Alaska Conservation Programs

Return to Programs

Federal data is complete from 1998-2017. State and local data is complete from 1998-2017. In the tables and charts below, acres are allocated to each program proportionate to the size of the contributions to each acquisition. For example, if an acquisition had two contributions, and each program contributed equal dollar amounts, each program receives 50% of the acres. If you have questions or want to provide updated information, please contact Jessica Welch at jessica.welch@tpl.org.

Profile of State Program(s)

Alaska Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration and Habitat Protection Program: As a result of the 1989 oil spill in Prince William Sound, Exxon agreed to a $900 million civil settlement with annual payments stretched over a ten-year period from 1991 to 2001. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Council consists of three state and three federal trustees, and was formed to allocate funds from the settlement. They dedicated nearly 60 percent of the available settlement funds for habitat protection in the spill region. The Exxon Valdez Habitat Protection program began protecting land in 1993 through its large parcel and small parcel programs. Since 1998, the Council has refocused its efforts away from land acquisition for habitat protection and towards research and monitoring of habitat, although the Council did create an endowment for ongoing acquisitions. Now the program focuses on acquisitions of large parcels over 1,000 acres in size, which support key habitats injured by the spill and small parcels located on coves, along stretches of rivers adjacent to valuable tidelands, and close to spill-area communities. There were no acquisitions between 2006 and 2008.

Local Financing Enabled

Local governments have attempted to acquire land by using local enabling authority to adopt general obligation bond measures to conserve parkland.

Local Programs Included

No county-level conservation finance measures have been approved by voters in Alaska. For more information on municipal measures in the state, visit www.landvote.org.

Federal Partnerships

Federal agencies and programs that have conserved land in Alaska include:

  • U.S. Bureau of Land Management
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Section 6 Grant
  • U.S. Forest Service
  • U.S. Forest Service – Forest Legacy Program (FLP)
  • U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP)
  • U.S. National Park Service
  • U.S. National Park Service – LWCF Stateside
  • U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service – Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)
  • U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service – Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)
Report Table
Dollar Chart by Year
Acre Chart by Year