ConocoPhillips will retire oil and gas leases in US Flathead

More than 100 oil and gas leases – covering nearly 170,000 acres on Glacier National Park’s western border – will be retired voluntarily by energy giant ConocoPhillips, as part of a plan to protect outdoor recreation in the region.

“This is a very big deal,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. “I have worked toward this for 35 years, and now we are closer than ever to protecting the Flathead once and for all.”

Early this year, the provincial government in British Columbia ended three decades of transboundary dispute by placing the Canadian Flathead off limits to mining and drilling. Previously, Canadian officials had proposed several developments in the river drainage, including gold, coal and coalbed methane projects.

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