Author: Jim Fuglie

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum may not have been in politics very long, but he has learned the number one rule already: Politics is the art of compromise. To that end, the Governor DID NOT veto the section of North Dakota House Bill 1020, which, now that it is law, legalizes the issuance of industrial … Continue reading No Veto, but No More Industrial Permits, Either–At Least for a While. a Partial Victory for the Little Missouri River.

Dear Governor Burgum, Let me quote from the conservation easement you signed for some ranchland you and your friends own in southwest North Dakota’s Bad Lands six years ago: “The Protected Property possesses agricultural, scenic, and historic, and cultural values. The Protected Property is located in the heart of the only Ponderosa pine forest in … Continue reading An Open Letter to Governor Doug Burgum, on the Occasion of the Greatest Threat Ever to the Little Missouri State Scenic River

There are two or three days left in the Legislative Session. A lot of bad things are going to happen to North Dakota in that short period of time. I've been watching every Legislative Session since 1975, and this one is by far the most irresponsible I've seen. One of the worst things that could happen … Continue reading Act Today to Protect the Little Missouri State Scenic River

Well, yesterday and today I have learned I did not ask enough questions of my doctors about treating gout. Partly my fault--the specialist is a very busy guy, and I dd not think to go back to my family physician and find out about ongoing inexpensive meds to keep the gout at bay once I … Continue reading More About Gout and Canada Drugs

I got gout. Of all things, after a long winter in which I survived two spine surgeries to relieve pressure from a herniated disc on my sciatic nerve, I woke up one morning in early March with excruciating pain in the big toe on my left foot. My first thought was an ingrown toenail, so … Continue reading Growing Old Is Not for Weenies. It’s Good to Have a Friend in Canada.

The North Dakota State Water Commission has violated state law more than 600 times in recent years, by issuing permits for industrial use of water (read: fracking oil wells) from the Little Missouri State Scenic River. Employees there claim they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to do that. I believe them. But that’s no excuse. … Continue reading 600 Illegal Water Permits? Unacceptable Behavior by a State Agency.

Jason Halek wandered in and out of Bismarck Wednesday. He wasn’t all that excited about being here, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t stick around to visit with old friends, instead likely heading back to Texas to sell some more used cars. For a couple more months. I wrote about Jason last month, after his … Continue reading “Guilty, Your Honor”

I need to clarify a few things and bring you up to date on the ongoing saga of the proposed new bridge across the Little Missouri River north of Medora. A project which, if completed, could be an environmental disaster for the North Dakota Bad Lands. That’s why I keep writing about it. To review, … Continue reading So, Who’s Going to Pay for the New Bridge Over the Little Missouri River?

Update: Dakota Goodhouse has written an excellent response to this article. go look at it here. When was the last time someone called you a dipshit? I swear, I hadn’t heard that word in 20 years, or maybe 30 or 40, until this week, when somebody called me that in a comment at the bottom … Continue reading Of Cougars, Dipshits, and Teddy Roosevelt

  In the early 1990s, a group of 17 conservation organizations, as diverse as the National Wildlife Federation, the Bismarck-Mandan Bird Club, the North Dakota Wildlife Society and the Fargo-Moorhead Audubon Society, gathered under a symbolic big tent, and produced a document outlining the dangers facing the North Dakota Bad Lands, and offering a plan … Continue reading The North Dakota Bad Lands: Still on the Brink