Published February 16, 2013, 12:00 AM
Senate rejects measure on Killdeer battlefield; Prime sponsor Wardner of Dickinson pulls support
FARGO — The North Dakota Senate on Friday rejected a bill that would have provided about $5,000 for archaeological and historical surveys in the Killdeer Mountains battlefield, near an area where oil development is planned.
By: Dave Kolpack, The Associated Press
FARGO — The North Dakota Senate on Friday rejected a bill that would have provided about $5,000 for archaeological and historical surveys in the Killdeer Mountains battlefield, near an area where oil development is planned.
Sponsors of the bill had originally asked for $250,000 for the study, which they deemed important after the North Dakota Industrial Commission last month approved the drilling of wells about five miles from the site of the Battle of Killdeer Mountain.
Historians believe the 1864 battle was possibly the most important battle between the U.S. forces and American Indians. Archaeologist Richard Rothaus, who has an office in Fargo, and North Dakota State history professor Tom Isern have applied for a grant from National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program to study the area.
“To me, that right there is the start of the war that ends in the Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee,” Rothaus said last week.
Republican Sen. Rich Wardner of Dickinson, one of the prime sponsors of the bill, withdrew his support Friday. He said he believes the July 1864 battle was a special event, but decided that “private ownership should be respected” and that trumps the study.
“We don’t need a war going on in this particular neighborhood,” Wardner said.
The measure failed with 31 no votes to 16 yes votes.
Hess Corp., which received a permit last month to drill up to eight wells, has not said when it might start operations in the area. A Hess official has said the company seeks to minimize the impact on the environment.
Lawmakers opposed to the bill said some landowners were worried the study would have adversely affected their land.
Republican Sen. Dick Dever, of Bismarck, said there are many people who are passionate about the area and the history, and doesn’t think a killed bill should keep the State Historical Society or anyone else from doing research.
“With or without this bill, the historical society could work together with those landowners to gain information they might find useful,” Dever said.
Democratic Sen. Connie Triplett, of Grand Forks, one of the sponsors of the bill, said she believed one of the reasons the original bill was reduced from $250,000 to about $5,000 is because the study would not involve private property, only a small parcel of public land, and therefore not be as extensive.
The Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee had voted 6-1 to approve the measure. Fargo Democratic Sen. Carolyn Nelson, who spoke Friday in favor of the bill, said afterward that opinions changed after some landowners complained that they weren’t included in the process.
“Well, I think once we got into the family feud — some emails that went back and forth, people who are actually landowners there — the tide turned,” Nelson said.
http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/65790/
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/n-d-senate-rejects-measure-on-killdeer-battlefield/article_eb11268e-77f7-11e2-a921-0019bb2963f4.html
Sponsors of the bill had originally asked for $250,000 for the study, which they deemed important after the North Dakota Industrial Commission last month approved the drilling of wells about five miles from the site of the Battle of Killdeer Mountain.
Historians believe the 1864 battle was possibly the most important battle between the U.S. forces and American Indians. Archaeologist Richard Rothaus, who has an office in Fargo, and North Dakota State history professor Tom Isern have applied for a grant from National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program to study the area.
“To me, that right there is the start of the war that ends in the Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee,” Rothaus said last week.
Republican Sen. Rich Wardner of Dickinson, one of the prime sponsors of the bill, withdrew his support Friday. He said he believes the July 1864 battle was a special event, but decided that “private ownership should be respected” and that trumps the study.
“We don’t need a war going on in this particular neighborhood,” Wardner said.
The measure failed with 31 no votes to 16 yes votes.
Hess Corp., which received a permit last month to drill up to eight wells, has not said when it might start operations in the area. A Hess official has said the company seeks to minimize the impact on the environment.
Lawmakers opposed to the bill said some landowners were worried the study would have adversely affected their land.
Republican Sen. Dick Dever, of Bismarck, said there are many people who are passionate about the area and the history, and doesn’t think a killed bill should keep the State Historical Society or anyone else from doing research.
“With or without this bill, the historical society could work together with those landowners to gain information they might find useful,” Dever said.
Democratic Sen. Connie Triplett, of Grand Forks, one of the sponsors of the bill, said she believed one of the reasons the original bill was reduced from $250,000 to about $5,000 is because the study would not involve private property, only a small parcel of public land, and therefore not be as extensive.
The Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee had voted 6-1 to approve the measure. Fargo Democratic Sen. Carolyn Nelson, who spoke Friday in favor of the bill, said afterward that opinions changed after some landowners complained that they weren’t included in the process.
“Well, I think once we got into the family feud — some emails that went back and forth, people who are actually landowners there — the tide turned,” Nelson said.
http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/65790/
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/n-d-senate-rejects-measure-on-killdeer-battlefield/article_eb11268e-77f7-11e2-a921-0019bb2963f4.html
Many hearts will be forever saddened by the damage to land and history that is to occur with oil development at Killdeer Mountains. Many others in future generations will learn little about the people and history associated with this unique event. Some will even look back at our generation in an unkindly manner as they wonder how we allowed such desecration to occur without at least responsible study of this irreplaceable landscape, its historic resources, and the graves of the unknown ancestors of people alive today. We are stewards not only of the earth, but of the record that previous people left behind. Understanding our human past is difficult and many can relate only through places and remains of that past. As we destroy these, we destroy our history and an understanding of it. It also builds divides between people today and in the future, only furthering antagonisms from the past. Unfortunately, this reflects the all too common continuity of the ugly parts of our past, rather than learning from it.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that North Dakota (and elsewhere) holds many sites that are significant because they reflect many hundreds of generations of people and events that formed our present world. They are not, however, everywhere and many have already been destroyed or damaged. Thus, we have to study and (whenever possible) preserve those that remain, especially those that are unique (not repeated anywhere else).
As another commenter noted, it is very rare that an archaeological project halts development. What is true is that private ownership trumps preservation. That is why stewardship ethics are so vital for all people. Archaeologists (who also consume oil and natural gas, so understand the need for development as well as anyone else) as some of the leading stewards of the past are always working with others to coordinate responsible recovery of information, site preservation and development. However, they cannot do this without the resources including time and money. To ask them to do this is like asking the developer of a highway to build a highway overnight without any funds for equipment, laborers, etc.
This should not be an argument between archaeologists/historians and landowners/public consumers of oil and gas/businessmen, but should be a shared valuing of what we can learn from the past and responsible harvesting and use of the resources we need today and in the future.
So very true, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
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