Tag Archives: Blackfeet Indian Reservation

Xanterra selected as new Glacier Park concessioner

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The National Park Service has selected Xanterra Parks & Resorts as the new Glacier Park concessioner for the next 16 years, replacing Glacier Park, Inc., which as been operating the park concessions since 1981.

And, yes, this is the same Xanterra with connections to Anschutz Exploration Corp., the outfit that was until recently performing exploratory drilling on the Blackfeet Reservation along the eastern boundary of Glacier Park. Both Anschutz Exploration and Xanterra Parks and Resorts are owned by Philip Frederick Anschutz, one of the wealthiest billionaires in the nation. Xanterra is likely to prove a controversial choice.

Here is the lead-in for the official press release . . .

The National Park Service has selected Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. (Xanterra) to provide a variety of visitor services in Glacier National Park for the next 16 years.

The new park concessions contract is anticipated to begin in January 2014 and includes lodging, food and beverage, retail, transportation and other visitor services within the park. This fall Xanterra is expected to work with Glacier Park, Inc. during a transition period. Glacier Park, Inc. has held the current park concessions contract since 1981.

Continue reading . . .

New oil exploration leases near Glacier Park trigger concern

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Renewed concerns about oil exploration along the Rocky Mountain Front . . .

A series of new oil exploration leases on the border of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and Glacier National Park has renewed the anger and motivation of those opposed to energy development along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The leases were found last week among records held by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. They include nine lease blocks, two of which include a portion of Chief Mountain — the square-shaped landmark mountain along the eastern border of the national park.

Continue reading . . .

Energy companies and environmentalists agree on fracking standards

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The voluntary fracking standards just established for the Northeast will likely have a “halo effect” on fracking elsewhere in the country. In fact, this may very well have been a factor in Anschutz Exploration’s recent decision to halt exploratory drilling on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation just east of the Continental Divide . . .

Some of the nation’s biggest oil and gas companies have made peace with environmentalists, agreeing to a voluntary set of tough new standards for fracking in the Northeast that could lead to a major expansion of drilling.

The program announced Wednesday [March 20] will work a lot like Underwriters Laboratories, which puts its familiar UL seal of approval on electrical appliances that meet its standards.

In this case, drilling and pipeline companies will be encouraged to submit to an independent review of their operations. If they are found to be abiding by a list of stringent measures to protect the air and water from pollution, they will receive the blessing of the new Pittsburgh-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development, created by environmentalists and the energy industry.

Many of the new standards appear to be stricter than state and federal regulations.

Continue reading . . .