[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14162]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     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.

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