On January 3, 1959, Alaska gained statehood along with its natural resources. Rich oil deposits was one of the many natural resources found in this vast area causing a new breed of fortune hunters to come to Alaska. On March 24th, 1989, millions of gallons of oil spilled into the ocean when Exxon Valdez (an oil tanker) crashed into a reef. This spill affected all of the wildlife greatly, tens of thousands of seabirds, salmon, herring, and halbut were killed from a disaster that wouldn’t have happened except for the intervention of man. An estimate was made that 100,000 birds died in the oil spill, something that could have been avoided. Even though the bulk of the oil was finally cleaned up, some of it still lingers there.