The Badger-Two Medicine is finally and permanently free of oil and gas leases. Today, the Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance, along with Blackfeet and conservation partners, has reached an historic settlement agreement to retire the last leasehold, bringing this nearly 40 year struggle to a close.
The retirement of the last oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine is a testament to what is possible when people come together in a respectful way to fight for the places they love, Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance Vice President and co-founder Lou Bruno says in his reflections on this incredible 40-year campaign.
Dawn LaFleur, vegetation program manager for Glacier National Park, discusses her work to protect native plant communities from the related threats of climate change and invasive species. Dawn will present on the topic during the next installment of the Two Medicine Voices Speaker Series on Wednesday, July 12th at 7p.m. at Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier Park, MT.
On Monday, June 26th, the Blackfeet Nation released wild bison onto tribal lands near Chief Mountain and Glacier National Park. The release marked a significant milestone in the restoration of bison as a wildlife species and for Indigenous leadership in the conservation of nature. Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance, a long-time support of this initiative, bore witness to the historic day.
Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance is hiring a Stewardship and Engagement Specialist to lead our stewardship, education and outreach efforts. Join a great team of staff and volunteers dedicated to protecting and wise stewardship of the wild lands, waters and wildlife in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem.
Climate change has already altered grizzly bears’ food availability, denning behavior, and movements. Climate-related impacts have contributed to increased conflicts with people and cast a shadow over sustained grizzly bear recovery in northern Montana. In the next installment of this year’s Two Medicine Voices Speaker Series, Dr. Cecily Costello, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly bear biologist, will discuss these and other impacts climate change is having on grizzly bears in northern Montana, as well as what these effects may portend for the bears’ future. Her presentation is Friday, June 23rd at 7 p.m. at Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier Park. The talk is free and appropriate for all ages.
Climate change is altering the availability of water on the Blackfeet Nation, including changing the volume of stream flows and prairie potholes. Hyrdologist Tyrel Fenner will discuss the effects of climate change on water resources and steps the Blackfeet Tribe is taking to improve drought resiliency, including technologies based in Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Free and open to the public.
East Glacier, MT — In late September, we scored a big victory for natural sounds and recreational solitude when Glacier National Park announced it will phase out all commercial air tours by Dec. 31, 2029, in accordance with its new air tour management plan.
Along with our partners in the Quiet! Glacier Coalition, we advocated for years for an end to these noisy overflights. Commercial air tours, while undoubtedly breathtaking for the few people who experience them, shatter the natural sounds and serenity of the park that so many visitors come to enjoy. Scientific research has demonstrated that noise from low-flying helicopters and airplanes also disturbs wildlife, drowns out sounds they need to hear to survive, and can displace sensitive species if disturbed too frequently.
The new air tour management plan has been several years in the making. The initial draft left open the possibility that these flights could continue indefinitely so long as the operator remained in business, a possibility we fought hard to prevent.
While we would have preferred to see the scenic flights ended immediately, which the Park had the authority to do, the phase out does provide operators time to plan for how to transition this part of their business, as well as for people who want to see Glacier’s peaks up close from the air.
From now until the end of 2029, Glacier will allow up to a maximum of 144 flights annually, split amongst Homestead Helicopters, Minuteman Aviation, and Red Eagle Aviation, with Red Eagle authorized to offer by far and away the most flights based on historic use. Flights cannot be transferred to another company so the number flights authorized annually will decline by a company’s share if that company ceases operations. All air tours will be restricted to the Going-to-the-Sun road corridor west of the Continental Divide and cannot fly over Logan Pass.
Thank you to everyone who participated at various stages in this process. In conversations with Park staff, we heard how much your comments and efforts made a difference. Now we can all look forward to enjoying a quieter Glacier for years to come!
Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance will continue to monitor the implementation of the plan as well as continue our work to protect Glacier’s natural soundscape from other sources of human-caused noise pollution.
For decades, noise generated by scenic air tours has been a leading complaint from park visitors. In response, Glacier National Park’s General Management Plan, written in 1999, called for an end to these air tours in order to protect the visitor experience, natural soundscape, wilderness character, and sensitive wildlife species. Because the Federal Aviation Administration has authority for Glacier’s airspace, the Park was unable to unilaterally end these flights.
The FAA however, has long been reluctant to reduce or eliminate the commercial flights over Glacier and the dozens of other national parks that have struggled with this issue. In 2000, Congress passed the National Parks Air Tour Management Act, which directs the FAA and National Park Service to work together to develop air tour management plans for any park with commercial air tours. Rather than achieve greater cooperation in managing air tours to protect park resources and the visitor experience, the bureaucratic standoff between the FAA, who wanted to protect the business interests of air tour operators, and the NPS, which is responsible for protecting park resources, continued.
After years of delay without a single air tour management plan being developed, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility sued to finally compel action. In 2020, the US Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. ordered the FAA and NPS to adopt air tour management plans that limited the number of noisy air tours at 23 different national parks, including Glacier, within the next two years.
Glacier National Park’s new plan is one of the first to be finalized and the only one so far to completely eliminate future air tours.
Read the final Air Tour Management Plan.
Read our comments on the draft plan.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Pikuni Traditionalist Association (PTA), representing the cultural and religious interests of members of the Blackfeet Nation, appealed a recent court ruling that reinstated a federal oil and gas lease in the Blackfeet spiritual homeland – the Badger-Two Medicine region. The appeal, filed in Washington, D.C., seeks to protect the Badger-Two Medicine from the threat posed by an oil and gas lease that was illegally issued in the 1980s to a Louisiana-based company.
The company, Solenex LLC, seeks to build a well pad, a road, and temporary bridges into the heart of this roadless country. The Badger-Two Medicine is part of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, and an important wildlife corridor between the adjacent Glacier National Park, the Blackfeet Nation, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. The lease was under suspension for decades and ultimately was canceled in 2016 on the basis that it was issued illegally, but was reinstated by a Washington, D.C., District Court in a September ruling.
PTA member and state representative Tyson Running-Wolf notes, “The Blackfoot Confederacy, the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, which represents tribes across the Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, and the National Congress of American Indians, are all standing together with the Blackfeet Nation. We will never cede sacred ground to those who would defile it. And it’s not just about Indian Country, for decades now, Republican and Democratic administrations have supported a lease-free Badger because the place is important to all the people of Montana.”
Joining the PTA in appealing the lease reinstatement is a coalition of conservation groups– Blackfeet Headwaters Alliance, Glacier Two Medicine Alliance, National Parks Conservation Association, The Wilderness Society and Wild Montana – that collectively represent thousands of Montanans who value the Badger-Two Medicine as a place of refuge, and actively use the area for hunting, fishing, hiking, and horseback riding. The groups intervened in the Solenex case to defend the Badger-Two Medicine region. A statewide poll in 2020 showed that nearly 80 percent of Montanans support stronger protections for the landscape.
Tim Preso, Earthjustice attorney representing the intervenors stated, “The Solenex lease was illegally issued and we believe the court decision that reinstated it was wrongly decided. We will continue to advocate for this wild and sacred landscape until the last threat to its integrity is removed.”
Over the years, a number of steps have been taken to eliminate leases in the Badger-Two Medicine area and protect the area’s cultural value and renowned fish and wildlife habitat. Notably in 2006, Congress passed bipartisan legislation to permanently prohibit future leasing as well as to incentivize the relinquishment of existing leases. Nearly every other leaseholder subsequently relinquished their leases voluntarily in recognition that drilling in the area was culturally unacceptable and economically unfeasible. The entire Badger-Two Medicine area has been designated a Traditional Cultural District and closed to motorized recreation. Solenex has declined offers to extinguish its lease.
Peter Metcalf, executive director for Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance noted that, “Drilling in prime grizzly bear and elk habitat and within a Traditional Cultural District makes no sense morally, environmentally, or economically and never will. Just as we helped other leaseholders reach retirement solutions that kept the land and their companies whole, we remain committed to exploring reasonable settlement options with Solenex.”
Background
The Badger-Two Medicine area encompasses 165,588 acres along Montana’s famed Rocky Mountain Front. The Blackfeet Nation considers the Badger-Two Medicine sacred and it is home to many of the tribe’s traditional foods and medicines as well as many Blackfeet creation stories.
The Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, National Congress of American Indians, Glacier County Commissioners, retired Glacier National Park superintendents, retired U.S. Forest Service and BLM leadership all opposed the drilling proposals in the Badger-Two Medicine. Agencies including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior have recommended all Badger-Two Medicine leases be canceled.
The history of longstanding opposition to oil and gas development in the Badger-Two Medicine area dates back nearly 50 years to when the Blackfeet Nation officially declared the region sacred and said that “disturbance of said Sacred Ground without consent of said Council shall not be allowed hereafter.” This formal position of the Blackfeet Tribe pre-dates the issuance of all energy leases in the area by a full decade, and clearly signaled to both the US government and the leasing companies that industrial development of the land and waters of the Badger-Two Medicine would not be tolerated.
Over the years, the Blackfeet Nation, conservation partners and federal officials have made several attempts to settle the case with Solenex, LLC executives. Offers included tax credits, land exchanges, alternative lease areas, cash buyouts and access to tribal oil and gas fields. To date, Solenex, LLC officials declined all offers, however, choosing instead to litigate in federal court.
Read the Notice of Intent to Appeal.
Washington, D.C. – Today, a federal District Court in Washington, D.C., reinstated a canceled energy lease and drilling permit in Montana’s famed Badger-Two Medicine region, prolonging the threat of industrialization across Blackfeet Nation sacred lands.
“It’s just more of the same from people who refuse to consult with the Blackfeet Nation about the industrialization of our last cultural refuge,” said John Murray. “We’ve lived under this kind of reckless threat to our sacred lands for decades, and we will never surrender to roads and drill rigs in the Badger-Two Medicine.”
Browning High School Librarian Amy Andreas points out the Hall Creek drill site, visible in the opening in the trees, to Blackfeet students during a fall 2021 field trip to the lease site with Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance. Judge Leon disagreed with the government and Blackfeet traditionalists that drilling for oil and gas would harm Blackfeet cultural practices and values for which the area has been designated a Traditional Cultural District. (Photo: Peter Metcalf)
Murray is Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Blackfeet Nation; he also leads the Pikuni Traditionalist Association, which was among the coalition of groups intervening to defend against the lawsuit brought by industry. The Blackfeet Nation also has filed legal briefings in the case, defending the Badger-Two Medicine against the roads and drill rigs associated with the controversial lease.
In a disappointing ruling, Judge Leon concluded that the Solenex lease was properly issued and therefore not subject to cancellation. The judge rejected the federal government’s rationale for cancelling the Solenex lease and disagreed with the claims that drilling and roadbuilding in the Badger-Two Medicine would irrevocably harm the cultural and ecological values of the area, which is a designated Traditional Cultural District (TCD). His ruling reinstates the Solenex lease in the heart of the Badger-Two Medicine Area.
The 6,200-acre lease, held by Louisiana-based Solenex LLC, was one of many issued by the federal government in the early 1980s. Over the course of several decades, the vast majority of lease holders voluntarily relinquished their leases in recognition of the outstanding natural and cultural values of the area. Some leaseholder sold their leases to third parties who then returned them to the federal government for permanent retirement. Finally, the Department of Interior cancelled the small number of leases remaining and issued orders to refund the leaseholder’s purchase price and expenses associated with their lease. Solenex remained the sole company still demanding to develop the area, and in 2013 filed a lawsuit to force the government to authorize roadbuilding and exploratory drilling.
The mountains of Glacier National Park are clearly visible from the proposed drill site at Hall Creek. Development at the site would irrevocably harm important fish and wildlife habitat, water quality, and the sound and view shed that contribute immeasurably to the beauty and wild character of this region. (Photo: Dylan DesRosier)
Peter Metcalf, Executive Director of the Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance, noted that the struggle over the fate of the Solenex lease has included both disappointments and victories. “We have had to overcome many setbacks throughout this nearly forty-year effort to prevent irresponsible energy development from these ecologically and culturally vital lands,” Metcalf said. “Yet despite the immense obstacles, we’ve managed to prevent any development and retire 46 other leases. The narrative is clearly trending toward protecting the Badger-Two Medicine and I’m confident we will ultimately eliminate this final lease too.”
As evidence, Metcalf pointed to the recent US Forest Service plan that acknowledges and protects the remarkable natural and cultural values of the Badger-Two Medicine, and a recent statewide poll that shows nearly 80% of Montanans support Tribes adopting a greater management role on culturally important public lands (University of Montana, Public Land Survey 2022). These developments follow several protective decisions in the Badger-Two Medicine: the area is now designated a Traditional Cultural District; it is protected by the Forest Service’s Roadless Rule and a ban on motorized use, both of which limit future road building and logging in the area; and Congress has prohibited all future mineral exploration, including oil and gas leasing, throughout the area as well.
“These protections and public sentiments reflect the fact that the Badger-Two Medicine is a world-class landscape,” Metcalf said. “It’s some of the absolute finest habitat we have for Montana’s wildlife, habitat that is essential to sustaining the renowned wildlife of Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.”
Tyson Running Wolf, a Montana state legislator, former Blackfeet Tribal Business Council member, hunting outfitter and leader among Blackfeet traditionalists, said the Solenex executives and attorneys simply do not understand the importance of the Badger-Two Medicine to Blackfeet culture and lifeways. “This is a place where original creation still lives,” Running Wolf said. “There are very few of those places left on this Earth. The stakes here go way beyond a couple years of profit for some oil company. This is our inheritance and legacy we’re talking about. This is about our cultural survival as Blackfeet People.”
The Badger-Two Medicine, Running Wolf said, will not be industrialized. “This is more than land,” he said. “It’s an entire way of life, a path to a strong and healthy future. Blackfeet will have a say in that future, regardless of today’s ruling. We’ve been here since time immemorial, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Pikuni Traditionalist Association and Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance were joined in defending the lawsuit by Blackfeet Headwaters Alliance, Wild Montana (formerly Montana Wilderness Association), National Parks Conservation Association and The Wilderness Society. Represented by Earthjustice, the coalition is considering all legal options.
BACKGROUND
The Badger-Two Medicine area is a 130,000-acre roadless portion of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest located adjacent to Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and serves as an important wildlife corridor between those protected lands. The area is considered sacred by the Blackfeet Nation and is home to many of the tribe’s traditional foods and medicines as well as Blackfeet creation stories. Due to its significance to Blackfeet cultural identity, it has been federally-recognized as a Traditional Cultural District.
The history of longstanding opposition to oil and gas development in the Badger-Two Medicine area dates back more than 45 years, when the Blackfeet Nation officially declared the region sacred and declared that “disturbance of said Sacred Ground without consent of said Council shall not be allowed hereafter.” This formal position of the Blackfeet Tribe pre-dates the issuance of all energy leases in the area by a full decade, and clearly signaled to both the US government and the leasing companies that industrial development of the land and waters of the Badger-Two Medicine would not be tolerated.
Over the years, the Blackfeet Nation, conservation partners and federal officials have made several attempts to settle the case with Solenex LLC executives. Offers included tax credits, land exchanges, alternative lease areas, cash buyouts and access to tribal oil and gas fields. Solenex officials declined all offers, however, choosing instead to litigate in federal court.
In 2013, Solenex LLC filed suit in DC District Court, demanding government authorization to develop its lease-holding in the Badger-Two Medicine area. In March 2016, the Department of Interior responded to the Solenex demand by canceling the company’s lease, saying it had been improperly issued in violation of environmental law and without required tribal consultation. Solenex filed new litigation challenging that cancelation, and the court reinstated the lease. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit overturned that ruling and re-canceled the lease, sending the matter back to the lower court to resolve Solenex’s remaining legal claims.
Today’s ruling by that lower court could open the sacred and ecologically-sensitive Badger-Two Medicine area to road building and exploratory drilling, and lead to the desecration of the Blackfeet people’s spiritual homeland. In its lawsuit, Solenex LLC has requested reinstatement of its lease to build roads, well pads, and temporary bridges in the Badger-Two Medicine. Other companies have voluntarily relinquished their leases in the area, noting that doing so is “the right thing to do,” and that “the sensitivity to this special area outweighs development.”
The roadless Badger-Two Medicine area is part of a federally-recognized Traditional Cultural District encompassing 165,588 acres along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. It is located adjacent to Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and serves as an important wildlife corridor between those protected lands. The area is considered sacred by the Blackfeet Nation and is home to many of the tribe’s traditional foods and medicines as well as Blackfeet creation stories.
In the years since the drilling leases were granted many steps have been taken to protect the area, including: designation as a Traditional Cultural District; a permanent prohibition on all future leasing; a ban on all motorized uses; voluntary retirement of nearly all leases; and bipartisan recommendation by both the US Senate and Trump Administration for full federal protection under a national monument or other land designation. The Obama, Trump and Biden Administrations have all defended the lease cancelation against the Solenex litigation.
Tribal members and a strong majority of Montanans continue to oppose drilling in the Badger-Two Medicine. The Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, National Congress of American Indians, Glacier County Commissioners, retired Glacier National Park superintendents, retired US Forest Service and BLM leadership all oppose drilling in the Badger-Two Medicine area. Agencies including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior have recommended that all leases be removed from the Badger-Two Medicine area.
