Accomplishments for 2024

BCA’s Accomplishments for 2024

In 2024, BCA’s projects and collaborations included the Maah Daah Hey National Monument campaign, a legal intervention to defend the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule, advocating for Suitable for Wilderness areas during the public comment period for the Dakota Prairie Grasslands Travel Management Plan, and submitting comments to the Bureau of Land Management regarding oil and gas leases.

Since 2023, BCA has served as a member of the Maah Daah Hey National Monument (MDHNM) committee. The committee met biweekly throughout 2024. BCA assisted to secure both local and national support, and played a vital role to secure Tribal support and participation. Alongside committee members, BCA gave presentations to the Standing Rock Elders Preservation Council and the Maah Daah Hey Trail Association (MDHTA) at their 2024 annual meeting. In October 2024, BCA Executive Director Shannon Straight joined committee members in Washington, D.C. to advocate for the MDHNM.

BCA has supported the Little Missouri National Grasslands and partnered with Forest Service staff to promote collaborative activities such as the Badlands Juniper Tour (June 2024) with North Dakota Wildlife Federation (NDWF) and North Dakota Natural Resources Trust (NDNRT). BCA also worked with USFS staff and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) to monitor oil development in the Badlands.

Partnering with NDWF, BCA participated in the public comment period for the Forest Service’s Dakota Prairie Grasslands Travel Management Plan and met with Forest Service Superintendent Beth Ihle. BCA advocated to protect Suitable for Wilderness areas. Thank you to all of the BCA members who participated in public meetings and submitted comments to the Forest Service.

BCA collaborated with NPCA to review oil and gas leases and identify locations of pertinent impacts, including Kendley Plateau. BCA submitted comments with NPCA to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding the Montana-Dakotas Q2 2024 Oil and Gas Lease Sale. BCA continues to monitor regional haze issues with NPCA.

Partnering with a coalition that includes the Western Environmental Law Center, BCA joined a legal intervention in September 2024 to defend the BLM’s federal public lands conservation rule from a North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho lawsuit. The BLM is guided by a multiple-use mandate, which it has implemented with a focus on extractive uses like fracking, mining, grazing, and logging. The Public Lands Rule, finalized in April, appropriately recognizes conservation as a use in this context, better positioning the agency to manage public lands to serve as a cornerstone of ecological and community resilience in the face of a changing climate.

BCA engaged Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library staff on potential conservation collaborations such as education initiatives and outings in western North Dakota.

BCA and MDHTA partnered to address trail repair needs with the Superintendent and staff of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

BCA attended meetings of the Billings County Commission, the Industrial Commission, and the Little Missouri Scenic River Commission.

Over the course of 2024, more than 80 people attended events and outings held by BCA. BCA members and the public were invited to attend these events. In January 2024, BCA held a potluck at our office. Members visited the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in February. Calvin Grinnell spoke to BCA members in March at the North Dakota Heritage Center’s exhibition titled On the Edge of the Wind: Native Storytellers and the Land. The exhibition is open until 2025.

BCA celebrated Earth Day in the Badlands on the Maah Daah Hey Trail, hiking from Plumely Draw to Coal Creek; we’re grateful to Dakota Cyclery and BCA board member Jennifer Morlock who volunteered to shuttle hikers. In May, BCA hiked Bennett-Cottonwood. National Trails Day inspired BCA members to visit the South Unit of TRNP to hike a 5.3-mile loop in the Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness. In August, we hiked in Logging Camp Ranch’s Ponderosa Pines; the weekend included presentations from John Bradley (NDWF) and Jesse Kolar (Theodore Roosevelt Nature and History Association), yoga led by BCA member Julie Bryant, and delicious food provided by John and Jennifer Hanson.

Shannon Straight joined Valerie Naylor on the UND Bus Tour of TRNP’s South Unit in August with UND President Andrew Armacost, First Lady Kathy Armacost and UND faculty.

Straight, members of the BCA’s board, BCA members, and conservation partners attended the 50th Anniversary of Knife River Indian Villages in August.

Straight spoke on a panel titled Nature’s Sanctuaries: Protection of Public Lands at Dickinson State University’s Theodore Roosevelt Symposium in September, and BCA members joined the Symposium’s outing to the Elkhorn Ranch. The theme of this year’s Symposium was Conservation and Sustainability. Alongside Straight, panel participants included Joshua Lefers (Director of Conservation, Audubon Great Plains) and Ryan Taylor (Director of Public Policy for ND, SD, and MT, Ducks Unlimited); the panel was moderated by BCA board member Clay Jenkinson (Theodore Roosevelt Humanities Scholar, Dickinson State University).

In fall 2023, BCA partnered with the Sierra Club, NDWF and Dakota Resource Council (DRC) on a successful grant application to fund MDHNM advocacy. We’re grateful to the Robbins Family Foundation for supporting this campaign.

BCA partnered with Josh Anderson and the Walsh County Three Rivers Soil Conservation District to submit a successful grant application through NDNRT to start a Badlands Field Camp for middle school students in June 2025. This project will bring youth from eastern North Dakota to the Badlands to learn about soil health and the important ecosystem of western North Dakota. Thank you for your support, NDNRT.

In April 2024, BCA submitted two Creative Community Solutions grant applications to Strengthen ND. BCA submitted a grant application to the Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund through the North Dakota Community Foundation (NDCF). BCA researched grant opportunities offered by the Bush Foundation and REI. We sought corporate sponsorships and received an outing sponsorship from Bravera Bank. BCA has signed up to participate in Giving Hearts Day in February 2025.

In July, BCA submitted a successful grant application to the Tortuga Foundation. We’re grateful to the Tortuga Foundation for their generous support.

BCA partnered with DRC, NDWF, North Dakota Interfaith Alliance, and Senator Tim Mathern on a grant application for clean energy advocacy.

In partnership with Laughing Sun Brewing Co. and Atypical Brewery & Barrelworks, BCA launched Beers for the Badlands in July 2024. Kickoff events were held in August in Bismarck and Minot.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to support the initial launch of BCA’s endowment fund, facilitated by the North Dakota Community Foundation. BCA is required to raise $25,000 within the first three years of opening the endowment to remain eligible. You can support BCA’s endowment fund by mailing your contribution or by making a one-time or recurring donation online.

To learn more about BCA’s endowment fund, visit: BadlandsConservationAlliance.org/endowment

In February 2024, Nora Swenson was hired as Associate Director of Communications and Development.

The Badlands Conservation Alliance Board of Directors held meetings on January 24, March 11–12 at the board retreat, May 8, July 9, and November 6. The board welcomed two new members: Jennifer Morlock in January 2024 and Brandy Chaffee in May 2024.

Members at large are encouraged to get in touch if you’re interested in being involved in committee work, volunteering, letter-writing campaigns, or submitting your writing or photography to our newsletter, Wild Badlands.