A coalition comprised of conservation organizations and Native American tribal members has urged President Joe Biden to officially designate nearly 140,000 acres of the stunning Badlands in North Dakota as the state’s inaugural national monument. This proposal is supported by several tribal nations that believe it would safeguard the area’s cultural and indigenous heritage.
The suggested Maah Daah Hey National Monument would include 11 non-contiguous, newly designated sections, accumulating to a total of 139,729 acres within the Little Missouri National Grassland. These units are set to be adjacent to the well-known Maah Daah Hey Trail and neighboring Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is named after the 26th president who spent his youth ranching and exploring the Badlands in the 1880s.
Michael Barthelemy, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and the director of Native American studies at Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, highlighted the importance of recognizing the historical connection between the land and its original inhabitants. “Telling the story of the landscape necessitates also sharing the story of its people,” Barthelemy emphasized, conveying the deep ties between tribes and their ancestral lands.
If designated, the U.S. Forest Service would be in charge of managing the proposed monument, which is akin to national parks and often created to conserve unique landscapes. Supporters of the designation have made multiple trips to Washington in hopes of engaging with officials from the White House, the Interior Department, the Forest Service, and the Department of Agriculture. However, with less than two months left in Biden’s term, the group’s efforts may be met with challenges as the administration of President-elect Donald Trump approaches.
Should they be unable to secure the national monument designation under the current presidency, Dakota Resource Council Executive Director Scott Skokos expressed intentions to submit the proposal to the incoming Trump administration, reinforcing the notion that the initiative is valuable irrespective of political leadership.
Within the proposed monument area, there are numerous oil and natural gas wells; however, the units themselves do not currently have any oil or gas leases, private properties, or grazing permits that would be affected, as stated by North Dakota Wildlife Federation Executive Director John Bradley.
Support for the proposal has been voiced by tribal councils including the MHA Nation, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. According to Democratic state Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, an enrolled member of the MHA Nation, the establishment of the monument would play a crucial role in enabling tribal members to maintain their cultural identity.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, appointed by Trump to head the Interior Department, which manages the National Park Service, affirmed through a statement that North Dakota has demonstrated the ability to protect its natural, cultural, and recreational resources while also responsibly developing its energy resources.
In contrast, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven expressed concerns regarding any initiatives that could hinder ranchers or limit multiple land uses, particularly energy development, stating that his office was just becoming aware of the proposal.
This news was initially published on November 22, 2024, and later clarified on November 23, 2024, to indicate that the U.S. Forest Service, not the National Park Service, would manage the proposed monument.
