Indianz.Com > News > Montana Free Press: Blackfeet Nation protects sacred area from drilling
Solenex will retire last oil and gas lease in Badger-Two Medicine
A settlement agreement between Solenex, the federal government, and tribal and environmental groups marks the end of a 40-year energy development fight.
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Montana Free Press
Louisiana-based company Solenex has agreed to retire the last remaining oil and gas lease in the Badger Two-Medicine, a region of northwest Montana that’s often described as the spiritual homeland of the Blackfeet Tribe.
The agreement, reported Friday (September 1) by organizations involved in a lawsuit over the lease, closes the book on a decades-old dispute over energy development in a remote and largely undeveloped piece of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Solenex first acquired the 6,247-acre lease for oil and gas development in the Badger Two-Medicine in 1982, when the Interior Department issued a total of 47 leases in the area. The Clinton administration suspended it in 1993, a move that subsequent administrations repeated under pressure from conservationists and tribal representatives seeking to stop energy development in the area.
Amanda Eggert studied print journalism at the University of Montana. Prior to becoming a full-time journalist, Amanda spent four years working with the Forest Service as a wildland firefighter. After leaving the Forest Service in 2014, Amanda worked for Outside magazine as an editorial fellow before joining Outlaw Partners’ staff to lead coverage for Explore Big Sky newspaper and contribute writing and editing to Explore Yellowstone and Mountain Outlaw magazines. Prior to joining Montana Free Press’ staff in 2021 Amanda was a freelance writer, researcher and interviewer.
Note: This story originally appeared on Montana Free Press. It is published under a Creative Commons license.
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