Wayne Stenehjem proudly mentions many of his achievements as attorney general, and it's an impressive list: breaking up drug rings, pulling meth components off shelves, putting human traffickers behind bars.
But in all those actions, Stenehjem stood with many others. We see more significance in the time he stood alone: the time he stood in partial opposition to his fellow members of the Industrial Commission; the time he sparked an anti-Stenehjem lobbying drive from the oil and gas industry, among other powerful interests.
It was the time Stenehjem proposed a list of "extraordinary places" that deserve special consideration in oil-drilling decisions.
It may have been Stenehjem's finest hour. Here's hoping makes note of it, so that if he becomes governor, North Dakotans will know they've elected a leader who's committed to balancing conservation and development.
Make no mistake: Stenehjem's proposal was not a plan to stop development. Not even close.
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Instead, the proposal simply called for a 10-day period of public comment on drilling applications near the 18 special places on Stenehjem's list.
That wasn't too much to ask, said Valerie Naylor, then-superintendent of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The national park and the North Dakota Badlands are staggering assets, both for the state and the entire United States.
Stenehjem's list included North Dakota's "best of the best"-places like Bullion Butte, the national park, Lake Sakakawea and the Little Missouri River.
Stenehjem was right to ask the Industrial Commission to consider the impact of oil-drilling proposals on those areas, Naylor said.
Industry spokespeople did not agree. Considering anything beyond the boundaries of a proposed lease infringes on property rights, they declared.
Or as Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring put it, "viewscapes are not constitutionally protected. They may be beautiful, we like them, but there's still a right that exists with that property owner."
To make a long story short, Stenehjem got part of what he wanted. But only part: Goehring and Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Stenehjem's fellow Industrial Commission members, agreed to allow comments on proposals to drill on public land only-not private property.
"Dalrymple, who chairs the commission, says the proposal was a good idea, but allowing public comment on private land is 'a very serious policy question' that hasn't been addressed by the state Legislature," Forum News Service reported at the time.
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Hmm. So convincing the Legislature is needed, eh? Sounds like a job for a governor who has served as a legislator, picked a state senator to be his lieutenant governor and is making much of his track record of legislative success.
In other words, sounds like a job for a certain attorney general and governor candidate we know.
-- Tom Dennis for the Herald
