Justice for the Blackfeet Nation as federal court rules in favor of protecting Badger-Two

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of cancelling a controversial lease that would allow drilling in Montana’s Badger-Two Medicine area, land that is culturally sacred to the Blackfeet Nation.

Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society said:

"The Wilderness Society is grateful justice has prevailed and that the Solenex lease has been cancelled in the Badger-Two Medicine, an area held sacred by the Blackfeet Nation. The Wilderness Society has been a partner in this fight for years, working to support the Blackfeet’s goal of canceling all of the illegally issued leases. Today’s announcement cancelling the Solenex lease is a powerful victory for the Blackfeet Nation and good news for all who care about Native American culture and wildlands."

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The Badger-Two Medicine area is on Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest land and located between Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, and the Blackfeet Reservation.

With the cancellation of the Moncrief lease last year, only one oil and gas lease remained in the Badger-Two Medicine area, held by Solenex, LLC. This lease was cancelled in 2016 but reinstated in 2018 after the Washington D.C. District Court ruled. The federal government and The Wilderness Society, as one of the intervenors, challenged this lower court ruling and this lease in the D.C. Court of Appeals. The leases were initially made available by Interior Secretary James Watt during the Reagan administration. Time Magazine has named Watt one of the worst cabinet secretaries in modern history.

For more information, contact Tony Iallonardo at tony_iallonardo@tws.org.