"What national security is there in promoting the degradation of the global environment through the continued exploiting of fossil fuels? What could possibly be in the best interests of the American people that only insures we will have no future along with other nations of the world?" - Chief Floyd Heavy Runner   photo by Dave Morris The Rocky Mountain Front Project Our public lands are what give Montana its wild and scenic character. But places like Montana's Rocky Mountain Front, which spans the eastern edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness for 100 miles to Glacier National Park, are in danger. Two decades ago, much of the Front was leased to oil and gas developers for as little as $1 per acre without adequate environmental impact analyses. Local environmental and tribal opposition to drilling has suspended drilling and new leasing for the time being, but new pressure to drill for domestic sources of oil and gas could mean further development and damage to Montana's wild places. The Rocky Mountain Front holds some of the most ecologically and culturally unique land in the lower 48, providing important year-round range for ungulates and a home to threatened species like the wolf and grizzly bear. It is one of the last places in North America where grizzlies still roam the plains, traveling from the mountains to the plains to feed on berries and elk. Nonetheless, federal agencies have, in the past, approved drilling even in areas that are supposed to be managed with the needs of the grizzly as top priority. The leases are all in suspension awaiting more adequate environmental and cultural review. Further roading and habitat loss threatens the very survival of grizzlies and will do nothing to help local communities that depend on its wilderness values.   photo by Dave Morris Montanans polled in 1997 favored protecting the Front against oil and gas drilling by a 2-to-1 margin. Consistently, tribal and environmental activists, ranchers and locals have expressed their overwhelming support for protecting the Front's wild character, its spiritual significance, and its non-motorized recreational opportunities, none of which are possible in the midst of industrial extraction of fossil fuels. The petroleum industry assures us that the disturbance would be minimal, yet the pristine state of the Front simply cannot coexist with oil and gas development, no matter how technologically sound the industry claims to be. Environmental impacts of drilling include: · Clearcutting of forests · Habitat fragmentation, weed infestation, soil disturbance and erosion from the construction of roads, pipelines, well pads and processing facilities · Pollution from the constant flare-offs that regulate gas pressure, releasing heavy metals and other toxic substances into the air · Depletion of local water resources and contamination of ground and surface water from toxics, erosion, and herbicides used near pipelines · Noise and light pollution · Increased traffic and human access including motorized recreation to otherwise remote areas (The Lewis and Clark National Forest is also threatened by a Travel Plan that would allow much greater off-road vehicle use and could actually facilitate industrial logging and drilling by precluding future Wilderness designation.) Drilling for oil and gas will also have a significant impact on Blackfeet tribes whose religion and livelihood depend upon maintaining the Front's integrity. The tribes have been fighting to protect the Badger-Two Medicine area just southeast of Glacier National Park, but the area is not yet safe from development despite its spiritual and historical significance.   painting by Janet McGahan Chief Floyd Heavy Runner of the Blackfeet Brave Dogs Society explains, "The Badger is the ancestral burial ground of the Blackfeet since time immemorial and the last refuge of the Blackfeet priests. When these oil and gas wells are developed, the United States will have performed the 'coup de grace' upon a last surviving pocket of pre-Columbian culture." In 1997, then-Forest Service Supervisor Gloria Flora decided to ban new oil and gas leases in the Lewis and Clark National Forest for 15 years. If this decision is overturned or if drilling on the existing leases (in the Front's Blackleaf Canyon and Blindhorse Outstanding Natural Area) is permitted, the scenic beauty and ecological integrity of the area will be forever changed. As one local put it, "Some places on earth should be left alone even if solid gold lies beneath them. The Front is such a place." Contact CMCR for more information on local opportunities to get involved with the protection of the Front. The Endangered Front Project is a Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers campaign that uses research, outreach and education, the arts, and media work to maintain strong local opposition to drilling and other abuses of public and sacred lands. cmcr@wildrockies.org Home