They met a similar level of opposition to the railroad as they did in Lame Deer as ranchers whose land would be crossed by the proposed Tongue River Railroad, ranchers who already have a railroad on their land and citizens worried about increased rail traffic stood up and told the STB staff that they were against the Tongue River Railroad. Citizens laid out a litany of issues that the STB must analyze in the Environmental Impact Statement. Over 20 people stood up and spoke out against the rail line with only one person speaking in favor of it.

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

Ranching for dummies

How do you explain to a non-rancher why trains and cows don’t mix? It’s not as easy as you’d think. Take for instance the Tongue River Railroad Company’s original proposal to the ranchers along the route for cattle crossings. Instead of an overpass, they proposed metal culverts about 11 feet wide running underneath the rail line.

Cows and tin tubes

Culvert – photo courtesy Federal Highway Administration

“A cows not the smartest animal in the world. And she looks at the tin culvert and thinks, I might fit in this side but that far side is only about this big (Wally put his hands up in a tiny circle) and I’m not gonna fit in it, (crowd laughs) and if she finally decides that she can make it through there, her calf is smarter than she is and he/she won’t go….”

Wally then explained to the STB that he had tried to tell this to their Office of Environmental Analysis years ago when he was trying to protect his ranch. He wanted them to put in a bridge and wrote the STB. The STB wrote him back and said,

“Cattle will learn to go through a cattle pass.”

Wally wrote them back and said,

“Apparently you aren’t acquainted with our cattle, the first time you try to mash Rocker 6 cows through a tin tube, that they don’t think is big enough, I want you all to show up on your best horse to help us because we are going to need all the help we can get.”

Wally got no response. Either they don’t have very good cow horses out there at STB Headquarters or they don’t have a sense of humor, or maybe both.

Cows on the train tracks

Cow standing on train tracks – courtesy photo

“[Union Pacific] would rather pay for dead cows than maintain the fences,” Topham tells us. “It’s an economic decision.”

As all ranchers know, fencing is one of the largest expenses they have. One mile of fence is costing around $8,000/ mile. So, although the Tongue River Railroad company maintains that they would put a fence up along the entire route to keep livestock from hanging out on the tracks, we know that it is inevitable that fences will fail and cows will be killed. It will be cheaper for them to pay for dead cows than to maintain expensive fence. It is 83 miles of rough and rugged country, with many places having no access. How often will the TRR Co check the fence line to make sure it is ok?

There are more examples of trains hitting cows here and the whole train derailed, and here, and here.

Wildlife concerns raised

Besides the litany of issues related to ranching and trains that the public brought up, ranchers also brought up wildlife issues.

Bull Elk – photo courtesy USFWS

“The river bottom is the restaurant, the hills are the motel”

He pointed out that the train would go right between the restaurant and the motel, preventing the elk, deer and myriads of other critters from having an undisturbed migratory path. He was extremely concerned about how the rail line would impact the wildlife on his ranch that he works to protect and conserve. He told the STB that the Tongue River is one of the most pristine river valleys in the United States and is the most rich wildlife ecosystems in Montana.

He went on,

“There are a lot of jobs in the construction, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of the poison pill that will kill America. That poison pill is the export of our natural resources. The state of Montana, Arch Coal, and BNSF will all make a lot of money, but it will be at the expense of the best places we have left.”

A Public Good?

One of the most consistent themes of the night from almost every person that spoke was that a private corporation is asking to condemn and confiscate private property for corporate profits and yet the railroad company is trying to portray this a “public good.”

In order for the Tongue River Railroad to be granted the powers of eminent domain by the government and be able to take private property for their coal train they have to show that what they are proposing to do is in the interest of the the public.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think a coal company making billions of dollars in profit, condemning land and shipping Montana’s coal to Asian countries is a “public good.”

Is the STB willing to actually consider the “no action” alternative?

At the end of the evening, after listening to two hours of people telling the STB staff what impacts they will see on their land, their health and their communities, I decided to stand up and ask them one question that I think all of us deserve to know the answer to.

Is the STB willing to say no to the Tongue River Railroad Company? What amount of environmental impacts do they need to see and hear about before they are willing to say, you know what, this railroad has too many problems, will destroy too much land, will harm too much wildlife, will cause too much destruction,  and we aren’t going to give the Tongue River Railroad Company a permit to do this damage.

Are we just going through the motions or will the three members of the Surface Transportation Board have the political courage to say no?

Over 90% of citizens who spoke at the meeting expressed opposition to the proposed rail line, with almost 100% of Northern Cheyenne who testified opposing the rail line and expressing grave concerns.

Northern Cheyenne Tipi – Photo by Alexis Bonogofsky

This proposed rail line, if authorized, would be devastating to wildlife, tribal cultural resources, local ranchers, hunting opportunities and the uniquely clean air and water enjoyed in this part of Montana.

What is a “Scoping” Process and why is the STB conducting one for the Tongue River Railroad?

STB’s Tongue River Railroad “Alternatives” Map

A scoping hearing is when a government agency (in this case the STB) meets with members of the public to discuss the wide variety of issues related to a certain project (in this case the TRR rail line). They ask what the public believes should be addressed in the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  The intent of the process is for the STB to learn about the concerns of impacted citizens and further define the issues, feasible alternatives and potential mitigation measures that may warrant in-depth analysis in the environmental review process.

What are they analyzing? The Tongue River Railroad “Alternatives”

One extremely important issue to note is that the STB must analyze various “alternatives.” Such “alternatives” include the different routes that the rail line could take but it also includes a “no-action” alternative. Let me do some bureaucratic language translation for you. I speak it fairly well. When they say the “no-action” alternative, they mean that the STB has the power and the ability to deny the Tongue River Railroad company a permit to construct and operate this rail line. 

The map provided at yesterday’s scoping meeting showed the “alternatives” and yet, the STB did not have a map that showed no rail line. The STB seemed reluctant to discuss the “no-action” alternative in their presentation or expressly tell the audience that this was even a possibility. It seemed as if the agency’s representatives thought the “no-action” alternative was not even a possibility.

Check out the Tongue River Railroad “Alternatives” Map here.

At 7:20 p.m., after a one-hour open house and a 15 minute presentation by the STB contractors, the STB informed the crowd that each person had 5 minutes to speak.

Northern Cheyenne tribal members have something to say about it

Sign on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

One woman, who had seen the destruction of the bison bone bed on the Crow Reservation, expressed great concern for the hundreds of cultural sites along the Tongue River and Otter Creek drainages. She asked the STB, “who is going to protect these site from destruction?” She was the first of many to raise concerns about the potential destruction of cultural and historic resources. As many stated, the Northern Cheyenne are deeply connected to this region and they want the STB to tell them how this rail line will impact the plants they use, the wildlife they harvest and the sites that are important to their tribe.

Vanessa Braided Hair, a young Northern Cheyenne woman, spoke out strongly against the proposed rail line. She was adamant that “no-good” would come from the line.

Another woman—who lives off wild game such as deer and elk—also spoke out against the rail line and asked the STB how this train would affect her ability to hunt and gather along the Tongue River. She knew that wildlife would be impacted and therefore her ability to make a living would be too.

A young man, William Wilson, also known as Possum, stood up and told the STB that his people “fought and died for this land” and he is not willing to see it destroyed.

Local rancher, Clint McRae, told the STB that one of the alternatives went directly through ranches whose owners have never been notified that it was even a possibility? How can people comment on a plan if they have never been notified of the existence of this plan?

Who does the STB represent?

Person after person stood and spoke up for their people and their land.  They asked about increased road traffic and the safety of their kids. They asked how this mine and railroad would affect their Class I Airshed, something the Tribe is fiercely proud of. They asked how the new railroad would  affect the water quality of Tongue River.

Tribal members told the STB how it would impact their land, resources and cultural heritage, which their people fought and died to protect. They talked about the need for renewable energy projects. They talked about the impacts of climate change.

Wally McRae, rancher and cowboy poet, stood up and asked whether the Surface Transportation Board represented the people sitting in that room or a for-profit coal and railroad company?

I think the STB needs to answer that question first before it answers anything else.

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.