It is no secret that Arch Coal and Burlington Northern Santa Fe are pushing to turn the Otter Creek and Tongue River Valleys into an industrial corridor to ship Montana’ s coal to Asia. I have moments of cynicism where it seems that we are at the mercy of international financial markets, political power brokers and men in suits that make a living in a boardroom. I know that, to them, southeastern Montana is nothing but an untapped natural resource piggy bank that they can use to increase…
“But we all know how it goes. You guys move in, one side benefits and the other side doesn’t.” Northern Cheyenne tribal member, Otter Creek Scoping Hearing, February 2013 Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, things were booming down in southeastern Montana. The Colstrip coal plant was under construction, coal mines were being dug, oil was being drilled. But things weren’t booming for everyone. Yes, local, state and federal governments raked in tax revenues and royalties. Traveling workers were brought in for construction jobs. Money was filling the…