Montana's Rocky Mountain Front

MONTANA'S ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise to address an amendment that is very important to me and my State relating to Montana's magnificent Rocky Mountain front. I filed the amendment to the Energy bill and, even though we are not on the bill at the moment, I will talk about the amendment. I will speak about what it would have accomplished because I will not press for action on this amendment. Rather, I will offer it at a later time.

So what is the front? The front, as we call it back home, is one of the largest and most intact wild places left in the lower 48 States. We call it a front because that is what it is. It is a front.

Anybody driving across the State of Montana westward, coming in from the east, first encounters open plains and prairies; they are vast. And then, suddenly, out in the distance the Rocky Mountains, the Continental Divide, jumps out of the plains. That is what we call the eastern front.

It is amazing and it astounds me every time I drive across the State and see it from a distance. It is special to Montanans and it is sacred to the Blackfeet Indian tribe. It is home to the Nation's largest population of big horn sheep, and the second largest population of elk, as well as deer, grizzly bear, and countless other species of fish and wildlife. In fact, the front is the only place in the lower 48 where grizzly bears still roam the plains, just as they did when Lewis and Clark passed through the area 200 years ago.

Because of this exceptional wild space, which includes Glacier National Park, millions of acres of wilderness and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the front offers unsurpassed hunting, fishing, and recreational opportunities.

Sportsmen, local landowners, local elected officials, hikers, Tribal leaders, local communities, and many other Montanans have worked for decades to protect and preserve the front for future generations. I have hiked in the front many times, including to the top of Ear Mountain. It's special to me personally.

Most Montanans believe very strongly, frankly, that oil and gas development and the front just don't mix.

The front is too wild and too precious to subject it to roads, pipelines, noise and other such development activities. In addition, surveys of the area indicate that there just isn't that much oil and gas in the front, certainly not enough to justify disturbing this pristine area.

That is why it has been well over a decade since any development activity occurred there at all, and why this administration last year halted an environmental impact study in the Blackleaf Area of the Front. The administration conceded that the time and expense associated with evaluating drilling options in the front was not the best use of taxpayer dollars.

They conceded that this area might indeed be one of those special places where the benefits of oil and gas development do not outweigh its costs. Even the administration understands that it's highly unlikely that any leaseholder will ever be able to drill in the front.

I couldn't agree more.

That's why I filed an amendment to the energy bill that offers a permanent solution to the century-long conflict over development on the front.

My amendment would establish a voluntary program allowing leaseholders in the Badger-Two Medicine or Blackleaf Areas of the front to cancel their leases. In exchange, leaseholders could receive rights to drill elsewhere in Montana, or bidding, rental or royalty credits for existing leases in Montana, or a tax credit.

Any canceled lease would be permanently withdrawn from future leasing and oil and gas development activity. This withdrawal provision would also apply to a lease canceled for any other reason, including as the result of a private buy-out.

To encourage leaseholders to take advantage of the program, it would expire at the end of 2009. Finally, it would provide economic development grants to Teton County, Montana, to compensate the county for the loss of any potential revenue from these leases.

This is a win-win proposal that provides leaseholders value for their investment, while providing permanent protections for the front. Because it's a purely voluntary program, leaseholders don't have to participate, but there will be a strong incentive for them to do so--they know that their leases will probably never be developed, given the intense local opposition and the expense and time involved with trying to drill in the front.

Unfortunately, Mr. President, the time was not right for me to call for a vote on ame mendment, but I thought it was very important to share it with my colleagues. I will work hard in the coming months to build support for my proposal, which I think is critical to ending the conflict over the front and preserving its beauty and wildlife for future generations.

http://thomas.loc.gov/