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UNCOMMON GROUND MIKE JOPEK GOVERNING VS.
GUEST COLUMN DAVE GALT
BADGER-TWO MEDICINE LEASE FWORTH FIGHTING FOR
ORMER SUPERINTENDENTS OF ethnographic study (2010), which was Glacier National Park recently heavily redacted, concealing justifica- submitted a letter in support of tion for the expansion from the public,
CAMPAIGNING
FRESHMAN CONGRESSMAN RYAN Zinke has raised an impressive amount of reelection money total- ing $2.1 million, year-to-date. Zinke starts this month with nearly $750,000 cash-on-hand according to the Federal Election Commission.
That amount of election cash is enough to scare off most Republican primary opponents before next June.
Nearly 84 percent of Zinke’s reelec- tion contributions come from individ- uals. Most of the balance comes from committees, some from Montana. Of the itemized individual contributions, one in six have Montana addresses.
Zinke’s election money originates from across the country, with every state contributing except Deleware and indi- viduals from Dallas, Texas, giving more than any other city in the nation. Indi- viduals from states like California, New York, Florida, Virginia, and Nevada have all contributed significantly to Zinke’s reelection.
While Zinke raised big amounts of cash, he spent $1.4 million this year, half of which went to postage and printing.
While it appears that Zinke’s team has been busy mailing-for-cash, outgo- ing Speaker of the House John Boehner reportedly highlighted fundraisers in the Bozeman and Whitefish areas help- ing boost coffers.
Freshman Zinke previously announced interest to become the new speaker of the house, a move seen as unlikely as Zinke doesn’t yet have the votes. More time in the House will help. It takes years to build trusted political relationships.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on the “Axe Files” podcast with David Axelrod said that most Republi- cans in Congress want the job of speaker; they just don’t have the votes. Republi- cans remain intent on electing a speaker with no Democratic votes. Many ideo- logues remain uncompromising within the GOP ranks.
Speaker selections are insider elec- tions based largely upon a fraternal view of politics. In all likelihood Rep. Paul Ryan will be the next speaker with Zin- ke’s pledged support, while the freshman lawmaker moves up the ranks of House leadership.
When serving with Zinke in the Mon- tana Legislature, I mostly found the Whitefish senator to be moderate. Zinke maintained a fix-it attitude and worked with then Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s admin- istration to bring forward several solu- tions to help Montanans.
Even as Tea Partiers steeped the 2011 Montana Legislature, Zinke was ranked as the most moderate Republican senator in the session by the American Legisla- tures project, which measures the ideol- ogy of individual legislators.
So far in the 114th Congress, Zinke is ranked by the standard in political ide- ology measurements as among the third most moderate Republicans of the House. The roll call vote data from political sci- entists Howard Rosenthal and Keith Poole is publicly available and ranks the political ideology of each Congress.
GovTrack, a government transpar- ency project, ranked Zinke as moderate in both its political ideology and leader- ship score. Yet farmers like me adamantly oppose some of Zinke’s cosponsored bills.
Over the years I’ve found Zinke decent to work with on many local and statewide issues. Zinke routinely voted moderate. Yet Zinke’s conversion to firebrand rhet- oric turned off most progressives who hoped the congressman would return to his earlier political positions on issues like climate change. Zinke may govern more moderate than most Republicans, but he campaigns just as red-hot.
Congress hasn’t been able to fix much recently even with Republicans in con- trol of both chambers. Currently Con- gress must again decide how the debt ceil- ing honors the full faith and credit of the nation while passing new spending bills to keep our government open. Leadership would help.
Last June Zinke edged out a primary win by splitting the Republican vote. Zinke garnered 44,000 votes to Corey Stapleton’s 39,000 to Matt Rosendale’s 38,000. Stapleton is currently running for Montana secretary of state.
Zinke raised enough election cash to scare off most Republican primary oppo- nents. Montana deserves more moder- ate-voting leaders, even if they don’t much sound like centrists anymore.
canceling leases for oil and gas explo- ration in the Badger-Two Medicine. The Montana Petroleum Association has supported the leaseholder by filing an amicus curiae brief and attending meetings to discuss mitigation through an open dialogue with the Tribe.
“For more than 30 years, oil and gas companies have sought to exploit the Badger-Two Medicine for energy pro- duction,” said the superintendents, who are only now chiming in at the height of the controversy’s exposure. Their posi- tion aligns perfectly with federal land management agencies’ interest in limit- ing development of more and more land across the country.
At each of the meetings of consult- ing parties over the last three years, the leaseholder and advocates of Sid- ney Longwell’s rights extended oppor- tunities to the Tribe to work together. Through the same process, conflict- ing interests have been able to reach agreements that balance environmen- tal integrity and land development all across the country, however, practica- ble solutions like these have begun to take the backseat to outright bans and restrictions to land use.
Longwell, owner of Solenex, has been fighting for his legal right to use a drill- ing permit the Forest Service and BLM alike have previously approved, on a lease which he legally obtained.
The first approved application for a permit to drill (APD) was granted in 1985 by the BLM. In 1987, the BLM issued a “Finding of No Significant Impact” and reapproved the lease. Then, in 1991, fol- lowing a joint Decision of Record by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM approv- ing the APD based on an Environmen- tal Impact Statement (EIS), the BLM approved the APD. Finally, in 1993, the Solenex received a fourth approval of the APD, which was signed by the assis- tant Secretary of the Interior.
Legal challenges and congressio- nal suspensions have waylaid devel- opment for more than two decades. Meanwhile, the boundaries of the Bad- ger-Two Medicine Traditional Cultural District where the Solenex lease rests have been expanded, following four eth- nographic studies. The area has grown from 90,000 acres to more than 165,000 acres, making it one of the largest TCDs in the country. It should be noted that the Solenex lease area was not incor- porated into the TCD until the latest
and essentially stonewalling the lease- holder in meetings to discuss alternative development strategies.
In October 2003, prior to the expan- sion of the TCD boundaries, the Forest Service announced that although the lease site was offset from the bound- aries of the originally defined TCD, a study would be required to ascertain whether drilling activity (visual, audi- ble) would “affect the qualities that con- tribute to the significance of the TCD;” essentially, conducting studies to deter- mine whether or not the lease site was an Area of Potential Effect on the TCD. That study concluded that drilling on the site would not affect the TCD.
In their Determination of Adverse Effects, the Forest Service sites a dis- turbance area between 14.18 and 22.91 acres. This represents an impact area of approximately .014 percent within the TCD.
Considering the entirety of the TCD, the lease area exists within the most disturbed area. A Forest Service report states that modern disturbances are present in some areas. The northern periphery of the district is affected by the noise and visual intrusions of the Great Northern Railroad, Montana Highway 2, several utility lines, the Summit Campground, the Roosevelt Monument, and various private prop- erty developments – all located along a travel corridor that separates the Bad- ger-Two Medicine TCD from Glacier National Park. There are also two elec- tronic communication sites located on Mount Baldy and Half Dome Crag peaks in the eastern portion of the TCD. A For- est Service administrative site, Badger Cabin, is located roughly in the center of the TCD and numerous Forest Sys- tem trails are interspersed throughout the TCD.
Conveniently, though, opponents have found their way around those facts in order to strip Mr. Longwell of his legal rights, with the former super- intendents calling energy development in the Badger-Two Medicine “an intol- erable assault” on the values of the Park and the Blackfeet people.
Stripping a man, who’s followed every letter of the law for more than 30 years, of his legal rights, that is an intolera- ble assault. And someone has got to see through the smoke and mirrors to stand with him in his fight.
“ZINKE RANKED AS MODERATE IN BOTH ITS POLITICAL IDEOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP SCORE.”
Mike (Uncommon Ground) Jopek and Dave (Closing Range) Skinner often fall on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to political and outdoor issues. Their columns alternate each week in the Flathead Beacon.
Dave Galt is executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association
OCTOBER 28, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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