Conservation organizations protest gas and oil sites near national park
Three conservation organizations have issues with parcels the Bureau of Land Management has proposed to lease near Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
By Dorvall Bedford
April 23, 2026 at 3:50 PM
DICKINSON — Three environmental conservation organizations are protesting the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) after the BLM has proposed to lease parcels of land near Theodore Roosevelt National Park for the use of oil and gas sites.
The three entities protesting the BLM consist of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks (CPANP), the Badlands Conservation Alliance (BCA), and National Parks Conservation Association. In February, the organizations submitted a letter of comments regarding the BLM’s Montana-Dakotas 2026 Third Quarter (August) Oil and Gas Lease Sale, which involves leasing six parcels of land that are as close as 1.25 miles from the national park and four parcels that directly intersect the Maah Daah Hey Trail.
Representatives of both the CPANP and the BCA emphasized they aren’t opposed to oil and gas sites in general.
“We’re not trying to prevent oil and gas development,” said Shannon Straight, the executive director of the BCA. “We’re just trying to balance that out with the outdoor environment that we all tend to love here in North Dakota.”
“We are realists,” added Mike Murray, a member of the CPANP. “It’s more of a question of responsible management. There’s some places that are better than others.”
There are several issues that the three organizations listed in their letter that they said will negatively impact Theodore Roosevelt National Park. These include air emissions, increased noise, light pollution that ruin the night sky and increased traffic. With oil and gas sites already visible from parts of all three of the park’s units, the leasing of the previously mentioned parcels could amplify problems that already exist. Straight said North Dakotans should care about what happens to the park.
“We only have one national park,” he said. “People are craving some solitude and peace of mind… that’s what the Badlands provide.”
Straight acknowledged that the profit the state has earned from the oil and gas industry has gone into conservation efforts, but he also said that it will be up to people in North Dakota to clean up and reclaim these sites once the private companies leave.
“We need tougher requirements on these oil and gas companies so they can’t just walk away and leave the price tag for taxpayers to pick,” he said.
For Murray, the solutions to this problem are clear. Firstly, he believes that the BLM should have a process that assesses whether a parcel being considered for leasing has a high or low level of conflict with other activities and the protection of other resources. Secondly, as stated in the letter sent to the BLM, the CPANP supports a buffer zone between five to 10 miles around the national park that cannot be leased.
“We just look at it from a practical point of view,” Murray said. “We wish there would be stable policy and consistent procedures.”
The BLM declined to comment on the comments from the three organizations at this time, but mentioned that “the federal leasing process is customer‑driven.”
According to a BLM spokesperson, parcels enter review when an outside party submits an Expression of Interest (EOI), a request to evaluate an area for potential competitive leasing. Under federal law, including the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the BLM must process EOIs and evaluate nominated parcels within 18 months. This aligns with the current administration’s priorities to expand domestic energy production and strengthen American energy security.
Murray believes that it’s important to protect Theodore Roosevelt National Park so that people can enjoy it long into the future.
“National parks belong to all of us,” he said. “Not only us, but also future generations.”
Dorvall Bedford
A freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C., Dorvall Bedford is from northern Maryland and studied journalism at the University of Maryland. He joined The Dickinson Press in March 2026.