conserving the crown of the continent

Trout Unlimited Takes Over Drilling Leases on Rocky Mountain Front

By Matthew Frank, 4-13-07

Trout Unlimited has obtained the rights to more natural gas drilling leases on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front—leases the conservation organization will seek to permanently retire.

The leases occupy some 4,900 acres in the Badger-Two Medicine area south of Glacier National Park and west of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

“For hunters and anglers in Montana, this is another step in the right direction,” Ryan Busse, a TU volunteer and sportsman from Kalispell said in a release. “This is land that really isn’t appropriate for oil and gas drilling in the first place, so to see these leases given to TU, and to know that they’ll be retired and never drilled is really satisfying.”

The land also includes sacred areas on the Blackfoot Reservation. Keith Tatsey, a tribal member and natural history instructor at the Blackfeet Community College, was quoted as saying, “The Front is a vital part of our Blackfeet history and culture, and it continues to give us an opportunity to experience the life of our ancestors.”

The leases, sold to TU by Donald Epperson, a private energy investor, are on two separate tracts of land and the purchase price will remain undisclosed in accordance with the agreement, reports the Great Falls Tribune.

This marks the second time TU has accepted leases on the Front in the past year. In June 2006, Questar Corp. donated oil and gas leases, which will soon be returned to the Bureau of Land Management and retired.

Correction: This story has been altered to correctly identify the Badger-Two Medicine area.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.