The September meeting of the Stillwater County Planning Board will be held in Columbus on Wednesday, September 4 at the Stillwater County Pavilion (known as Little Metra) on the County Fairgrounds at 328 E. 5th Avenue North in Columbus.

This meeting will likely be a tough one for us, since we do not have a defined place on the agenda. We presented our draft regulations at the last meeting, and much of this meeting will be devoted to reaction to the regulations. This is why it is important for us to continue to come out in force for these meetings. This will be a long process, and we need to be out in front at every juncture.

Here is how you can be in action:

1. Attend the meeting. Note the location. It is the same location as last month, but different from previous months.
2. Speak in support of our efforts during the public comment period. Many of you are landowners, taxpayers and petition signers here in Stillwater County, and all of you are passionate about protecting this area.   We ask that you prepare comments as to why you support this effort and we request you to read them during the meeting to get them on the public record.  Please have a hard copy ready that you can hand into the Board Chair.  Doing so will balance any negative comments that might be made during the meeting and help Board members understand that there is overwhelming support for this zone!
3. If you are not able to attend the meeting, please consider sending your prepared comments to Forrest Mandeville, the county planner. You can also copy the County Commissioners with your remarks.
   Dennis Shupak  dshupak@stillwatercountymt.gov
   Mark Crago  mcrago@stillwatercountymt.gov
   Ty Hamilton thamilton@stillwatercountymt.gov

Background material
Stillwater County Planning Board meeting: August 7, 2019

Stillwater County News: “Workable Framework” adopted for potential southern county zone
Action alert: Your attendance needed at Stillwater County Planning Board meeting, July 3, 2019
Action alert: New developments in landowner lawsuit against Stillwater County; what you can do to help – posted June 3, 2019

Materials presented at the June 5 Planning meeting:
Beartooth Front Zoning District Overview
Zoning District Map
Overview of Proposed Regulation

More information on the history of this landowner effort
Beartooth Front Landowners present hundreds of signatures to Stillwater County Commissioners to set up oil and gas zoning district (with video)
Do mineral rights have anything to do with citizen initiated zones in Montana?
Stillwater County Commissioners turn their backs on locals who pay their salaries; support unknown outsiders
Beartooth Front landowners file legal action against Stillwater County Commissioners
Landowners show up for hearing on Beartooth Front lawsuit

Court documents
Court documents and other records related to the lawsuit between the landowners and the Stillwater County Commissioners can be found at the Beartooth Front Coalition website.