Badlands News: Sage Grouse, Roadless Rule, Maah Daah Hey
The Badlands Conservation Corps after a long day spent building the Bear Creek bridge and fencing pictured above, alongside the Forest Service, Montana Conservation Corps, and other volunteers. Photo by Nora Swenson, June 18th, 2025.
Roadless Rule
In June, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule, a landmark policy that protected about 50 million acres of roadless areas in America’s national forests.
Earthjustice has provided a detailed Timeline of the Roadless Rule, and Juliet Grable at the Sierra Club wrote a recent update: “Trump Wants to Rescind the Roadless Rule. What Does That Mean?” The article affirms the fact that federal regulations can’t be erased by waving a “magic wand,” and Grable provides helpful background information for the current moment of chaos.
North Dakota Monitor noted that “ND has 250,000 acres that could be affected.” These are areas that are central to the mission of Badlands Conservation Alliance, including our Prairie Legacy Wilderness proposal.
Speaking with the North Dakota Monitor, BCA executive director Shannon Straight said that “the proposed repeal of the rule is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers to strip away public land protections.”
Maah Daah Hey Trail
Our first-ever Badlands Conservation Corps field crew wrapped up their project season earlier this month. Head over to our social media to see some photos and videos of the work we did this summer: you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
In June, we helped the Forest Service build a bridge on the Maah Daah Hey Trail near the Bear Creek trailhead. Check out Joey Harris’s Bismarck Tribune article to learn more: “Building a bridge with the help of 10 mules on North Dakota's Maah Daah Hey Trail.”
“Straight said he hopes the work that Badlands Conservation Alliance is doing with Americorps will inspire more North Dakotans to make full use of their public lands and volunteer at them, too. Some of his group's other projects this summer include work at the planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora and the Three Affiliated Tribes National Park in northwest North Dakota.”
(Speaking of the TRPL, it’s on track to open on July 4th, 2026: “Theodore Roosevelt library project hits 65% milestone with a year to go.”)
In July, KFYR-TV interviewed Nick Ybarra and Phil Helfrich of Save the Maah Daah Hey to highlight the work that their organization does each year to maintain the trail with the help of about three dozen volunteers. Helfrich also volunteered to help build the new Bear Creek bridge in June—thanks, Phil!
Ybarra spoke with Mighty Missouri Coffee Co.’s Another Day, Another Adventure Podcast about Save the Maah Daah Hey’s backstory. It’s a fascinating and inspiring interview.
Two Spills Reported
The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality reported two spills in western North Dakota: an environmental spill (9,576 gallons of produced water and 13 gallons of crude oil) in Bowman County in June and a produced water spill (16,800 gallons) in Williams County in July.
Greater Sage Grouse
Destruction of native habitat is one of the reasons behind this year’s tragic news about the greater sage grouse population in North Dakota: in this year’s spring survey, the Game and Fish Department found zero male sage grouse.
In Joey Harris’s Tribune article, “No sage grouse counted in North Dakota in 2025, a sign of a diminishing prairie ecosystem,” North Dakota Wildlife Federation executive director John Bradley stated: “The more we dissect those core areas with roads, utility transmission lines, conversions to cropland, oil and gas development, it kind of creates that perfect storm.”
Speaking about the sage grouse survey with Brad Dokken of the Grand Forks Herald, Jesse Kolar, North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s upland game management supervisor, said that “you could argue they’re functionally extinct.”
Kris Millgate of Outdoor Life (“Have North Dakota’s Sage Grouse Winked Out Completely?”) wrote about how Wyoming has found success keeping their population more stable, in part by preventing the growth of non-native cheatgrass.
Our native prairies and sagebrush must be protected, and this devastating trend needs to be reversed before more damage is done.
North Dakota Game and Fish
Game and Fish published their 2025 bighorn sheep update and their pronghorn hunting season preview.
Doug Leier, outreach biologist for Game and Fish, provided a round-up of fourteen outdoors-related bills that will take effect today, August 1st.
Leier also wrote about a research project (“Grasslands benefit birds, other wildlife”) that’s using autonomous recording units to determine the effectiveness of the Meadowlark Initiative, and the preliminary results are pointing towards good news. Ashley Herron, the University of North Dakota master’s in biology student behind the project, explains that the research is “comparing bird response from the reseeded grasslands to intact grasslands in the area, as well as cropland, so we can kind of see how occupancy of vocal birds is changing through stages of restoration.”
Public Lands at Risk
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4th. While North Dakota’s congressional delegation called the bill a “huge win for coal, gas and oil producers,” we echo state Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille’s statement that “this bill is a betrayal of our values.”
A new report from the National Parks Conservation Association is sounding the alarm: “National Park Service’s Mission Is in Jeopardy.”
Pipelines, Data Centers, and More
It’s been a busy summer for the oil, gas and energy industries, with news about numerous projects moving forward in North Dakota.
North Dakota is being identified as a prime location for new data centers, in part because of our cold climate and low-cost energy. Unsure of what a “data center” actually is, or what life might be like if you lived next to one? This short documentary from More Perfect Union details a Meta data center in Georgia: “I Live 400 Yards From Mark Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center.”
Pipeline & Gas Journal: “Intensity, Rainbow Energy to Build 344-Mile Gas Pipeline Across North Dakota” (6/26)
AP News: “North Dakota considers 2 proposed natural gas pipelines that would stretch across the state” (6/26)
The Bismarck Tribune: “Energy CEOs make case to North Dakota officials for $500M gas pipeline financial backstop” (7/30)
Prairie Public: “EERC to undertake a study of geothermal energy” (7/2)
The Forum: “ND likely to see more AI ‘factories’ as report calls state the ‘epicenter’ for industry infrastructure” (7/7)
The Bismarck Tribune: “Coal Creek owner plans to power North Dakota data center park” (7/7)
The Bismarck Tribune: “North Dakota climate plan being finalized in different world than it started in” (7/11)
The Bismarck Tribune: “Landowners appeal state decision on major eastern North Dakota power line project” (7/21)
The Bismarck Tribune: “North Dakota oil production takes a dip in May; more consolidation with Chevron-Hess deal” (7/22)
The Bismarck Tribune: “North Dakota seeking applicants for $25M enhanced oil recovery research grants” (7/29)
Natural North Dakota
Finally, over at Prairie Public, Chuck Lura has published several episodes of his wonderful Natural North Dakota series that might be of interest to BCA members, including episodes about native prairie, American kestrels, sagebrush, and the hidden gems near Medora.