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Pribilof Islands Restoration Project Historical Overview
On 25 June 1786, Gavriil Loginovich Pribylov, a Russian Commander of the sloop St. George, followed the sounds of barking seals heard through the dense Bering Sea fog to discover the island that was to bear the sloop's name. A year later, they landed on St. Paul Island about 40 miles to the north. These two islands became the only two inhabited islands of the volcanic Pribilof archipelago that also includes the smaller Seal, Walrus and Otter islands. Today, approximately 1.25 million northern fur seals, or approximately 80% of the worlds northern fur seal population, breed on these islands. More importantly, St. George and St. Paul Islands are also home to the largest single community of Aleuts or over 800 of the remaining 3200 population. It was Aleut (Unungan) tales of the son of an Unimak Island Chief, Igadik, and his discovery of the Aleut island Amiq (now known as St. Paul Island) that led Pribylov to his discovery.
Pribylov was accompanied by a crew of Aleuts and Russians. During that first year of discovery, 20 Aleuts and a number of Russians were left on St. George to harvest fur seals. The harvesting continued through periods of near extinction and recovery of the fur seal. When the United States purchased Alaska in 1867, the Pribilofs were part of the package with the fur seals continuing as a major economic resource that was accompanied by lots of internal and international political intrigue.
For over two hundred years, the Aleuts have made the Pribilof Islands their home. They provided much of the labor to Russian and United States interests in the valuable northern fur seal. Then in 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) set the stage for returning Alaska Native lands back to the indigenous populations. The Aleuts became the rightful owners of the Pribilof Islands and occupied the local government.
As noted above, the United States Government began managing the Pribilof Islands following the 1867 Alaska purchase from Russia. Various federal agencies managed the islands and the northern fur seal fishery, beginning with the U.S. Treasury Department. Other agencies followed, including the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and finally the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service. As managers of the islands and having been responsible for the welfare of the Aleuts on the Pribilofs up to ANSCA, the Department of Commerce and NOAA assumed responsibility for the United States Government's cleanup of debris and contamination left behind during its management period. By 1998, several thousand tons of debris, consisting of old cars, trucks, tractors, barrels, storage tanks and the like were removed from St. Paul and St. George Islands. However, some residual debris sites remain. Soil contamination also remains as the focus of present cleanup activities. Soil contamination is primarily associated with diesel oil spilled while filling tanks for heating and electrical generation and waste oils either stored in barrels or disposed directly on the ground. The closing out of inappropriate yet active landfills and the redevelopment of new landfills remains as another priority. This website focuses on activities associated with the Environmental Restoration of the Pribilof Islands.
Suggested readings:
Sea Bears: the Story of the Fur Seal, by Frederica Martin (1960). Published by the Chilton Company, Philadelphia, PA.
Libby by Betty John (1987). Published by Council Oak Books, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Slaves of the Harvest (undated; ca. 1987). Published by Tanadgusix Corporation and Pribilof Islands School District.
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