It’s nearly impossible to imagine places like Montana without access to public trails, wilderness areas, National Forests, or awe-inspiring parks. But might we have to?

Today there are over 30 million acres of public land in Montana, equivalent to nearly one third of the state. Much of this land is managed by federal agencies, and contains natural resources like timber, minerals, coal, oil, and water.

The rugged beauty and diverse landscape of the United States has long been an envy of the world, dating back to the Organic Act of 1916 signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and…leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

Today, we find ourselves in a profit driven world that prioritizes short term gain over long term consequences. Urban development often leads to habitat destruction, as well as overall pollution of our air, water, and soil.

The topic of oil drilling in National Parks became a widely discussed topic back in 2017, when the Trump administration proposed oil and gas leasing to more than 18 national parks in the West.

Why We Need to Protect Green Spaces

When properly managed, parks and wilderness areas allow for visitors and residents alike to enjoy raw beauty, traverse undeveloped landscape, and observe wildlife. And while the pros and cons of excessive tourism are often weighed, these places remain to be bio diverse habitats for countless species and ecosystems crucial to environmental resilience.

With ever expanding cities, green spaces are extremely crucial in their ability to absorb carbon from the air, lower earths temperatures, and reduce flooding.

In the Midwest alone, over 57 billion tons of soil have been eroded, double the rate deemed sustainable by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This loss of soil has already contributed to a major decline of food production in the United States.

Oil drilling also decimates green spaces and often puts the health of nearby communities and wildlife at risk, as oil and gas companies are not currently held responsible for cleaning up abandoned well sites that may lead to contaminated water.

National Parks aim to be a safe haven for endangered plants and animals. But over the past decade, populations of animals like mule deer and sage grouse have suffered massive declines due to harmful oil and gas leasing in the West.

What Can Be Done?

Thankfully, The Bureau of Land Management has been working on a solution. In April of 2024, BLM updated its oil and gas leasing practices to steer future oil and gas development away from National Parks.

Still, there is much work to be done - with more than 500 active oil and gas wells already spread over 12 National Parks.

Organizations like The National Parks Conservation Association are a great resource for learning what we can do to help protect our parks. There are also several volunteer opportunities available to the public, such as the Volunteer-In-Parks (VIP) program.

Our diverse landscape and wide open spaces truly make this country a unique and beautiful place to live, and hopefully they remain for generations to come.

Resources

(https://www.blm.gov)

(https://www.nps.gov/index.htm)

(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Organic-Act-of-1916)

(https://www.npca.org/articles/1916-drilling-in-national-parks)

(https://www.tpl.org/parks-address-climate-change-report.)

(https://www.sciencenews.org/article/soil-erosion-rate-us-midwest-unsustainable-usda.)

(https://www.npca.org/articles/3603-oil-and-gas-drilling-near-parks-why-reform-is-needed-now.)