When Boom Turns to Bust

By John A. Heiser
Contributing Writer

To those of you in the eastern half of this state, consider this both a plea for help and a wake up call to the politicians who have colluded in the creation of the destructive oil “boom” which is obliterating the land, the wildlife, and the longtime inhabitants of the western North Dakota. And considering that we westerners are, in general, a sturdy and resourceful bunch, it is no small thing for us to essentially swallow our pride and ask for help from the more “cosmopolitan” end of our fair state. Not only do we out West feel abandoned by our so-called “leaders,” but we also feel that we are under major assault by the oil industry and the outsiders they bring along. And, as is commonly the case, the silent majority is reticent to speak up, instead suffering significant injury in silence while the resentment and anger against both the oil industry and misguided state leaders builds. My name is John, and I have finally reached the “boiling point” as I live in the disaster area western North Dakota has become.

My roots in this high and dry land run deep. My maternal great-grandparents homesteaded near Dickinson a mere 15 years after General Custer set out on his ill-fated journey to the Little Bighorn River. My paternal grandparents homesteaded 3 miles from where my modest ranch is located on Ranch Creek—a tributary of the Little Missouri River—a few miles northeast of Grassy Butte. My Dickinson State University B.A. is in Biology & Geology and, from early April to late October, I am the Backcountry Ranger in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. In the last “oil boom” (late seventies and early eighties), my family had an oil/gas well drilled on our land, the site of which was finally reclaimed last fall. We presently each receive royalties of about $100.00 per month from two Bakken Formation oil/gas wells, one each in Billings and McKenzie Counties. Had I been able to veto our recent mineral leases, I would have. But one owner has little impact when minerals are divided amongst dozens of interest owners—many from out of state.

Consequently, I call my royalty share “blood money” and give most of it to conservation organizations across the USA. And, since one of my least favorite sub-species of Homo Sapiens is the hypocrite, I “walk the talk” when it comes to using energy. Thus, today is consecutive day #16 without using so much as single drop of gasoline or diesel while feeding my 68 head of livestock. I’ve been known to go as long as 40 days that way, obviously doing all of my ranch chores by hand. Should you doubt that, my neighbors will vouch for me. I will also say that I am not at all opposed to moderate oil development—say somewhere around 30 rigs drilling at any one time instead of 200 or more.

My view eastward encompasses the badlands for perhaps 10 miles, followed by the Killdeer Mountains—quite grand in a normal time. These days, however, that formerly wild view is marred with several oil drilling rigs, about a dozen gas flares and - - too often - - a choking cloud of dust from the semi-truck traffic on county roads. Oil industry traffic on US 85 is extreme and dangerous. I’ve dodged many near-miss accidents on my 20-mile journey to work. I will no longer set foot in Williston, Watford City or Killdeer because of their oil chaos, and only rarely journey to Dickinson for provisions because that city is losing its sanity as well. Both my ranch and the North Unit used to be noted for their immense silence, but not any more. The sounds of semi trucks and their “jake brakes” provide a near constant and unsettling racket, not to mention the noise of drilling rigs and other associated “boom” impacts.

The Dickinson Press recently posed a very simple question to western North Dakotans: “Do you love or hate the oil boom, or are you indifferent?” An astounding two-thirds of the respondents said they “Hate” it—and that is a pretty strongly worded message in any situation. Yet, from my numerous conversations with people of all walks of life out here, I think that number is actually low. There are very few of the silent majority who like this “boom” except for, perhaps, the developers and others who are really taking advantage of the “boom” to line their greedy pockets. Furthermore, political persuasions are falling by the wayside as the anger grows over this out-of-control “boom” and its dire consequences to everything we hold dear out here in the real West. The vast majority hate it no matter what their political stance is. The oil industry and their greedy state and local cheerleaders, who are only too happy to sell the rest of us down the river, are none too popular either.

Wise and thoughtful leadership would see or sense the unrest out West and limit the oil boom immediately instead of belatedly treating the symptoms caused by the out-of-control boom. Great concern is expressed by the greedy state “leaders” for the crumbling and overwhelmed infrastructure of roads, housing, sewage lagoons and the like, but none is expressed for the equally overwhelmed (spiritual and emotional) “infrastructure” of longtime western North Dakotans who are under immense stress as our lifestyles and land are pretty much annihilated. Which isn’t to say that we are opposed to all oil development—we understand that we can contribute to America’s oil supply because we obviously need it, too. But clear thinking and good judgement also suggest that we keep some of the increasingly precious oil in the geological formations where it’s been for millions of years rather than squander it all in a decade or three. If it’s worth $100 per barrel now, what will it be worth in a hundred or five-hundred years? Any rational thinker realizes there will still be humans here for many centuries, and they may very well appreciate current generations having the wisdom and foresight to plan for that eventuality and save a little oil for generations to come. Visionary thinking would also realize there is absolutely no reason that we have to employ the masses of unemployed Americans who are in need of jobs because of the numerous greedy “bubbles” which caused the recent national economic disaster—one which we wise and thrifty North Dakotans did not participate in. Of course we can employ some of those people, but not if their invasion threatens everything we cherish about life in Dakota. It is quite obvious as well that - - by definition- -  a “boom” will also “bust”, leaving further chaos and ruin in its wake.

Sound judgement would say that we stretch out as long as possible the finite and valuable resource of oil; which would not only prevent the extreme chaos of the current “boom,” but would also provide jobs for generations of North Dakotans. Wasn’t it long ago that “out-migration” was a major concern yet we are now perfectly willing to employ all kinds of Americans for a few years, rather than many generations of Dakotans for years to come? When the oil and gas are all gone there will be no jobs at all in that industry, then what?! Of course there will then be great gnashing of teeth and much wailing because our “leaders” weren’t anywhere near wise enough to consider the long term future of our state and its inhabitants.

It is beyond high time that the wannabe leaders of this great state awaken with regard to the out-of-control mess our here in the West—one they and their greedy oil industry accomplices created. They would also be wise to see that we western North Dakotans are big-hearted people- but that our acceptance and tolerance of outsiders logically has a limit. We feel like we’re under siege and being invaded against our will—a feeling which has occurred in past generations of humans and seldom had desirable outcomes. Women, in particular, feel vulnerable and frightened. Stories abound of incidents- - by the dozens- - which are enough to leave a sane person cold. Long time residents are moving out of western North Dakota. But do any of the state and local “leaders” notice, much less care? It should be obvious by now that rampant greed has its shortcomings, no matter how terrific the state budget looks.

I knew the recently abducted—likely murdered—woman, Sherry Arnold, that was kidnapped by one of these outsiders.  I knew Sherry Arnold and other members of her family very well. Hearing about it made my blood run cold for days. It was not so much that her kidnappers were oil field “trash” but that they were outsiders and, fine a distinction as that may be, it is the one that ultimately counts most. When one of our own neighbors gets killed because of this out-of-control oil “boom,” there’s potential for a war—one which we longtime descendants of homesteaders would not lose, guaranteed. We feel cornered out here, and there’s a bone-deep seething anger which is only rising higher with each uncontrolled, oil-soaked day.

Finally, with my geology background, I always knew that the Williston Basin’s oil and gas could be a blessing or a curse. It’s more than disheartening to see that both the ultra-greedy oil industry and our misguided state “leaders” have essentially turned the former into the latter. Anybody out there still want to lend a hand to those of us barely hanging on in what really was God’s Country? If you do, thanks in advance.

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