BLM cancels remaining Badger-Two Medicine leases

January 10, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

President Barack Obama added to his conservation legacy Tuesday when he cancelled the two remaining oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine area.

Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Tuesday that the Bureau of Land Management had cancelled the leases owned by J.G. Kluthe Trust of Nebraska and W.A. Moncrief Jr. of Texas and would reimburse them for payments associated with the leases. Neither lease had been developed.

Interior Department to cancel Badger Two Medicine leases

November 23, 2015 by Laura Lundquist

In a win for tribal cultural rights, the U.S. Department of the Interior said Monday that it intends to cancel an oil and gas lease on national forest land in the Badger-Two Medicine region. The cancellation could be finalized by the end of the year, but a District of Columbia federal court must sign off on it.

Old lawsuit resurrected to save the Badger-Two Medicine

November 10, 2015 by Laura Lundquist

The federal government has two weeks to either cancel an oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine area or allow exploration to proceed. In the meantime, people are working in both the courts and Congress to stop the drilling if it’s approved.

After Solonex LLC sued to force federal land agencies to halt a 21-year suspension of its oil exploration lease, District of Columbia District Judge Richard J. Leon in July ordered the Department of the Interior to set a schedule for issuing a decision. That decision is due by Nov. 23.

Montanans testify on historical importance of Badger Two-Medicine

September 03, 2015 by Laura Lundquist

“The places that matter are not always made of brick and mortar.”

Amy Sakariassen’s comment was the essence of the testimony heard by a federal advisory council that is deciding whether drilling for oil and gas would degrade historic sites in the Badger-Two Medicine area of the Rocky Mountain Front.