Know Alaska: Prince William Sound, Valdez-Cordova Census Area, including Glennallen.

• Author: Hill, Robin Mackey

Because of the proximity of their locations and the parallelism of their roles as Prince William Sound commercial centers, there is a tendency to think of Valdez and Cordova as two halves of a whole -- sister cities that, although their hair color may be different, share the same family resemblance. Those who live in Valdez and Cordova say such comparisons are valid to a point but that the two communities actually have strikingly different personalities.

"We're really not sister cities anymore," says Jayne Sontag, executive director of the Prince William Sound Economic Development Council. Sontag was born and reared in Valdez. "We have really different types of people in Valdez and Cordova."

The basic difference, says Walt Wrede, planning director for Cordova, involves two natural resources vital to the economic health of the region: fish and oil. "There's always been friction between the oilmen and the fishermen," says Wrede, who has lived in Cordova two years. "It's changing a little bit but the rivalry is still there, and it mainly has to do with fishing versus oil."

Cordova's economy has long been dependent on fishing, and members of the community have felt for several years that the transportation of oil could pose a grave danger to the fishing industry. In the mid-1970s, Cordova fishermen went to court to try and halt construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, arguing that no environmental impact studies had been done addressing the effects of a possible oil spill in Prince William Sound.

When the Exxon Valdez spilled almost 11 million gallons of oil into the sound in 1989, residents throughout the area were affected, but the spill tore especially at Cordova's community fabric. Fishermen became divided among those who would and those who would not accept payment from the oil industry for their help in cleaning up the oil.

Fishing became a particularly important industry after the Kennecott copper mines closed in 1938, bringing to a screeching halt the transportation of ore into Cordova, where it had then been loaded onto ships. Commercial fishing crews, processing plants and other services catering to the needs of fishermen have, over the years, provided the bulk of Cordova's jobs.

In Valdez, the primary employers are Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., a firm owned and operated by oil companies to manage the Prudhoe Bay-to-Valdez pipeline, and other services associated with the oil industry. Valdez has a hefty tax base that has allowed for things most small towns could never afford, including a civic center. "We're one of the richest little towns and that brings animosity," says one longtime resident.

Sontag says both communities now are identifying shared goals and are working through her organization to foster change. Projects include finding new markets for area salmon, improving ferry schedules, drawing visitors to the area and dealing with the region's waste. "The rapport has been really excellent," says Sontag of the feeling among her board of directors. "We're stronger together. We should combine our resources and our knowledge."

HISTORY

Prince William Sound has a rich and varied history. Archaeological studies suggest that Chugach Eskimos and neighboring groups lived in the area during the early Holocene period (10,000 years ago to present). Europeans began exploring the sound in the 1700s, and Captain James Cook charted Prince William Sound in 1778.

Spaniards are credited with discovering and naming both Cordova and Valdez, where by 1897 Klondike prospectors had built a tent city that would later become the city of Valdez. Valdez went on to become an important transportation, fishing and mining center. In 1977, with development of North Slope oilfields, the city became home to the terminus of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. The original town was devastated by the 1964 earthquake, forcing residents to rebuild the city four miles away on more stable ground.

Cordova, Prince William Sound's other main community, also was an important transportation center. Early this century, Cordova served as the railroad terminus and ocean shipping port for copper ore from the Kennecott mine near McCarthy: 112 miles northeast of Cordova. When the mine closed in 1938, fishing became Cordova's main economic base.

Smaller sound communities include Chenega Bay (also rebuilt after the 1964 earthquake), Tatitlek and Whittier (named for poet John Greenleaf Whittier), which was created by the U.S. government during World War II as a port and petroleum delivery center.

Prince William Sound gained international attention following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The...