Undeterred by their permit being pulled, the backers of this railroad are trying again to get this expensive and destructive railroad built all the while destroying valuable wildlife habitat, threatening condemnation of private property and forever changing the character and nature of this valley forever.

Why I Care About the Tongue River Valley (and why you should too)

a Bull Elk – Photo courtesy Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

The valley provides valuable wildlife habitat

The Tongue River valley provides habitat for thousands of species of western wildlife and plants. The river, which flows from the snowfields of Wyoming’s Big Horn Mountains and meanders for more than 250 miles before emptying into the Yellowstone River, supports a “mind-bogglingly rich assemblage of native warm water fish.”  The river winds through the beautiful and varied landscapes of eastern Montana – the Tongue River Canyon, the Tongue River breaks, and the buttes, grasslands, and pine hills – which provide ideal habitat for the wildlife of the Great Plains including mule deer, elk, bald eagles, cougars, black bear and many other iconic western species.

The Northern Cheyenne, whose reservation is bordered on the eastern edge by the Tongue River, also value the river system for its wildlife and plants. Some of the edible plants collected along the Tongue River include chokecherries, currants, ground plums, mushrooms, prickly pear, rose hips, sage, scurfpea, snowberries, sunflowers, wild mint, and wild turnips. Cheyenne value the antelope, deer, elk, rabbit, duck, goose, grouse, pheasant, catfish and northern pike for subsistance hunting and fishing.

In a 2003 letter to the Tongue River Railroad Company, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks stated their concerns,

“Millions of sportsmen’s dollars have been invested into the Miles City Fish Hatchery, block management,  conservation easements, and programs to provide access for hunting and fishing along the Tongue River.”

The valley contains invaluable cultural and archaeological resources

Centuries ago, the rich supply of wild game and fish attracted Native Americans to the Tongue River region. They hunted migrating herds of bison, deer, and elk and fished the abundant streams. Southeastern Montana  is full of evidence of these early occupants: arrowheads, tepee rings, petroglyphs, battlegrounds, burial sites and a 2,000-year old bison bone bed.

There is a deep connection between the Northern Cheyenne and the Tongue River.

“The Tongue River valley has been home to the Northern Cheyenne since at least early historic times, the people developed a relationship with the river and the valley in terms everyday activities, the wildlife and plant life it sustains as well as in a spiritual context.” (BLM, Statewide Oil and Gas EIS, Northern Cheyenne Supplement)

Clint and Wally McRae, ranchers whose land would be crossed by the Tongue River Railroad.

The previous Tongue River Railroad environmental impact statements noted that there were many cultural areas that would be destroyed by the construction of this rail line, important to not only the Northern Cheyenne but also many of the Sioux tribes, Arapahoe, Shoshone and Crow.

The valley sustains the local agricultural and hunting economy

Clean water and undisturbed wildlife habitat are key components of the local economy in southeastern Montana. The Tongue River is the lifeblood of the local ranches, many of which were established by the first American settlers to set foot in Montana. Ranchers, many of whom allow the public on their land for hunting, rely on a clean river to irrigate their fields and water their livestock.Hunters and anglers, who come to this region of abundant wildlife from across the country to harvest trophy mule deer and elk, drive the local economy and support jobs.

Why the Tongue River Railroad is a Bad Idea

1. The railroad will harm wildlife and destroy habitat: Loss of habitat, wildlife mortality due to collisions with trains, and the reduction in habitat quality are the main impacts of habitat fragmentation by railroads. This may cause reduced population viability or threaten a species survival. On a local scale, trains affect wildlife habitats through the introduction of noxious weeds, emission of toxic contaminants like heavy metals, or spraying of herbicides to control weeds as well as the likelihood that the trains will spark a wildfire in this arid country. And, because the Tongue River Railroad would carry coal and coal alone, the valley would be subjected to thousands of pounds of toxin-laden coal dust each year and would face the risk of coal train derailments into the Tongue River.
2. The railroad will destroy cultural resources. Coal companies in the region have shown that the preservation and protection of cultural resources is not a priority for them. Unfortunately, laws that are intended to protect tribal, historic and archaeological places and artifacts give do not emphasize the value of leaving these resources in place. If the railroad is allowed to proceed, it will inevitably impact some of the valley’s cultural and historical resources and important cultural plant species.
3. The railroad will be a major contributor to climate change: The Tongue River Railroad Company - jointly owned by Arch Coal and Burlington Northern Santa Fe – wants to build the new railroad spur for one reason: to transport coal from Arch’s proposed Otter Creek mine to coal-fired power plants in Asia. However, they are still somehow insisting that this coal will be burned in the mid-West market.

We all know that coal is one of the dirtiest fuel sources on the planet, that coal mining coal causes irreparable damage to the land, water, and air, and that burning coal releases greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. If the company is unsuccessful in its bid to build the railroad, development of the massive coal mine at Otter Creek may be economically unfeasible.

What you can do to help protect the Tongue River Valley

Deer Medicine Rocks, located along Rosebud Creek in southeast Montana.

Attend Public Meetings in Montana

The STB is holding several public meetings in the Tongue River region to inform the public about the proposed railroad and to hear comments from interested individuals. The meetings are being held on the following dates and locations. For directions to each hearing go to the STB website they have set up for the public comment period.

November 12 – Lame Deer, Montana

November 13 – Forsyth, Montana

November 14 – Ashland, Montana

November 15 – Miles City, Montana

November 16 – Lame Deer, Montana (second hearing)

Submit Comments

You can send your comments to: Ken Blodgett, Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20423-0001, Environmental filing, Docket No. FD 30186. The STB also provides an online comment form.

Support National Wildlife Federation

Become a member or donate today.

Join us online in our efforts to spread the word about NWF’s Tribal Lands Partnerships

Here’s our Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter @NWFTribalLands to keep up on the lastest news.

If you need help submitting comments or want more information about the Tongue River Railroad and its impacts on wildlife, please contact me at bonogofsky@nwf.org. Stay tuned for updates about the public scoping hearings and more about the Tongue River Railroad in Part II and III.

Coal Train

As FWP informed the Surface Transportation Board (STB) five years ago, the railroad will very likely have an adverse effect on the MCFH. The damages to the fish hatchery will have a direct and lasting effect on efforts to recover populations of pallid sturgeon.

Why were we so surprised?

No Public Notice

There was no public notice that the Commission was considering taking this up at their October 11 meeting. In Montana, our constitution guarantees us the right to be notified of and participate in public agency decisions. Montana citizens have an expectation of transparency and openness from our public agencies. That is part of what makes Montana unique. We have some of the strongest laws in the nation that protect our right to fully participate in our government’s decisions. As was reported in the Great Falls Tribune, Montana FWP head Joe Maurier “scoffed” at our criticism that the public had not been properly consulted on this issue.

Maurier asked a reporter, “How much notice is enough notice?” The Great Falls Tribune responded with a great opinion piece, entitled Enough Notice is the Law, Not An Option.

Tongue River Railroad’s Permit Problems

The Tongue River Railroad, which has been trying to get its tracks laid for over 30 years, lost its permit to construct in June 2012. This was prompted by a 2011 decision where the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the railroad’s environmental impact statement (EIS) was insufficient. Therefore, this railroad has lost its permit and no longer has the authority of eminent domain. Why would Montana FWP still have this easement agreement on the table when they are under no legal obligation to pursue it?

Jack Tuholske, an attorney who represented landowners in the above mentioned federal lawsuit against the railroad, said the commission has no business considering an easement agreement until the railroad completes a new EIS and is granted a permit by the Surface Transportation Board.

What does this have to do with the pallid sturgeon?

Photo of a endangered pallid sturgeon.  USGS ecologist, Aaron Delonay calls them “an irreplaceable treasure from a time older than the Missouri River itself.”

The Missouri River pallid sturgeon, which are reared in the MCFH “are descended from fish that lived alongside dinosaurs more than 70 million years ago. They’ve weathered ice ages, volcanic explosions and a mass extinction event.” Missoula Independent, October 11, 2012

However, because of dam building and human initiated changes to the Missouri River, biologists believe the species would vanish if we don’t stock the rivers with the fish raised in hatcheries.

Most of the FWP commissioners have said they were uncomfortable with allowing dozens of coal trains to pass through hatchery grounds since wild reproduction of pallid sturgeon is rare to nonexistent in most areas, and therefore human intervention is needed to ensure the survival of the species. The MCFH is one of only a couple of hatcheries in the nation that can keep this species going until we can restore the necessary habitat for pallid sturgeon procreation in the wild.

A USFWS Biologist noted that “given the short time these fish are present at the hatchery, the females will not become habituated to the potential stress of the TRR . . . The TRR may also have impacts on embryo development and larval and juvenile growth and survival.”

Dozens of coal trains going back and forth through the hatchery grounds is an unacceptable risk to a species that federal and state governments and hundreds of individuals have spent their lives trying to protect and restore.

Tongue River Railroad Co. playing by its own rules?

Tuholske said the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stripped the company’s eminent domain right. The MT FWP Commission members are trustees for Montana’s wildlife. They have an obligation to protect the hatchery and the pallid sturgeon but do not have any obligation to grant an easement across public lands to a for-profit railroad company that doesn’t have the federal permits that they need to construct or operate a railroad.

Cover illustration for Fish on the Line – Missoula Independent

For a detailed news account of this issue, please click here.

For an amazing tale about the pallid sturgeon and recovery efforts, go to the most recent edition of the Missoula Independent for a story entitled “Fish on the Line” by Marian Lyman Kirs.

Possible Terminals in Washington and Oregon Photo: Dan Aguayo/The Oregonian

Letter from the Governor

Governor Kitzhaber has officially asked the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Land Management for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the projects. The EIS would look at the possible impacts from the projects on the health of the environment and communities of the Pacific Northwest.

There are a number of concerns that the governor outlines in his letter. There would be an increase in barges along the Columbia. There is also the possibility of water pollution from the coal dust as well as the possibility of spills while transporting the coal. Coal dust emissions at the facilities and during transport is an additional issue as well as emissions from mercury, diesel, ozone and other green house gases which will only help fuel climate change. The trains that would carry the coal would be up to a mile and a half long and would cause significant delays for those trying to cross the tracks. This is of particular concern for emergency vehicles which could see significant delays in getting to their destination.

Impacts could also be seen in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, a 292,500-acre tract that stretches the length of the Columbia Gorge. This region offers many recreational opportunities like fishing, biking, hiking, water activities and more. The economy in cities such as Moiser, OR is dependent upon tourism brought in by the recreational opportunities from the Gorge. Cities like Moiser will be affected by the coal terminals, which will have a significant impact on the tourism industry in this area.

The Dark Side of the Light Bulb

In the face of climate change Washington is moving away from dirty energy like coal and towards renewable energy like wind. Photo: Bryn Fluharty

Due to the harmful properties of coal the discussion is turning toward renewable energy, including wind and solar here in the U.S. While we are starting to move towards a cleaner future within our borders, we are still one of the leading producers and exporters of coal in the world. Any coal shipped through these terminals will be burned in Asia, which will in turn have an impact on pollution levels here in the Pacific Northwest and will help continue to drive climate change, two issues addressed by the governor in his letter.

Thank You for Your Support

Thanks to the support of Governor Kitzhaber, local communities and other concerned citizens we are moving forward in fighting for our right to a healthy environment and thriving communities. Want to join in the conversation and learn more about this important issue? Check out Power Past Coal for more information and upcoming events in your area! Let us know what you think!