Mid-States Coalition for Progress 

A Coalition History
By Nancy Darnell

A coalition of property owners was conceived in late July 1997. Property owners in Weston and Crook counties of Wyoming listened with growing concern to the presentations of DM&E President and CEO Kevin Schieffer and his public relations consultants at public meetings.  Discussions among the property owners in the areas began immediately. 

Owners of large ranches and of very small acreages (large town lot size) could see that DM&E intended to use their property for a large industrial operation (a coal-hauling railroad).  Citizens on the edge of the Powder River Basin were familiar with the vast changes wrought in the landscape by the coal-hauling railroads.  They were also familiar with the arrogant treatment given private property owners by industrialists bent on making a fortune from the vast resources of the Powder River Basin. 

In early September 1997 the Mid-States Coalition for Progress was born.  The first meeting included mostly property owners from the north, middle and southern proposed routes in Wyoming.  All were opposed to the addition of an entirely new rail corridor, believing that increases in coal train traffic should be along the historic rail corridors or along the joint line, which had been built in the 1970s. 

In a few days South Dakota property owners were invited to join the new coalition.  Representatives were selected from the three proposed routes so that the opposition would be united.  DM&E would not be able to pit the owners along one proposal against the owners along another proposal.  After STB approval of the Southern route most of the property owners and citizens along the other proposed routes became less active. However, a number of those citizens have continually supported the Coalition with letter writing and political activity.

Early in the life of the Mid-States Coalition individual environmentalists became involved, bringing active participation from the South Dakota Sierra Club and the Prairie Hills Audubon Society.  The Powder River Basin Resource Council (a member group of the Western Organization of Resource Councils) provided organizing assistance in the first stages of the Mid-States Coalition.  They also proved to be valuable lobbying partners in the efforts to strengthen property rights in Wyoming.  They have continued to be involved in the opposition for the entire 10 1/2 years.   

Other organizations in Wyoming that opposed the new rail corridor included the Weston County Farm Bureau and the Wyoming Farm Bureau and the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.  The Treaty Council of the Lakota Nation and most of the individual Sioux tribes were also important allies during the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process and opposed the use of traditional Sioux land for railroad building. 

The Mid-States Coalition for Progress supported and collaborated with the various citizen and homeowner groups along the corridor as concern about the project grew from Winona, Minn., to the Powder River Basin. 

The Mid-States Coalition spearheaded property-owner participation during the entire Surface Transportation Board process, submitting comments, participating in meetings with STB officials and DM&E officials, sponsoring debates between the DM&E officials and landowners, and lobbying politicians.  When it came time to appeal the STB decision, the Mid-States Coalition raised funds to hire attorneys participating in every lawsuit from the transportation phase to the final decision. 

The Mid-States Coalition participated in the lobbying effort to see that the Federal Railroad Administration heard all of the story about the DM&E application for the multi-billion-dollar federal loan. 

The Coalition of property owners and concerned citizens in eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota has been instrumental in the effort to see that DM&E becomes a strong rural railroad, not a coal pipeline.  The Coalition will continue its work supporting the property owners who are being coerced in both states by DM&E and Canadian Pacific’s continuing effort to industrialize a large corridor of beautiful prairie land.