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CORDOVA, Alaska ? As the oil spill spreads ominously in the Gulf of Mexico, its impact uncertain, communities here beside Prince William Sound are still confronting the consequences of March 24, 1989, the day of the wreck of the Exxon Valdez. The tanker Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil, staining 1,500 miles of coastline, killing hundreds of thousands of seabirds, otters, seals and whales, and devastating local communities. The spill stopped after just a few days. Recovery may not have an end date. The mountain views are still stunning but the herring fishery is gone, the king and Dungeness crabs, too. Prawns are coming back, but just barely. The loss of the herring industry over the years since the spill has cost the region about $400 million, said R. J. Kopchak of the Prince William Sound Science Center.
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