Company wins right to drill next to Montana national monument, taxpayers get less than $900
DENVER—The Interior Department held an oil and gas lease sale in Montana this morning, offering nearly 50,000 acres within the state. One especially controversial 200-acre lease parcel bordering the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument sold for the statutory minimum of $2.00 per acre. The Center for Western Priorities issued the following statement from Advocacy Director Jesse Prentice-Dunn:
“Selling out America’s heritage at bargain basement prices is a hallmark of Secretary Zinke’s leadership at the Interior Department. At what cost? The Upper Missouri River Breaks has remained virtually unchanged since the time Lewis and Clark explored its banks over 200 years ago. But thanks to the secretary’s short-sighted decision, hunters, anglers, boaters, and wildlife watchers might be greeted by industrial drill rigs on their next visit to the monument.”