the Eyak Preservation Council
Located in Cordova, Alaska, the Eyak Preservation Council (EPC) was founded in 1989 following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. As the tanker hemorrhaged 30 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, spreading disaster everywhere, people stood in shock, some said there was nothing to be done. Corporate representatives talked of the inevitable price of development. That disastrous event turned founder Dune Lankard, an Eyak from a commercial fishing family, into a life-long community activist. Dune and a small collective of people began to rally, finding hope, courage, and strength. Their collective voices grew. The fisherman united with Natives and environmentalists to convert tragedy into cutting edge conservation, preserving nearly 700,000 acres of endangered wild salmon habitat. Since that time, EPC has continued to produce tangible and far-sighted results in the watersheds of the Copper River and Prince William Sound. Today, as a 501c3 organization since 2000, EPC is recognized as the leading Native founded and led conservation organization in the region.
The heart of all our work is the permanent protection of wild salmon. By advocating for policy and legislation protecting Copper River and Prince William Sound (Sound) wild salmon habitat, we will protect and preserve Eyak culture, subsistence, and our salmon way of life once and for all. Recognizing the connection between people and preservation, our goal is to foster truly sustainable communities in which culture, economics, and education all reinforce preservation of the environment.
EPC’s Mission
To preserve, restore, and celebrate wild salmon culture and habitat through awareness, education, and promotion of sustainable livelihoods within the communities of the Copper River and Prince William Sound Watersheds.
Update on Shepard Point Road and Port application:
The application is essentially on "hold." Click here for more information.
Where We Work
The Alaska Copper River Delta encompasses over 700,000 acres of fresh and saltwater wetlands, and is the largest contiguous wetland on the Pacific coast of North America. Surrounded on three sides by the Chugach and Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains and fed by the powerful Copper River, the Delta is the biological heart of a landscape of massive glaciers, tundra and rainforest. Each spring, over 16 million shorebirds and waterfowl descend upon the Delta wetlands to rest and feed before continuing their sometimes epic migrations across the northern hemisphere. The Delta lies within the Chugach National Forest, the second largest National Forest in the United States.
