Mitigating Montana

With the entire Blackfeet Reservation leased to oil and gas companies, potential revenues come at the risk of groundwater contamination and other environmental losses. Apparently operating with less than full transparency, the tribal council and energy companies face internal opposition from tribal activists, as well as external opposition from conservation organizations. As energy companies prepare to extract oil and gas in the northern plains adjacent to the Rocky Mountains, tribes are facing the dilemma of desperate choices over revenue versus the environment; with toxic spills already happening, rhetoric about cultural and ecological mitigation may not be enough.