Alaska Opens Park Paid for by Exxon

Alaska has a new 42,000-acre state park, paid for with $38.7 million from the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlement.

Afognak Island State Park came into existence Thursday when Gov. Walter J. Hickel signed legislation at a reception in Kodiak.

The new park sits on an island north of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. It includes prime habitat for animals harmed by the 1989 spill, including bald eagles, marbled murrelets, harbor seals and sea otters. It was purchased from the Seal Bay Timber Co.

“Habitat is protected for the birds, sea mammals and spawning salmon, yet we still allow the traditional activities Alaskans have enjoyed in the area,” Hickel said.

Logging will be prohibited in the park, but hunting, fishing, trapping and recreation activities will be allowed.

The tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil when it struck a reef in Prince William Sound in 1989, creating the nation’s worst oil spill.