A federal coal land swap in south-central Montana intended to benefit Signal Peak Energy and, indirectly, the Crow Tribe has received a key U.S. Senate vote. The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee voted 6-5 along party lines to advance a bill authorizing a coal swap between the Bureau of Land Management and the owners of Hope Ranch, a private property within the boundaries of the Crow Reservation. The Hopes would then have to agree to share coal revenue with the tribe.
