10,000 back petition asking interior secretary to protect park

During a trip to North Dakota in August, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said it was important for energy interests in the state to extract oil and gas with less impact on the environment. This week, the Dakota Resource Council announced it is sending a petition with more than 10,000 signatures to Jewell, urging the secretary to do what she can to help protect Theodore Roosevelt National Park from what has been dubbed “encroaching oil development.” DRC senior field organizer Scott Skokos said Wednesday that the plan is for the petition, which was rolled out in late August, to be hand-delivered to Jewell this month. About 10,260 supporters of the cause were able to sign their names via mega-petition website Change.org, Skokos said. Oil and gas industry infrastructure and flares can also clearly be seen at different locations in both of the park’s main units, but Naylor said it’s not just sightlines that are being or could be affected — wildlife, clean air and other aspects of the park are also affected...more