The Bismarck Tribune. May 7, 2012
ND tourism to stay on track
Tourism is North Dakota's third-largest industry, a reality that can get lost in the state's celebration of newfound oil development. Tourism's success has been built on the state's natural resources, heritage and the efforts of a network of public and private campgrounds, museums, trail rides, parks, events and shared marketing. The state built its tourism industry from scratch, and it has been paying off.
Despite last year's flood and a perception that hotel and motel rooms would be hard to find because of the oil boom, tourism in North Dakota remained steady.
With thoughts of flooding falling away, the addition of 1,500 hotel rooms and another 2,300 rooms under construction, tourism should have an easier time of it in 2012. And that oil boom has put the state on people's radar in a good way. As state Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman puts it: "People know about North Dakota now."
Perhaps the biggest challenge will be for visitors to navigate through the state's $700 million in road construction this summer.
Medora, the state's leading tourist attraction, has been commemorating the centennial of Harold Schafer's birthday. Schafer's vision for Medora has made it synonymous with Theodore Roosevelt and the West.
When the Little Missouri River flooded last spring, the Bully Pulpit Golf Course took a big hit. The damage has been repaired, and Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation President Randy Hatzenbuhler said the flood recovery project allowed them to tweak the course. "It will be better than it ever was," he said.
The foundation also has done extensive historical work on the Von Hoffmann House, making it as impressive as the Chateau de Mores, according to Hatzenbuhler.
Another change this summer has been the return of electronic shooting galleries in Medora and the development of family fun zones with a rock climbing wall and a large inflatable waterslide.
The Medora Musical opens June 8.
Across North Dakota, communities have developed events and attractions that draw in-state and out-of-state guests. It's supported by an infrastructure that has grown up over the past two decades, and needs to continue to grow. People are hearing about North Dakota now because of the state's budget surplus and the oil boom. It's a chance to create an ongoing interest in the state for potential visitors.
North Dakota needs to continue to tell its rich story.
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Grand Forks Herald. May 5, 2012
State parks and oil rigs don't mix
Little Missouri State Park is 4,592 acres in size. That's 7.175 square miles.
That, in turn, is a parcel about 2.7 miles on a side.
But now there's going to be up to 10 oil wells there? Plus roads, trucks, pipelines and heavy equipment?
Something's wrong in North Dakota when construction crews can truck in materials and build oil rigs even inside a state park. Central Park in New York City occupies some of the most valuable real estate in the world. If it were opened to development, hundreds of billions dollars would change hands, and before long, skyscrapers would soar.
But instead, there's not an apartment house or office tower to be found. Of course not: it's a park.
Why is Little Missouri State Park so different?
Little Missouri State Park is a gem of the North Dakota state parks system. Set in a remote corner of the Badlands, the rugged landscape of the Little Missouri Breaks "offers the state's most awe-inspiring scenery," the state Parks and Rec department's website notes.
The trouble is that "the state owns only 20 percent of the surface within the Little Missouri State Park and fewer than 7 percent of the mineral rights," wrote Lynn Helms, director of North Dakota 's Department of Mineral Resources, in a letter in a recent edition of the Herald.
The land is folded and rolled, like the Red River Valley would be if God put two big hands on the landscape and pushed them together, wrinkling the surface like a great prairie carpet.
Add a few million years of wind scour and erosion — the result of which has exposed the dun-, charcoal- and rose-colored layers of the underlying rock — and you've got a sight that "literally takes your breath away," as historian Clay Jenkinson has written.
"It is better even than 'the Grand Canyon of the Little Missouri' in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. . The view into the heart of the badlands from the bluffs on the south side of the Little Missouri is magnificent, even sublime."
But add oil rigs and gas flares to the view, and "sublime" won't be the word that comes to mind.
In part, North Dakota's hands are tied. The trouble is that "the state owns only 20 percent of the surface within the Little Missouri State Park and fewer than 7 percent of the mineral rights," wrote Lynn Helms, director of North Dakota's Department of Mineral Resources, in a letter in a recent edition of the Herald.
"The rest of the surface and mineral rights are privately owned." Furthermore, "the North Dakota Constitution prohibits the state from denying private property owners the right to develop their property."
So, when Burlington Resources comes calling for access to its minerals, North Dakota must deliver. The state can negotiate only to minimize, not eliminate, oil development, authorities suggest.
But that's treating the status quo as if it resulted from fate, not policy.
In fact, North Dakota retains the power of eminent domain, a power acknowledged by the U.S. Constitution and duly authorized by North Dakota law. That power extends fully and completely to buying land for parks, the U.S. Supreme Court as early as 1893 declared.
In other words, the drilling of Little Missouri State Park is not a matter of destiny. It's a matter of will. To date, North Dakota simply has been reluctant to spend the money it takes to acquire parkland.
And as a result, North Dakota has fewer acres in state parks than do 49 of the 50 states. Only Rhode Island — the entire state of which could fit inside Grand Forks County — has less.
Well, maybe the time to change that status is now.
Let's be clear: On balance, the oil boom is an exceptionally positive thing. There's no argument about that.
Let's also be clear that North Dakota's state government worked long and hard to bargain down the impacts to Little Missouri State Park.
But if residents want to fully protect a few corners of their state's landscape — a few Central Parks, thoughtfully and deliberately set aside — then the time to do so is now.
It may be too late for Little Missouri State Park. But it's not too late for Twin Buttes, Long X Divide and the Kendley Plateau, to name a few other special areas. North Dakotans should protect them.
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Minot Daily News. May 8, 2012
Planting Hope successful
The work of turning Minot's flood-damaged yards green again is off to a great start.
Planting Hope's distribution day was recently held, and organizers from The Minot Rotary club and volunteers gathered to give away 2,400 bags of grass seed.
The day was a busy day, with drivers waiting in long lines of vehicles to receive their 20-pound bags of grass seed. The blend of seed was specially mixed to grow well in North Dakota's climate, and came with instructions for preparing the site and lawn care.
The idea behind the Rotary project is to help area residents put their lawns back in shape after the devastating Souris River flood of 2011. No one expects residents receiving the free seed to be made whole by the project, but every little bit of help matters to flood victims. The money they don't have to spend on buying grass seed can now be used for something else needed to continue the recovery from the flood. Plus, organizers said any leftover seed will be donated to Minot parks.
The project was a huge success, and everyone involved deserves a hearty thank you. It took time, effort, money and a host of volunteers to help the project succeed. Residents receiving the free seed no doubt were thankful, and the project's results will soon be easy to see as the lawns of Minot return to a state of green.