Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 4.1.15

12 | APRIL 1, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Tester Joins Blackfeet Tribe in Fight to Protect Badger-Two Medicine
Senator joins Blackfoot Confederacy to urge withdrawal of oil and gas leases in sacred area
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester joined the Blackfeet Nation last week in calling on the federal government to protect the Badger-Two Medicine area from private industrialization, adding his voice to an unprecedented alliance of American In- dian tribal nations urging the govern- ment to cancel existing oil and gas leases in the pristine region.
Tester sent a letter to Interior Secre- tary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secre- tary Tom Vilsack urging them to rescind the energy leases in the Badger-Two Medicine, which is sacred to the Black- feet Tribe and one of Montana’s most pristine outdoor areas.
“This area has unique cultural, his- torical, spiritual, and recreational sig- nificance to the people of the Blackfeet
Nation and Montana,” Tester wrote. “I request that the remaining oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine be cancelled to prevent adverse effects to the land or the people of the region.”
Tester’s letter came at the behest of Blackfeet tribal leaders and follows up on a letter the tribe sent to the depart- ments last year contending that the tribe was never consulted and the envi- ronmental assessment was inadequate when the leases were granted.
The Badger-Two Medicine – named for the two crystal clear rivers that spill from its mountains – is located at the wild intersection of the Blackfeet Indi- an Reservation, Glacier National Park, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Com- plex. It is a place of power for the tribes, where the nation’s prairie runs headlong into the Rocky Mountains, and is known as “Miistakis,” the “Backbone of the World,” where the Blackfeet were cre- ated.
Home to the Blackfeet origin story, the Badger-Two Medicine cradles sacred mountains with powerful names such as Morning Star, Scarface and Spotted Eagle – names drawn straight from the
beginnings of Blackfeet culture. This is the place of the Sun Dance, the Medicine Lodge, the wolf and wolverine and griz- zly bear, all important to the tribe.
It is also the place where, for 30 years, American Indians have struggled with the federal government over plans to industrialize the landscape on behalf of private oil and gas companies. De- spite numerous overtures to negotiate – to buy the leases, or to swap them for leases in other, less spiritual areas – sev- eral companies have declined to discuss anything short of full industrial devel- opment, including roads, gas wells and oil fields.
As a result, the tribes are now insist- ing that the original leases be canceled, as the government has done elsewhere when leases were found to have been is- sued in error.
In 1982, 47 leases were granted by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Two years later, a drilling permit was approved on one of the leases, though drilling was stalled when a moratorium was placed on oil and gas drilling in the area.
Today all but 18 of the leases have
been voluntarily relinquished, but pending litigation threatens to lift the suspension and allow for development within this sensitive area.
The region around the Badger-Two Medicine has a long history of federal protections, dating back more than a century to the creation of Glacier Na- tional Park in 1910, the Sun River Game Preserve in 1913, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness in 1964. These designations have been complemented by the ban on future leases, implemented by a 2006 law introduced by then Sen. Conrad Burns, the prohibition on motorized use, and the establishment of the Traditional Cultural District. The 1980s Reagan-era leases – which the Tribes believe violate both the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act – stand out on the conservation timeline as a dramatic inconsistency, tribal lead- ers insist, and were granted without ei- ther tribal consultation or review of cul- tural resources.
Removing the leases and protecting the Badger-Two Medicine, according to the coalition of tribes, is the only remedy.
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Electric Cooperative Trustees Gear up for Annual Election
Ballots for Flathead Electric Cooperative trustee elections have gone out to members and are due by April 10
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
Five people are vying for three open seats on the Flathead Electric Coopera- tive’s board of trustees.
Nine trustees help govern the Ka- lispell-based electric cooperative for three-year terms. This year, elections are being held for District 2, which in- cludes the Lower Valley, Cooke City and Elk Basin; District 3, which covers Whitefish, Big Mountain and Olney; and District 5, which covers North Kalispell. According to cooperative communica- tions director Wendy Ostrom-Price, bal- lots go out to all cooperative members, about 49,000 people, although some get more than one because they have more than one electric meter. Ostrom-Price said the cooperative usually gets about 5,000 ballots back.
“We always encourage our members to attend the annual cooperative meet- ing, to read the newsletter and to reach
out and talk to their district trustees,” Ostrom-Price said. “It’s always good to be engaged.”
Ballots must be returned to the co- operative no later than 5 p.m. on April 10. The results will be announced the following week on April 16, during the board of trustees meeting.
In District 2, representing the Lower Valley, incumbent Emery Smith is tak- ing on Muffie Thomson. Smith has been on the board since 2003 and currently owns and manages Computer Connec- tions in Kalispell. In the past, he was a senior design engineer for the Colum- bia Falls Aluminum Company and also worked at Fairchild Industries.
Thomson has worked in banking for 40 years and has been president of the Flathead Bank of Lakeside since 1994. She currently chairs the Flathead Hos- pital Development Company board. She is also the founding director and trea- surer of the Lakeside Community De- velopment Foundation.
In District 3, representing Whitefish and the surrounding area, Jay Downen is running unopposed. In the past, Downen has served as the CEO and gen- eral manager of the Montana’s State As- sociation of Electric and Telephone Util- ities.
In District 5, incumbent Alan Ruby
Flathead Electric Cooperative. BEACON FILE PHOTO
is taking on Sheri Glaspey to represent
the North Kalispell area. Ruby has been on the board for 13 years and has been an officer on the board for four years. He owns three areas business, including Al- an’s Wallcovering, the Hungry Horse Li- quor Store and the Hungry Horse Mini- Storage. He is also currently on the Flat- head County Solid Waste Board and past president of the Montana Electric Coop-
eratives Association.
Glaspey has been an educator in the
Flathead Valley for 34 years and is cur- rently a board officer of the Happy Valley Water District, a position she has held for five years.
For more information about the co- operative and the election, visit www. flatheadelectric.com.
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