I meant to write this story a few days ago but I got busy and it got sidelined. Darn. Now I’ve been “scooped” by The Bismarck Tribune, something that doesn’t happen very often. It got the banner headline on the front page today.
The Tribune story started out “A group has proposed reestablishing (their spelling—the Cambridge Dictionary and I use a hyphen) an airstrip near North Dakota’s Badlands for recreational pilots, but a local conservation organization opposes the plan. I do give the Trubune credit for using the most 12-letter words in a lead sentence I’ve ever seen though.
But I want to share my version. So here it is.
Long ago, I’m not sure when, but I’d guess in the 1950s, a rancher who owned a pretty good-sized chunk of land in the North Dakota Bad Lands just across the Little Missouri River from the site of Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch about 25 miles north of Medora decided to put in a grass airstrip so that he or others of his flying rancher buddies could land their small planes there. Or friends could come to visit. That’s all I know about the origin of the now-abandoned airstrip. The ranch was later sold to the Eberts brothers, Dennis, Ken and Allan, who say they never used the airstrip and just abandoned it.
But the outline of it is still visible there, at least from the air, and now a group called the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF), headquartered in Montana, but with a spokesman here in North Dakota who knows the area, wants to “rebuild” the airstrip so they can land their small planes there and spend some time in the Bad Lands. Rebuilding just really means clearing the area of grass and brush and trees so it’s safe to land their Cessnas and Pipers there.
The group says it would be great for them to land their planes, get out and unload their camping or hiking gear, and explore and enjoy the area.
I’m skeptical. I think they’ve got more up their sleeve. I just can’t figure out what it is.
It’s surely not about flying in to visit the Elkhorn Ranch, because that National Park site is more than four miles away on the other side of the Little Missouri River. And it’s pretty rugged country. The proposed airstrip is not “near” the Bad Lands, as the Tribune story says, but it’s deep in the heart of them. The easiest way to get to the river is on the road beside the proposed strip, about a four mile trek to the site of what used to be the Eberts Ranch, now owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
Let’s pause for a minute and talk about that. This isn’t the first controversy surrounding the Eberts property. The three Eberts brothers who jointly owned the 5,000 acre ranch, have always been conservation minded. Back around the turn of the century, the Billings County Commission notified them that they were going to take the road through eminent domain and build a bridge across the river at their ranch headquarters, exiting the river on the other side beside the Elkhorn ranch site. There was a lot of public outrage, and the family went to court to stop the county, and won when Judge Ron Hilden ruled in their favor. But not for long. The county appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court, and won.
But the county didn’t get going on that project for a while, and things took a different turn. The brothers decided they’d had enough, and since the ranch was right across the river from the Elkhorn, they tried to sell it to the National Park Service which owned the Elkhorn site. That didn’t work, so they tried to sell it to the State of North Dakota, which also owned land across the river, adjacent to the national park land.
Well. that didn’t work either, because the North Dakota Legislature refused to provide money for the purchase. So a group of national conservation organizations led by the late Lowell Baier, then president of the Boone and Crockett Club, ran a national fundraising campaign, raised about $7 million, bought the ranch, and gave it to the U.S. Forest Service, which maintains ownership today. It’s now known as The Elkhorn Ranchlands, because it was once part of Roosevelt’s ranching operation in the 1880s.
The Forest Service leased the grazing rights to local ranchers, but didn’t do too much else until the last couple of years, when they tore down all the buildings at the ranch headquarters on the banks of the river except historic cabin, which they restored and will be used by visitors pretty soon, maybe even this year, I think.
After all of that, there hasn’t been much news about the place until this pilots group decided to rebuild the airstrip. That’s raised the hackles of conservationists who think it is a pretty bad idea. I agree with them.
Earlier this month the Dakota Prairie Grasslands Office of the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the Elkhorn Ranchlands, sent out a notice that they had received the RAF’s application to revive the airstrip. The RAF proposed to “reestablish an airstrip (formerly known as the Eberts Airstrip) and maintain an adjoining area for designated plane parking/camping.”
Well.
Knowing that this involved a significant change to some of their land, and might not be agreeable to everyone, they asked for public comments before making a decision.
Here’s a little more language from their comment proposal:
“The proposed airstrip would be approximately 3.5 acres and the designated plane parking/camping area would be an approximate 1 acre fenced area. Total area involved in the proposal (airstrip, plane parking/camping area) is approximately 4.5 acres. RAF estimates 8 to 16 landings per month from May to October.
“RAF proposes to reestablish the airstrip by filling in holes, removing brush, installing painted rocks for runway markers; constructing a fence around parking/camping area; maintain/mow airstrip and parking/camping area. A portable toilet will be installed initially, with a vault or composting toilet planned for future installation.
“If approved, a special use permit would be issued for the 4.5-acre area, which would include an agreement with the Medora Ranger District for RAF to maintain the area.”
Members of the Badlands Conservation Alliance (disclaimer: I am a member and my wife is the founder and serves on their board) saw that and said “that’s a bad idea.” Last week the group’s Executive Director, Shannon Straight, sent in his comment.
He said his board and members “oppose the proposal by the Recreation Aviation Foundation (RAF) to reestablish the airstrip formerly known as the Eberts Airstrip within the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. BCA’s mission is a Voice for Wild North Dakota Places, and our membership represents the multi-user groups dedicated to preservation and protection of western ND’s Badlands and grasslands. This proposal raises serious concerns about the long-term health of the Badlands landscape, the integrity of wildlife habitat, and the quality of recreation experiences that many people depend upon.”
“The North Dakota Badlands are a rare and fragile environment,” Straight went on to say. “Designating plane parking and associated camping infrastructure in this area would introduce a level of disturbance that is inconsistent with protecting the diverse landscape that makes this region unique. Increased aviation use in a remote area risks fragmenting habitat and disrupting migration patterns, particularly for sensitive species such as bighorn sheep and other wildlife that rely on quiet, undisturbed terrain.”
“Noise and air pollution from aircraft activity are also significant concerns. Visitors and residents seek out the Badlands for its peaceful solitude and natural soundscape. Reestablishing an airstrip would undermine the experience of other recreation users, including mountain bikers, hikers, horseback riders, and families who value quiet backcountry recreation. Protecting these qualities is essential to maintaining the character of the Medora District and the public lands entrusted to its care.”
Well said, Shannon. You can read his whole letter here. And you can read the Forest Service notice here. If you want to help you can e-mail comments to Medora District’s Deputy District Ranger, Robert Schilling: Robert.schilling@usda.gov. Hurry up. The comment period ends Friday. Sorry it took me so long to get this done. Thanks.
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