About the Eyak Perservation Council

The Eyak Preservation Council (EPC) is a grassroots social change organization dedicated to promoting sustainable communities and protecting and preserving wild salmon habitat and Indigenous culture. Located in Cordova, Alaska, 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.

EPC works continually to inform, inspire, and promote values that can change the world and win concrete protections and improvements for the environment and society as a whole. This includes understanding the interests and needs of diverse groups and helping them gain a sense of their own power and value through united action. Our grassroots network extends from the Copper River Delta across Alaska and into the lower 48. EPC utilizes a variety of tools, and litigation when appropriate, to challenge shortsighted and destructive agency process and foreign, domestic, and Native corporate practices. EPC is actively engaged on issues from wild salmon habitat protection to promoting sustainable economies. We are very proud and honored that we have inspired thousands of people, young and old, from all over the world to take action, and understand the link between preservation, conservation, and environmental justice.

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.

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.