North Dakota
North Dakota’s future goes beyond oil and gas industry
I am an outfitter, and although our company guides mountain bike trips instead of hunting buffalo, when we bring folks from all over the country to the North Dakota grasslands, we are keeping alive the rich history of the region.
North Dakota is where Theodore Rossevelt’s relationship with the great outdoors was formed. When personal tragedy struck, Roosevelt turned to the rainbow-colored Badlands, and it is this special place that is credited with his lifelong respect for America’s public lands.
As Roosevelt’s career took off, he gave back to nature by reminding us that land in its natural state has inherent value. The idea that we should be wise about how we harvest resources from the earth is what created the National Park system and set the stage for all Americans to look beyond our current needs to the needs of future generations.
Today, oil and gas is a major economic driver for the North Dakota economy. The Bakken oil field is the home of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the 144 mile long
Maah Daah Hey
bike trail. Right now these important recreation assets and cultural treasures are coexisting with extensive oil production all around them.
By careful placement of well pads and access roads there is an opportunity to maintain the beauty and natural experience provided by both the National Park and the trail.
The Maah Daah Hey trail is only a small part of the region’s economy today, but it stands to grow in importance in the future. Many communities that once depended on resource extraction have now fully pivoted to recreation. The quality of life that outdoor access provides has brought enduring prosperity to former mining and timber towns in every western state, bringing both visitors and business investment.
However, the
recently proposed MT/Dakotas Q3 oil/gas lease sale
includes two parcels that are on the boundary and in the viewshed of the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. These proposed parcels are also near the Maah Daah Hey Trail.
In my home town of Moab, Utah, when parcels on the world famous Slickrock Bike and OHV Trail and the campgrounds near Canyonlands National Park were nominated to be leased, businesses and residents spoke up and pointed out that diminishing these places would be a real threat to the Moab economy.
When uranium mining in Moab declined it was exactly these places that allowed Moab to survive and prosper. The people of North Dakota should have the same opportunity.
Senator Daines of Montana disagrees. He recently introduced a bill that would force all parcels on every available acre of public land to be leased, even though oil and gas production in the U.S.
hit a record high in 2024
and Bloomberg predicts that a
record glut will follow shortly.
Plus, the latest data from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) shows that only
50% of lands leased for oil and gas have actually been developed
, leaving an extensive stockpile of existing leases ready to drill right now.
Daines’ bill is bad for both the oil and gas business and the recreation industry. Land managers will be forced to offer all kinds of parcels no one has asked for, local interests will be silenced, permits to drill will be delayed, and he will be dooming some communities to little, if any, economic prospects when demand for oil peaks, which
Goldman Sachs predicts will be in 2034
. Anyone with a 10-year-old knows that 2034 is right around the corner.
The Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Dakota National Grasslands are owned by all Americans and the bottom line is that market forces are what drive economies, not politicians. Senator Daines will not be able to force private developers to drill or even bid on leases, making his efforts to upend the oil and gas leasing system futile.
Instead of throwing out the baby with bathwater, the current leasing system should be maintained and land managers should continue to consider other important land use needs, starting with the deferral of these two parcels.
Even though Daines is prepared to ignore North Dakota’s heritage, some of us can imagine a future for the Dakota Badlands beyond oil and gas — something we learned from Teddy Roosevelt himself.
Ashley Korenblat is CEO of Western Spirit Cycling, a North Dakota outfitter.
VALLEY CITY — A truck hauling bees rolled over Thursday, May 28, on westbound Interstate 94 near mile marker 292 near Valley City, releasing millions of bees and closing the right lane of traffic.
The crash was reported at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Officials said the westbound right-side lane was closed following the rollover.
Millions of bees were released in the crash, and beekeepers were called to the scene to help recover and contain the insects.
Officials said the cable barrier area marked where large groups of bees had clustered.
Drivers were asked to slow down, follow directions from emergency responders and give crews and the bees plenty of space while work continued at the scene.
WIBAUX, Mont. (KFYR) – Several fire departments from both North Dakota and Montana are fighting a grass fire about 40 miles south of Wibaux in the Pine Unit area.
The editor of the Wibaux Pioneer Gazette tells us no structures are in danger at this time, and the Wibaux, Beach, Golva and Glendive Fire Departments are working to put out the flames.
The public is asked to avoid the area at this time.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
Today in History, 1937: Records reveal purchase of North Dakota land by William Rockefeller
On this day in 1937, uncovered records revealed that William A. Rockefeller, father of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, once lived near Park River, N.D., where he bought and sold land in the late 1880s.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
N. D. Chapter In Rockefeller Saga Revealed
Exhumation of dusty records reveals a North Dakota chapter in the lives of the Rockefeller family.
Almost forgotten in the near half century, but revived with the death Sunday of John D. Rockefeller at his Ormond Beach home in Florida, is the story of the bizarre William A. Rockefeller, the oil tycoon’s father, who lived in Park River in the ’80s.
Search for records began after Daniel E. Flynn, Bismarck businessman, reported he recalled hearing a story that Rockefeller lived in the Park River vicinity.
Establishing the veracity of his residence in Walsh county is a musty document in the register of deeds’ office in Grafton. It tells the story of William A. Rockefeller buying seven quarter sections of land for $6,000 on June 23, 1886, from P. D. Briggs.
On Oct. 10, 1890 — slightly over four years later — another transfer is recorded. With Rockefeller business sagacity the transfer price had gone to $10,000. Part of the present city of Park River is located on the land.
The story of the Park River Rockefeller dovetails with the Rockefeller life story. The elder Rockefeller was shrouded in mystery. Supposedly he abandoned his family.
Always in funds, he led a sequestered existence, revealing little of his life before coming to North Dakota. He later was known as Dr. William Rockefeller and the deed on the land transfer bore that name.
He sold patent medicine cure-alls, old timers in the Park River area recall. He remained in the Park River district for about four years. In Freeport, Ill., in 1910, well past 90, he died.
Harry O’Brien, publisher of the Walsh County Press at Park River, said C. D. Lord, a pioneer banker and real estate man, still a Park River resident, handled the land transfer in 1889.
Another story, unsubstantiated, is that John D. Rockefeller visited his father on several occasions. He came by private train, the train routed by night into Park River, and few people were aware that he had come into the community.
Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.
-
News5 minutes agoJudge Tosses Citizenship Law Aimed at New Voters in New Hampshire
-
Politics11 minutes agoVideo: Trump’s Counterterror Strategy Focuses on the Left
-
Science23 minutes agoVideo: Crowds Flood New York City Streets for First Day of Manhattanhenge
-
Lifestyle47 minutes agoTrump’s name must come off of the Kennedy Center, judge rules
-
Technology59 minutes agoAcer’s launching a Linux handheld for streaming your PC games
-
World1 hour agoPentagon hosts first-ever Israeli–Lebanese military talks aimed at curbing Hezbollah
-
Politics1 hour agoFederal judge orders Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Center, says only Congress can rename it
-
Health1 hour agoSingle infusion of controversial drug changed severe depression symptoms within hours, study finds
