Crew members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Anthony Petit deploy oil spill equipment during a training drill held annually with the Canadian Coast Guard. The 2002 drill depicted here was held in Ketchikan, Alaska. Protection of natural resources is one of the 11 core missions of the Coast Guard. In the wake of the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, Congress enacted a law that vastly expanded the Coast Guard’s role in responding to oil spills and oil pollution research. US Coast Guard Art Program 2008 Collection, Object Id # 200807, "Oil spill training," Ronald Guthrie, pen and ink, 16 x 20 inches
