Dear Editor,
I recently spent seven days at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, supporting the Water Protectors non-violent actions to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), which would carry fracked crude oil 1,000-plus miles from North Dakota oil fields to Illinois, crossing the Ogallala Aquifer, the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and lands considered sacred by local indigenous tribes.
This pipeline poses an unimaginable threat to these waters and the surrounding land. History shows that pipelines fail, and fracked crude oil is nasty stuff.
I visited the Red Owl Legal Collective in the Main Camp at Standing Rock. They provide tireless direct legal services to the Water Protectors. Please support them with a donation here: https://fundrazr.com/redowllegal
To view in-depth independent coverage of DAPL, visit https://www.democracynow.org and click on Dakota Access Pipeline in their Topics bar.
Ron Bedford
Sandpoint
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