Aftermath of Tanker Spill : 300 Marchers Urge Exxon to Clean Up Oil Around Island in Alaska

Protesters demanded Friday that Exxon clean up the oil around their island and poured what they said was oil--it was really molasses--over a model of the Exxon Valdez tanker, covering it with feathers to symbolize the thousands of dead birds.

Protest organizer Ann Barker said the demonstration was designed “to send a loud and clear message to Exxon that many people from all walks of life are not happy with the cleanup.”

Police estimated the crowd at 300 for the noon-hour march from the high school to the harbor where state Rep. Cliff Davidson placed a wreath around a tombstone with the words, “Save our island.”

Kodiak is the richest fishing port in the United States in terms of the value of the catch to fishermen, and there are concerns about the future of the fishery with oil washing up on beaches.

The island is several hundred miles from where the Exxon Valdez ran aground March 24, spewing 10.9 million gallons of crude into Alaska waters.

Barker called the protest because “in the last several days, we have witnessed the impact off Kodiak increase, but we have not witnessed a corresponding increase in the presence of Exxon.”

Security Concerns

In fact, Exxon pulled its people out of Kodiak for security reasons before the demonstration, company spokesman Monte Taylor said from Valdez.

“We’ve moved all our people out right now because of this march and security problems,” he said. “As soon as this is over, we’ll move back in.”

He said one Exxon representative had a threatening note left in his car vowing revenge, and the company believed that it was unsafe to have people in Kodiak in the present atmosphere.

Barker acknowledged that the protest was born out of animosity, anger and frustration, but said the demonstrators’ mood was positive and determined.

“I’m not a protesting person,” she said. “We’re forced to do this. We’re driven to do this.”

Barker, who runs Shire Bookstore and said she has fished off Kodiak for 18 years, acknowledged that Exxon has been spending considerable money in Kodiak, but “we should measure an effective cleanup by how many miles of beach are clean, not by how much money they spend.”

She said that most of the cleanup around Kodiak so far has been done by volunteers and that Exxon was dividing the community by hiring fishermen for cleanup jobs and inviting others to file claims.