Montanans have spoken, now let's protect the Rocky Mountain Front
By Bill Rappold For The Glacier Reporter
Montana's Rocky Mountain Front is one of America's most stunning landscapes. As a rancher from Dupuyer, and a former Pondera County Commissioner, I appreciate that the Front's beauty and natural values are essential to the enjoyment and economic security of local families, Front communities, and all of Montana.
Montanans have a long tradition of working together to protect the Front, and the wise judgements of past generations have kept the Front one of our most treasured places.
This summer Montanans again demonstrated the depth of their attachment to the Front. During a public comment period conducted by the BLM, 93 percent of Montanans participating urged the government to abandon a proposal to drill federal lands along the Front. Instead Montanans and Americans overwhelmingly urged the Front be protected for future generations to enjoy.
At a time when public discussion is often marred by contention and acrimony, it is refreshing to witness the nearly unanimous support for protecting the Front. This united support also represents an opportunity for Montanans to work together to preserve our common legacy.
We're looking to our elected officials to find creative solutions that protect the Front, that are fair to everyone, and that allow for continued hunting, fishing, and high-quality recreation.
Some have suggested that drilling along the Front should proceed as a pilot project using current technology. But careful consideration of this idea reveals it to be a non-starter.
History shows that if a pilot well produces economical levels of natural gas, we will see a surge of industrial activity along the Front - including roads, rigs, trucks, pipelines, and transmission lines. Startech Energy, the Canadian company that wants to drill the Front, has publicly said they will push for full field development even if only one of their wells is productive.
While the idea of a pilot project sounds reasonable, the reality is that "a little bit of drilling" is like being "a little bit pregnant." Just over the border, Alberta, Canada is a good example of what could happen along the Front. The Southern portion of Alberta is quite similar to Montana in terms of geology, landscape, and wildlife. There, what was initially small-scale development has mushroomed into a tangle of roads, industrial facilities, air pollution, noxious weeds, and plummeting elk and other wildlife populations.
Today this area of Canada is in full field development and, despite using the best available technology, the region no longer resembles what it once was. On the Alberta Front, ranchers suffer as their stock consumes sulfur-contaminated grass and more and more water supplies are polluted or appropriated for industrial uses.
By comparison, one of the best solutions to protect the Front is a buy-out or swap of the leases on federal land for ones in less sensitive areas. This plan provides an answer that is fair to all - protecting both Montanans and leaseholders. As an added benefit, this course would spare taxpayers the costs - already $1.5 million - for the BLM to study drilling proposals on the Front.
Public support for a swap or buy-out already has been documented. A statewide newspaper poll done earlier this year showed that by more than 2 to 1 Montanans supported protecting the Front by swapping out the energy leases there in exchange for leases in less sensitive areas.
My family has been working and living on the Front for five generations and I am proud to be a member of the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front, an organization of ranchers, hunters, anglers, outfitters, guides, local businesses, public officials, conservationists, and other Montanans who are working to protect the Front. Now is the time for our congressional delegation to work with our local elected officials to protect the Front for the enjoyment and prosperity of our grandchildren.
Bill Rappold is a rancher from Dupuyer and a former Pondera County Commissioner. He is a past President of the Montana Association of Counties.
