Tester Statement on Agreement to Cancel Oil Lease in Badger-Two Medicine

Senator: “There are just some places too sacred to dig or drill”

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today released the following statement regarding the news that Moncrief Oil and The Wilderness Society reached an agreement to permanently retire Moncrief’s federal oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine:

“Today’s agreement is a recognition that there are just some places too sacred to dig or drill. This is a huge victory for the Blackfeet Nation and everyone who loves our public lands, and we’re going to keep the pressure on until the Badger-Two Medicine is protected from development for generations to come.”

Tester has long supported protecting the Badger-Two Medicine, and has repeatedly called on the Department of the Interior to cancel the remaining leases in the area, citing the area’s importance to the Blackfeet Tribe and Montana’s sportsmen and women.

The Badger-Two Medicine is located at the intersection of the Blackfeet Reservation, Glacier National Park, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.