiled Shoreline Survey
  May-August 2001
• Post Settlement (1991) Oil Publications

Research Funding

• Invitation for Proposals. The Trustee Council uses an annual cycle of soliciting proposals to help assess and restore species and services impactd by the 1989 oil spill. As established by the 1994 restoration plan, this is an adaptive process where by results from previous years are evaluated with respect to recovery goals and used to help inform the soliciatation of project in subsequent years. The Trustee council will announce the next invitation on this website and through email distribution.
• Other funding opportunites for marine research in Alaska:
  • Alaska SeaLife Center
  • Grants.gov - Federal Grants Portal
  • Northern Fund
  • North Pacific Research Board
  • Pollock Conservation Cooperative
  • Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program
  • US GLOBEC Northeast Pacific Region

Reopener Provision

• United States and the State of Alaska Seeking Additional Funds from ExxonMobil for Continuing Natural Resource Damages Caused by 1989 Oil Spill
• Fact Sheet: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Reopener Provision Joint Federal and State Restoration Plan Under the Reopener for Unknown Injury Provision of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Settlement Agreement
• Comprehensive Plan for Habitat Restoration Projects Pursuant to Reopener for Unknown Injury

General Oil Spill Information

• Trustee Council
• History
• Photographs
• NOAA Oil Spill Response and Restoration

Civil Settlement Documents

• Civil Action No. A91-081
• Civil Action No. A91-082
• Memorandum of Agreement between the State of Alaska and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, 1992.
• Memorandum of Agreemement between the State of Alaska and the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, 1993.

*Please note that NOAA Fisheries cannot guarantee the accuracy of any of the information on any websites that are not part of the NMFS Alaska Regional Office website. NMFS Alaska does not imply endorsement of any particular product, service, organization, company, information provider, or content on any of the above listed websites.