Burgum staff were briefed on Badlands monument plan he called ‘a surprise’

(Jeff Beach – North Dakota Monitor) – In his last week as governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum lamented a “surprise national monument” by the Biden administration that he said could hinder oil and gas development in the Badlands.

The proposed monument is the Maah Daah Hey National Monument, with backers including  the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Badlands Conservation Alliance and North Dakota Wildlife Federation.

But Burgum’s staff had been briefed on the proposal months earlier. An email from John Reiten, a Burgum policy adviser, to John Bradley of the North Dakota Wildlife Federation on May 9 complimented a presentation on the monument made in February and inquired about any updates.

May 9 was the same day Burgum announced a new Office of Outdoor Recreation.

Bradley said the email led to a phone call where he advised Burgum staff that a monument designation could bring a lot of visitors to western North Dakota and that most, if not all, of the oil in the area could be accessed through horizontal drilling that would leave the surface undisturbed.

State Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, D-Mandaree, who represents a district that includes the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation that is home to the MHA Nation, told the North Dakota Monitor on Monday that misinformation is undermining the monument effort, including among tribal leaders.

“They need to read the proposal,” Finley-DeVille said. “We’re not trying to take anybody’s rights away. We’re not trying to stop oil and gas.”

Mark Fox, chair of the MHA Nation, signed a resolution passed 6-0 by the Tribal Business Council in support of the monument in May. This week, he told The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead he was reconsidering as he gathered more information about the potential impact on oil and gas development that benefits the tribe.

Fox did not immediately respond to a North Dakota Monitor request for comment Tuesday.

The proposal has other detractors in addition to Burgum. The McKenzie County Commission has passed a resolution opposing the monument that would include land in McKenzie, Billings and Slope counties.

Burgum, Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of the Interior, warned members of the state Department of Mineral Resources on Dec. 12 that presidential executive orders to create national monuments are often “land grabs” to limit the possible uses of federal lands.

He said creating the monument, which is proposed to cover nearly 140,000 acres of land in western North Dakota, would prevent harvesting minerals, including oil deposits reached through horizontal drilling that would not disturb the surface land.

The monument area is already managed by the U.S. Forest Service, which falls under the Department of the Interior and has oil wells dotting its fringes.

Bradley contends the only thing that would change in the area are some signs.

“It’s a way to recognize the tribe, protect the landscape and still allow the things we love to do,” Bradley said.

He said that includes hiking, biking and hunting. He said it also includes grazing livestock and oil and gas development that is already abundant in the area, but through horizontal drilling.

He called the areas the “last jewels” of the Badlands that are still rugged and wild. “We wanted to protect those.”

While Burgum called the plan a “surprise,” Finley-DeVille said members of the coalition had  tried multiple times to meet with Burgum directly.

She said Burgum is choosing to protect the oil and gas industry, a major tax revenue source for North Dakota, over the Native people and their history.

She also questioned state support for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library at Medora, over supporting the tribes who used the trail.

“All I want is a true history to be told that there were people here before Theodore Roosevelt,” she said.

The 29-page proposal concludes that “the proposed monument will, above all else, recognize the MHA people’s long connection to the area and permanent protection of their ancestral lands.

The monument would consist of 11 designated areas along the 144-mile trail.

At the north end are the Long X Divide and Lone Butte areas, with U.S. Highway 85 running between them at the Summit Campground. This is south of the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The proposal notes three main threats to the area:

• Oil and gas development and associated infrastructure.
• Development of new roads and expansion of existing roads.
• Horizontal drilling potentially increasing oil and gas development at the edges of the areas where motorized vehicles are banned.

Joel Brown is a member of the McKenzie County Commission that on Dec. 3 passed a resolution opposing the monument.

He said he was not aware of the proposal until it was announced in November and that there was no local input into the plan.

In addition to questions about oil and gas development, he said there is concern about access to grazing on the Forest Service land for livestock and potential impacts to plans to widen U.S. Highway 85 that runs north and south through the area.

The commission wants Highway 85, which has seen increased traffic due to oil activity and population growth, to be widened to four lanes south of Watford City.

Brown called restricting Highway 85 expansion “a nonstarter.”

On Highway 85, the proposal says, “Not only will a 4-lane highway increase traffic speed, it will further impede and block migratory movement of wildlife.”

Bradley said while the proposal notes the negative impacts of road expansion, the coalition does not oppose Highway 85 becoming four lanes.

Shannon Straight, executive director of the Badlands Conservation Alliance, said the concerns from monument opponents are overblown. He said people should check out the frequently asked questions section that accompanies the proposal on the ProtectMDH.com website.

He said uses such as grazing and recreation will continue as it has.

“Unfortunately, that is continually disregarded,” he said.

Brown said the president being able to create the monument area through executive order also is concerning to him.

He said the coalition can say grazing and other uses will be protected. “But this group does not have any ability to deliver on those statements,” he said.

A statement from Burgum’s office the day the monument plan was announced said: “North Dakota is proof that we can protect our precious parks, cultural heritage and natural resources AND responsibly and sustainably develop our vast energy resources.”

Burgum’s comments last week came during a meeting of the state Industrial Commission, which oversees the Department of Mineral Resources, which regulates oil and gas development in the state.

He advised staff to prepare an inventory of lands included in the proposal and “take a hard look at this.”

Todd Leake, executive committee chair of the Sierra Club’s North Dakota Chapter, said some people are opposed to the plan just because the order would come from President Joe Biden.

Scott Skokos, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, said even if Biden made the executive order, the management plan would be developed under the Trump administration, including local input calling for oil and gas and other rules to remain as they are.

Straight said if there is no executive order from Biden, the coalition will pursue the plan with the Trump administration.

“A good idea is a good idea,” he said.