Planning For Life After Coal Cost a Montana County Commissioner His Seat
Key takeaways
- An emergency exit for Signal Peak Energy’s longwall coal mine in Musselshell County, Montana.
- The Musselshell County commissioner had been defeated in the Republican primary for his seat by a two-to-one margin earlier this month.
- “That just blew me away,” Pancratz said. “All of my campaign, I had not a hint that there was that much opposition.”
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
June 20, 2026 Share This Article Republish. An emergency exit for Signal Peak Energy’s longwall coal mine in Musselshell County, Montana. Credit: Jake Bolster/Inside Climate News Related New BLM Grazing Rules Eliminate Tribal Buffalo From Public Lands Logging Project Near Yellowstone Could Threaten Wildlife Habitat and Tourist-Dependent Businesses New Lawsuit Aims to Halt Expansion of a Montana Coal Mine Blamed for Drying up the Land Above It Share This Article Republish Most Popular Emergency Drawdown at Flaming Gorge Hits Its Recreation Economy ‘We Just Want Clean Water’: Residents Sue a North Carolina County Over Landfill Contamination Trump Administration Abandons Fight Against Wind Energy as Clean Energy Output Surges Robert Pancratz couldn’t believe it.
The Musselshell County commissioner had been defeated in the Republican primary for his seat by a two-to-one margin earlier this month. Mark Olson, who lives in Musselshell and serves as the undersheriff in Golden Valley County, won by 26 percentage points.
“That just blew me away,” Pancratz said. “All of my campaign, I had not a hint that there was that much opposition.”