Oil, gas leases along Front retired

Two more developers have given up rights to explore for natural gas and oil on 18,770 acres in the 130,000-acre Badger-Two Medicine area of the Rocky Mountain Front. New leases can't be issued on federal lands along the Front, but existing lease holders are free to explore, said Gloria Flora of the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front, calling the lease transfer to Trout Unlimited huge. "Even if it got designated as wilderness, those leases would be active and the lease holders could retain all of their rights," said Flora, former supervisor of the Lewis and Clark National Forest. The latest transfer brings the total of relinquished oil and gas leases on the Front to 83,000 acres, the Northern Rockies branch of The Wilderness Society said. In 2006, Congress banned leasing activity on federal lands on the Front. The same law also provides tax incentives for existing lease holders who choose to transfer their rights. Trout Unlimited has taken the lead in acquiring the leases and then relinquishing them to the Bureau of Land Management for permanent retirement...GreatFallsTribune