Twenty five years ago on March 24, more than 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Alaska's Prince William Sound after Capt. Joseph Hazelwood ran the Exxon Valdez into Bligh Reef.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
Twenty five years ago on March 24, more than 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Alaska's Prince William Sound after Capt. Joseph Hazelwood ran the Exxon Valdez into Bligh Reef.
Natalie B. Fobes/National Geographic/Getty Images
An Exxon Valdez oil spill worker recovers and cleans a bird covered in crude oil. At least 1,000 ducks and 250,000 seabirds were killed by Exxon Valdez crude oil, according to studies.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
An Exxon Valdez oil spill worker recovers and cleans a bird covered in crude oil. At least 1,000 ducks and 250,000 seabirds were killed by Exxon Valdez crude oil, according to studies.
Bob Hallinen/Anchorage Daily News/MCT/Getty Images
Workers dry off a sea otter after it was cleaned up. About 2,800 sea otters died the first year after the spill -- right afterward 1,000 carcasses were found -- and hundreds more have died since from digging clams in beaches that were still contaminated with oil.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
Workers dry off a sea otter after it was cleaned up. About 2,800 sea otters died the first year after the spill -- right afterward 1,000 carcasses were found -- and hundreds more have died since from digging clams in beaches that were still contaminated with oil.
CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images
A Valdez worker wipes oil off the rocks on the shoreline.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
A Valdez worker wipes oil off the rocks on the shoreline.
Bob Hallinen/Anchorage Daily News/MCT/Getty Images
A cleanup worker checks gunk trapped by a floating boom in the Prince William Sound after the spill.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
A cleanup worker checks gunk trapped by a floating boom in the Prince William Sound after the spill.
Alan Levenson//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
A fisherman inspects a dead California gray whale covered in oil on the northern shore of Latoucha Island, Alaska.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
A fisherman inspects a dead California gray whale covered in oil on the northern shore of Latoucha Island, Alaska.
John Gaps III/AP
A worker demonstrates the thick coverage of the toxic crude oil washed up on Smith Island, Alaska.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
A worker demonstrates the thick coverage of the toxic crude oil washed up on Smith Island, Alaska.
Erik Hill/Anchorage Daily News/MCT/getty images
A responder shoots low-pressure hot water on an oil-soaked beach at Eleanor Island, Alaska.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
A responder shoots low-pressure hot water on an oil-soaked beach at Eleanor Island, Alaska.
Erik Hill/Anchorage Daily News/MCT/Getty Images
Volunteers bathe oil-covered birds in buckets filled with water and dish detergent.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
Volunteers bathe oil-covered birds in buckets filled with water and dish detergent.
Alan Levenson//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
The oil from the Exxon Valdez spread through the Sound and out into the Gulf of Alaska, damaging over 1,300 miles of some of the most remote, wild shoreline in this country.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
The oil from the Exxon Valdez spread through the Sound and out into the Gulf of Alaska, damaging over 1,300 miles of some of the most remote, wild shoreline in this country.
STR/AP
Tugboats tow the Exxon Valdez off Bligh Reef to a harbor for repair and salvage efforts, two weeks after the beginning of the oil disaster. The tanker changed names and owners several times, and was bought in 2012 by an Indian company, which scraps ships for steel and spare parts.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
Tugboats tow the Exxon Valdez off Bligh Reef to a harbor for repair and salvage efforts, two weeks after the beginning of the oil disaster. The tanker changed names and owners several times, and was bought in 2012 by an Indian company, which scraps ships for steel and spare parts.
CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images
Capt. Joseph Hazelwood, center, stands with his attorney during his arraignment on fugitive charges stemming from the grounding of the Exxon Valdez. An Alaska jury cleared him on a felony charge but he was convicted of negligent discharge of oil, a misdemeanor, for which he performed community service.
Exxon Valdez oil spill —
Capt. Joseph Hazelwood, center, stands with his attorney during his arraignment on fugitive charges stemming from the grounding of the Exxon Valdez. An Alaska jury cleared him on a felony charge but he was convicted of negligent discharge of oil, a misdemeanor, for which he performed community service.
Dick Harwood/AP