 "Zugel
is working here on the model pioneered by High Plains Films' founder
Doug Hawes-Davis with an eccentric soundtrack juxtaposed
to action shots of drilling rigs and heavy equipment and aerial
footage of wastewater ponds and gas development scattershot into
what used to be empty rangeland. The power of the High Plains
model, and the power here, is the human voice." Read
full review from NewWest.net
"Powder River Country tells the story of concerned citizens bravely challenging an industry on the development fast-track." Orion Magazine
"Heartbreaking and poignant." Read
full review from Steve Fesenmaier
West Virginia Library Commission
"All too often, short-term profits win out over long-term
values. Such is the case in Powder River Country. This
gripping documentary examines the devastating costs of coal bed
methane production on otherwise unspoiled land and on the lives
of unsuspecting, hard-working Americans." Timothy McGettigan,
Ph.D., Department of Sociology, Colorado State University-Pueblo
"Powder River County is excellently filmed, produced,
and edited. The camera and sound work are combined masterfully
in contrasting the disparate images the Basin in quiet solitude,
with the Basin overrun with pumping sheds, waste water ponds,
gas compressors, dirt roads, dust and truck traffic. Powder
River Country is a powerful introduction to the real present
and future costs of coal bed methane production." read
full review from Educational Media Reviews On-Line
"The film tells the story of concerned citizens trying to
protect the Powder River Basin landscape from drilling and scarring
that will lead to one year's supply of natural gas and the waste
of billions of gallons of water." Community Arts Network
"Powder River Country will air at 7:30 pm Thursday
on Montana PBS, KUFM. This will be the broadcast premiere of the
High Plains Film about coal bed methane development in Montana
and Wyoming." read full
article from Missoulian
"Gripping, personal and socially relevant." Read full review from DVDtalk.com
Nominated - American Library Association Notable Videos
for Adults Award
"The Powder River basin-some eleven million acres-until
recently was a place to raise cows, horses, and families, mainly
on small homesteads. Those who wanted to escape into its rolling
hills, high plains, and big skies found solace in its isolation.
But those days are gone. New technology that separates methane
from deep-lying coalbeds has brought scurrying fleets of large
trucks and noisy generator installations to the basin. Probably
the most disturbing aspect of this rush for a new source of natural
gas is what it does to the region's water table. Artesian wells
that have supplied humans and livestock with warm but potable
water for generations dry up almost overnight when water is pumped
off the coal to release methane. Earth scientists offer predictions
of ten to a hundred years for recovery of these wells-not pleasing
to those ranchers and farmers who have signed rather loosely worded
contracts with the mining companies. While one might suppose the
water removed from coalbeds would be usable, apparently it isn't.
High in salt and bicarbonates, the water, according to one of
the interviewees in the film, may be used by humans and livestock
but is deadly to plants, thereby eliminating irrigation as a viable
outlet. The film examines several methods of disposing of thecoalbed
water, each of which may be problematic. Perhaps the most accurate
summary of the whole issue is offered by a field rep of one of
the gas companies: 'It's a three-legged stool between the landowners,
the regulatory agencies, and shareholders of the gas companies.
The companies have invested lots of capital in leases, pilot wells,
and production of commercial amounts of gas. The capital has to
have a competitive rate of return to be attractive to shareholders.' Powder River Country succinctly examines the polarizing
issues surrounding this new gas boom. Filmed in Montana near Decker
and Colstrip, and in Wyoming near Sheridan, Buffalo, and Arvada."
Montana Magazine
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