In a community eager for economic development, one Montana ranching family struggles to cope with the onset of underground coal mining. For 40 years, the Charter family fought to prevent coal mining on their land in southern Musselshell County. In February, the federal government leased the remaining coal under their property to the mining company. As the Charters experience hardships and question their future quality of life, the nearby town of Roundup faces the decision to build a new school with potential tax dollars that hinge on the mine’s future productivity. Feeling misunderstood by nearby ranchers and the community, the mining company argues its case based on the science of modern-day mining. As the feud continues, the ranchers seek a potential lawsuit while the mine insists any environmental impacts will be restored. Now, only time will tell.
","abstract_html":"<p>In a community eager for economic development, one Montana ranching family struggles to cope with the onset of underground coal mining. For 40 years, the Charter family fought to prevent coal mining on their land in southern Musselshell County. In February, the federal government leased the remaining coal under their property to the mining company. As the Charters experience hardships and question their future quality of life, the nearby town of Roundup faces the decision to build a new school with potential tax dollars that hinge on the mine’s future productivity. Feeling misunderstood by nearby ranchers and the community, the mining company argues its case based on the science of modern-day mining. As the feud continues, the ranchers seek a potential lawsuit while the mine insists any environmental impacts will be restored. Now, only time will tell.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Radley, Kevin Patrick"],"institution":"University of Montana","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:12:32Z","subjects":["Cattle Ranching","Coal Mining","Eastern Montana","energy conflicts","longwall mining","Montana Coal","Roundup Montana"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/88","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Radley, Kevin Patrick"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Montana"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Professional Paper"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cattle Ranching","Coal Mining","Eastern Montana","energy conflicts","longwall mining","Montana Coal","Roundup Montana"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/88"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In a community eager for economic development, one Montana ranching family struggles to cope with the onset of underground coal mining. For 40 years, the Charter family fought to prevent coal mining on their land in southern Musselshell County. In February, the federal government leased the remaining coal under their property to the mining company. As the Charters experience hardships and question their future quality of life, the nearby town of Roundup faces the decision to build a new school with potential tax dollars that hinge on the mine’s future productivity. Feeling misunderstood by nearby ranchers and the community, the mining company argues its case based on the science of modern-day mining. As the feud continues, the ranchers seek a potential lawsuit while the mine insists any environmental impacts will be restored. Now, only time will tell.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Battle of the Bulls: A Coal Conflict in Cattle Country"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Radley, Kevin Patrick"],"dc:description.abstract":["In a community eager for economic development, one Montana ranching family struggles to cope with the onset of underground coal mining. For 40 years, the Charter family fought to prevent coal mining on their land in southern Musselshell County. In February, the federal government leased the remaining coal under their property to the mining company. As the Charters experience hardships and question their future quality of life, the nearby town of Roundup faces the decision to build a new school with potential tax dollars that hinge on the mine’s future productivity. Feeling misunderstood by nearby ranchers and the community, the mining company argues its case based on the science of modern-day mining. As the feud continues, the ranchers seek a potential lawsuit while the mine insists any environmental impacts will be restored. Now, only time will tell.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/88"],"dc:publisher":["University of Montana"],"dc:subject":["Cattle Ranching","Coal Mining","Eastern Montana","energy conflicts","longwall mining","Montana Coal","Roundup Montana"],"dc:title":["Battle of the Bulls: A Coal Conflict in Cattle Country"],"dc:type":["Professional Paper"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:12:32Z"}