January 2012
Thursday 1/26
Showing of "Split Estate" 7:00
Wilsall Dance Hall (Behind Bank Bar of Hwy 89)
August 2011
Montana Board for Oil and Gas release Fracking disclosure rules:
March 2011
See a Free showing of "GASLAND" on March 31, 7 pm
at the Elks Lodge
Hosted by PCEC,TimberTrails and JBTU
Feb 2011
Fracking discloure bill tabled by Senate -
no progress on protecting Montanans
Jan 2011
JBTU joins the Park County Gas Committee, a diverse group of conservation, government and industry representatives with a mission of education; support for baseline measurment of land, water and air; and implementation of best management practices for gas development in Park County.
October 2010
JBTU is working with MTU and others to support a "fracting" chemical disclosure bill in the 2011 Legislature. At this time, the bill is in the initial development stages. Information will be posted as the Montana Legislative session begins.
October 09
Support the FRAC Act
Help Remove the Exemptions for Fractal Drilling from the Clean Water Act!
August 09
Members of JBTU floated the Yellowstone with MTU and TU reprsentatives to discuss the issues related to oil and gas drilling near the Yellowstone and it's tributaries.
Click below for one of the aticles written about that day:
April 09
A bill introduced by Senator Esp, passed and will required DNRC to notify landowners of lease sales and publication of lease sales in more regional publications.
Thank you Senator Esp for your work on this.
March 09
MT HB 425 - Transparency in Notification will require DNRC to notify adjacent landowners and post notices in local papers in future oil & gas lease sales. We are in support of this bill and are monitoring it's progress through the legislature.
In December, as a result of our efforts:
1. DNRC now voluntarily mails information on lease sales to all "split estate" property owners who may be affected by mineral leases.
2. DNRC is creating a 1/4 mile setback for critical habitat in the December Sales also, however we will still work toward creating a policy on this.
In July of 2008, we found out about over 30 oil & gas leases listed for sale on the Boulder and Yellowstone River.
We asked the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to defer the sale until an agreement on an appropriate setback for those parcels could be arranged. DNRC agreed to a 1/4 mile setback on 16 of the parcels and did not delay the sale. All the leases in Park and Sweetgrass Counties sold for over $7 million, evidence of interest in the area.
On 9/11/08 we hosted a meeting in Livingston that allowed a panel to discuss the lease sales in Park and Sweetgrass Counties and allowed for public input into the process. Over 90 participants came to the meeting and many productive discussions occurred.
JBTU has never taken a position against oil and gas drilling, our goal is to ensure the protection of our blue ribbon trout fisheries with sensible and the ethical development. JBTU will continue to work with MTU to monitor the sale of leases on or near watersheds in our area and we hope to continue our discussions with DNRC, BLM and private land owners.
Documents related to the lease sale, the meeting and infomation from state agencies on oil & gas leasing are attached here. Simply click on a description to open a document.