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While its not civil war, the message here is relate to a recent issue we've been following.
Pinnacle Gas INC wont drill on a battlefield. Woah! Image that, a major natural resource company doesnt want to harm a cultural resource....
ahem ahem ahem (casts eye in the direction of Cedar Creek....)
Drew A. Gruber
Wyo company says it won't drill on battlefield
By CLAIR JOHNSON
Billings Gazette
[oas:casperstartribune.net/news/wyoming:Middle1]
BILLINGS, Mont. -- Plans for exploring coal-bed methane resources at Rosebud Battlefield State Park in southeastern Montana are on hold for now as the state and parties with minerals interests try to find a way to protect the historic site from energy development.
Wyoming-based Pinnacle Gas Resources Inc. and private mineral rights owners agreed in February to extend Pinnacle's lease until August 2009. Without the extension, Pinnacle would have had to begin test drilling by April to keep its lease.
None of the key parties involved wants to see minerals -- coal, oil and gas -- developed at the battlefield, but finding a solution that satisfies everyone's interests is tricky because of the split-estate ownership of the minerals and the land. In a split estate, the surface owner is different from the owner of the subsurface minerals.
In the case of Rosebud Battlefield State Park, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks owns the surface while most of the minerals are held privately.
"We'd like everybody to wear a white hat," said Chas Van Genderen, assistant administrator of FWP's Parks Division. "It gets complicated and requires some sensitivity. We're working hard."
Located off Highway 314 south of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and east of the Crow Reservation, the 3,000-acre park is well off the beaten path.
The rolling hills forested with pine trees and prairie lands are where Gen. George Crook, assisted by the Crow and Shoshone tribes, battled the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne nations on June 17, 1896. The fight on Upper Rosebud Creek was one of the largest battles of the Indian Wars and occurred eight days before the more famous Battle of the Little Bighorn about 30 miles away. Both sides claimed victory.
The site also has significant cultural and archaeological values, including a buffalo jump.
The battlefield is being considered for designation as a national historic landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
FWP acquired the battlefield in 1978 from Elmer "Slim" Kobold, who lived there for more than 40 years and was dedicated to preserving the site. The state, Van Genderen said, had only enough money to buy the land, not the mineral rights.
Mineral development was not much of an issue until about 2000, when interest in drilling for natural gas and coal mining grew as the country's demand for energy increased.
In April, FWP released a management plan for the battlefield after a two-year planning process that involved broad interests. The plan identifies coal-bed methane development as the "most immediate threat" to the battlefield.
In addition to the privately owned minerals, the Crow Tribe has mineral rights, which are held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Land Management has minerals rights.
Van Genderen said the state is talking with the Kobold family, Pinnacle, the tribes, BLM and others to find a solution.
There are two alternatives, Van Genderen said.
One option would be to buy the mineral rights and interests from the lessee. The other would be to trade the minerals under the battlefield for mineral rights elsewhere. The challenge with either alternative is cost and time, he said.
Kobold's grandson, Luke Kobold, a Billings resident and family spokesman, said buyout and trade options have been discussed.
"We'd be interested in either," he said.
Determining the value of the leases has been one of the challenges, Kobold said.
"There is no clear definitive value for what we're talking about," he said. "But we all agree the preservation of the battlefield is the utmost priority. It's the family's desire to see it protected. Everybody is eager and engaged in the process."
Kobold said the private minerals have been leased in some form since the 1970s. Pinnacle's 10-year gas lease was acquired in 1998, he said.
Pinnacle attorney and land man Steve Gregersen said the Sheridan-based company is discussing values with the state. The company, which has done an in-house evaluation, is trying to help everyone get an accurate assessment of the mineral value, he said. Gregersen declined to name any figures.
Pinnacle would like to place the minerals in the state's hands and provide the Kobold family with something else of comparable value, Gregersen said.
"We are committed to not drilling there. We want to find another way," Gregersen said. "We're committed to protecting the family's interests and equally committed to protecting the battlefield."
Pinnacle's closest coal-bed methane well is about 10 miles southeast of the battlefield.
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe opposes coal-bed methane development at the park and is helping to get the battlefield designated a national historic landmark.
Genderen said the lease extension gives the state and other interested organizations time to negotiate a solution. Other groups interested in helping preserve the battlefield include the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Montana Preservation Alliance, the Frontier Heritage Alliance in Sheridan, and the Crow, Northern Cheyenne and several tribes of the Sioux nations.
"While I'm optimistic, it's a cautious optimism," Genderen said.
Pinnacle Gas INC wont drill on a battlefield. Woah! Image that, a major natural resource company doesnt want to harm a cultural resource....
ahem ahem ahem (casts eye in the direction of Cedar Creek....)
Drew A. Gruber
Wyo company says it won't drill on battlefield
By CLAIR JOHNSON
Billings Gazette
[oas:casperstartribune.net/news/wyoming:Middle1]
BILLINGS, Mont. -- Plans for exploring coal-bed methane resources at Rosebud Battlefield State Park in southeastern Montana are on hold for now as the state and parties with minerals interests try to find a way to protect the historic site from energy development.
Wyoming-based Pinnacle Gas Resources Inc. and private mineral rights owners agreed in February to extend Pinnacle's lease until August 2009. Without the extension, Pinnacle would have had to begin test drilling by April to keep its lease.
None of the key parties involved wants to see minerals -- coal, oil and gas -- developed at the battlefield, but finding a solution that satisfies everyone's interests is tricky because of the split-estate ownership of the minerals and the land. In a split estate, the surface owner is different from the owner of the subsurface minerals.
In the case of Rosebud Battlefield State Park, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks owns the surface while most of the minerals are held privately.
"We'd like everybody to wear a white hat," said Chas Van Genderen, assistant administrator of FWP's Parks Division. "It gets complicated and requires some sensitivity. We're working hard."
Located off Highway 314 south of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and east of the Crow Reservation, the 3,000-acre park is well off the beaten path.
The rolling hills forested with pine trees and prairie lands are where Gen. George Crook, assisted by the Crow and Shoshone tribes, battled the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne nations on June 17, 1896. The fight on Upper Rosebud Creek was one of the largest battles of the Indian Wars and occurred eight days before the more famous Battle of the Little Bighorn about 30 miles away. Both sides claimed victory.
The site also has significant cultural and archaeological values, including a buffalo jump.
The battlefield is being considered for designation as a national historic landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
FWP acquired the battlefield in 1978 from Elmer "Slim" Kobold, who lived there for more than 40 years and was dedicated to preserving the site. The state, Van Genderen said, had only enough money to buy the land, not the mineral rights.
Mineral development was not much of an issue until about 2000, when interest in drilling for natural gas and coal mining grew as the country's demand for energy increased.
In April, FWP released a management plan for the battlefield after a two-year planning process that involved broad interests. The plan identifies coal-bed methane development as the "most immediate threat" to the battlefield.
In addition to the privately owned minerals, the Crow Tribe has mineral rights, which are held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Land Management has minerals rights.
Van Genderen said the state is talking with the Kobold family, Pinnacle, the tribes, BLM and others to find a solution.
There are two alternatives, Van Genderen said.
One option would be to buy the mineral rights and interests from the lessee. The other would be to trade the minerals under the battlefield for mineral rights elsewhere. The challenge with either alternative is cost and time, he said.
Kobold's grandson, Luke Kobold, a Billings resident and family spokesman, said buyout and trade options have been discussed.
"We'd be interested in either," he said.
Determining the value of the leases has been one of the challenges, Kobold said.
"There is no clear definitive value for what we're talking about," he said. "But we all agree the preservation of the battlefield is the utmost priority. It's the family's desire to see it protected. Everybody is eager and engaged in the process."
Kobold said the private minerals have been leased in some form since the 1970s. Pinnacle's 10-year gas lease was acquired in 1998, he said.
Pinnacle attorney and land man Steve Gregersen said the Sheridan-based company is discussing values with the state. The company, which has done an in-house evaluation, is trying to help everyone get an accurate assessment of the mineral value, he said. Gregersen declined to name any figures.
Pinnacle would like to place the minerals in the state's hands and provide the Kobold family with something else of comparable value, Gregersen said.
"We are committed to not drilling there. We want to find another way," Gregersen said. "We're committed to protecting the family's interests and equally committed to protecting the battlefield."
Pinnacle's closest coal-bed methane well is about 10 miles southeast of the battlefield.
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe opposes coal-bed methane development at the park and is helping to get the battlefield designated a national historic landmark.
Genderen said the lease extension gives the state and other interested organizations time to negotiate a solution. Other groups interested in helping preserve the battlefield include the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Montana Preservation Alliance, the Frontier Heritage Alliance in Sheridan, and the Crow, Northern Cheyenne and several tribes of the Sioux nations.
"While I'm optimistic, it's a cautious optimism," Genderen said.
