MsSage said:
Every waterway can be restored. :roll:
If you want proof....do you remember the Cuyahoga River catching on fire twice? As it stands now it has a very active aquatic life, in fact is home to several relatively sensitive fish species.
You sound like a mouthpiece for greenpeace. Too bad you are NOT really the conservationist you claim to be, but in fact one of the wackos.
I disagree with you Sage....When many of these wells and subsurface waters are disturbed and altered- there is no changing back....The reason some places around here that used to have good water wells- now have none or unpotable water....
And if you had seen the thousands of acres of beautiful grassland that was plowed under back in the 70's-- that caused the skies to be filled with dust- that were ultimately worthless for crops- and then stood covered with weeds until the CRP came in cleaned them up- you'd be a little wacko too... That land will never be the same again....
And yes Big Muddy- I have read the article you cut and pasted from the Center for Consumer Freedom...Like I said- I understand they have been operating with the Enviros..
This is what they put on their website as their goal:
Northern Plains Resource Council, a grassroots conservation & family agriculture group, organizes Montana citizens to protect water quality, family farms and ranches, and Montana’s unique quality of life.
Office:
220 South 27th Street, Suite A
Billings, Montana 59101
But unlike many of you on here that seem to think Big Oil and Big Corporate can do no wrong- there are many farmers, ranchers, landowners in this state that disagree....Some of the development projects have been fought and some stopped by landowners- not just out of area greenies...And several organizations have been formed by those groups to educate and protect landowners and mineral owners rights...Sadly in order to get the power/funding needed- they associated themselves with some of the out of state groups...
About the only contact I had with this group was that I think I sat in on one of their educational sessions- where they advised landowners/mineral rights owners on what you needed to get in the mineral leases to cover your butt from being ran over by these oil companies... Informative and it became useful when all the leasing companies moved back in- and were trying to jack folks around on the mineral leases..
I'm not sure what all the big fight is down along the Tongue and some other watersheds in southeastern Montana- but like FH said- it is a hot issue with many landowners...
I haven't followed it lately - think it still involves the coalbed methane drilling and the problems with what that has done to streams and subsurface aquifers...(Remember this is in an area where water often is more precious than gold)...
And from what I understand it has split many areas right down the middle- with some folks owning mineral rights and wanting to drill and get the royalties-- and others (usually those without mineral rights) wanting to keep from losing their water source and ranching capability...
Lot more to all this than just taps the surface...Years down the line- the biggest enviro issue will be water- and providing enough...