This Saturday, Jan. 29 a new series debuts on the Planet Green Discovery Channel. The series, called “Boomtown,” is set in Parshall, North Dakota, a town of 981 people on the Fort Berthold Reservation – near Lake Sakakawea. The series follows the lives of some Parshall residents following the discovery of oil – with the fortunes and misfortunes that come with such a discovery. Watch a preview.
The series premieres at 10 p.m. (eastern, 9 central) on Planet Green. For an episode schedule, click here.
Oil in North Dakota
If you’ve been wondering about oil discoveries and impacts in North Dakota, recent reports say the state is currently pumping about 350,000 barrels of crude per day with 161 active rigs. Production comes from oil formations known as The Bakken and Three Forks. Estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2008 put recoverable oil at 4 billion barrels, which some consider a conservative estimate.
Detailed information is available from the ND Oil and Gas Division, the North Dakota Petroleum Council and the ND Geological Survey.
Travel North Dakota 
Josita Bear-Odle
January 30, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Parshall Boomtown: I am from there. Very few are benefiting from the oil. As usual many live in poverty from there. As usual it is still the case of standing with your nose pressed against the store window wishing. I am a Tribal member who still needs arthoscopic knee surgery to remove sharp painful bone fragments. Due to marathon running. I don’t benefit. I need surgery on my knee so I can walk.
EmbarassedbyWhites
January 31, 2011 at 7:18 pm
The more unbelievable story here is that there are non-Native Americans living on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in Parshall who are extremely prejudice against Natives. The Mayor featured in this story is one of them.
Amazingly, white folks are benefiting once again from Native lands, without even a hint of gratitude or humility. I am an American of European descent and I am embarrassed as an American Citizen and as a human being by the continued lack of conscience by people like the ones featured in this story.
Rene'e Balek DuGal
February 6, 2011 at 2:00 am
Hey Parshall!
I’m watching your story onthe “Green Channel”. I have two suggestions for your water problems and your road dust problems with respiratory problems in human lungs and animal lungs. Crops can’t survive without breathing oxygen blocked by clouds of dust!
You have a mighty fantastic supply of water right in ND!! Devils Lake is drowning whole towns, farms and it’s ridiculous! Drain the lake and ship it to western ND!!!
For your dust problem, I suggest oiling your roads like in the old days. I’m not sure if that might contaminate the water supplies or not. But there must be some solution to keep down the dust.
I wasn’t born in ND but my grandparents and parents were. We had farms in Ramsey County by Lawton/Brockett near Devils Lake/Lakota. I remember seeing the dust from the gravel roads on the farm and water standing in the spring from the permafrost not melting.
This is 2011. We have new science that can solve these problems. Devils Lake needs to be drained a lot to stop the encroaching waters from destroying any more land and what better use than in Parshall?
Rene’e Balek DuGal
410 Stonegate DR
Hamilton, MT 59840
mike a
February 6, 2011 at 7:26 am
I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT SOME VERY FORTUNATE PEOPLE WHO ARE DESERVING OF A BETTER LIFE ,FINALLY GET THERE PAYDAY. HOWEVER THERE IS ALWAYS A FLIPSIDE AFTER A FEW MILLION DOLLARS ARE FLASHED AND EVERYONE JUMPS ON THAT MONEY LIKE AN OUTA WORK HOOKER. FRAC POSONS GROUND WATER LAKES, STREAMS RIVERS FOREVER, WHEN THE CANCER CASES START RISING CAUSE YOUR WATER IS CONTAMINATED OR THE FISH YOU ATE HAD TOXIC LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE PROPERTY VALUES PLUMATE, RANCHERS GO BROKE CANT SELL BEEF CAUSE CATLLE ARE SIC THESE ARE THINGS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BEFORE YOU SELL YOUR SOUL. IF YOU PLAN ON STAYING HERE I THINK THAT THERE HAS BEEN TO MANY BILLIONS OF GALLONS OF POISON WATER PUMPED INTO GROUND TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IT WILL LEAK INTO AQUIFERS UNDERGROUND WATER TABLES AND TRAVEL HUNDREDS OF MILES OVER TIME GOTTA BE A SAFER WAY WELL I EXCERSISED MY RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MY OPINON WITH SOME EVIDENCE THAT BACKS MY CLAIM. IM OUT TILL I POST THE EVIDENCE NO TIME THIS MORNING THANK YOU
Dianne
February 7, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Hey Mike, can you turn off the CAP LOCK? You have some great points but it is VERY hard to read everything in UPPERCASE. Thanks
MIKE A
February 6, 2011 at 10:31 pm
IF THE PEOPLE OF NORTH DAKOTA (I LIVE HERE ALSO) THINK FOR ONE MINUTE THAT WHEN THEY ARE DONE DRILLING AND THE BOOM IS OVER THAT THE AFFECTS OF THE DRILLING ARE OVER THEY ARE MISTAKING. THAT TOXIC WATER BEING PUMPED INTO THE FRACTURED GROUND (THATS WHAT FRACING IS FRACTURING THE GOUND AND ROCK TO BRING UP OIL). IT SPREADS OUT TRAVELS THE PATHS OF LEAST RESISTANCE AND OVER THE YEARS AS THE WATER TABLE RISES AND LOWERS THOSE CHEMICALS LEAK OUT AND CONTAMINATE WHO KNOWS MAYBE LAKE SAKAKAWEA. THE MISOURI RIVER ANY UNDERGROUND AUIFERS, EVERY WATERWAY THEY DRILL BY IS A TARGET. DONT GET ME WRONG I LIKE OIL I BELIEVE IN GASOLINE BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT OUR CHILDREN SHOUL HAVE CLEAN DRINKING WATER. OK I WILL GO ON A LIMB HERE AND SAY OUR NEXT BIG BOOM WILL BE REVERSE OSMOSIS AND CANCER TREATMENT. THANKS AND GOD BLESS!
Gary D
February 7, 2011 at 6:43 pm
The wells in ND that our being fract. our 10,000 ft. deep. The vertical fracture runs approx. 300 ft after the job has been done. I cannot see howe water being used to fract these wells can travel 10,000 ft. through layers of rock to the fresh water sands that our approx 1,200 ft. deep. Thanks for your time.
MIKE A
February 7, 2011 at 7:12 pm
WELL LET ME RESPOND TO YUR AWNSWER FRIST OF ALL WATER RISES FALL BELOW GROUND AS IT DOES ABOVE GROUND SECOND OF ALL YOU HAVE AN IMAGE IN YOUR MIND THAT THE GOUND IS THIS ONE SOLID IMPENETRABLE MASS FAR BELOW THE SURFACE AND THAT IS THE FARTHEST THING FROM THE TRUTH IT IS VERY POUROUS ,WITH UNDERGROUND CAVERNS AND WATERWAYS WICH ARE ALL CONNECTED AND HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF AFFECTING EVERYTHING JUST BECAUSE WATER TWO MILES UNDER THE SURFACE IS CONTAMINATED AND YOU ARE UNDER THE MISCONCEPTION THAT IT WILL STAY TWO MILES OR MORE YOU ARE WRONG THE ONLY THING THAT WILL HAPPEN IS IT WILL TAKE LONGER TO START SEEING AFFECTS HOPEFULLY IT IS THE OIL COMPANIES GAMBLE THAT THEY WILL BE LONG GONE BY THEN.
MIKE A
February 6, 2011 at 10:36 pm
BEFORE YOU SEND YOUR NEGATIVE COMMENTS LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED IN P.A. AND O.K AND PLACES IN TEXAS. WITH ALL THE DRILLING TAKE YOUR OIL CHECK AND MOVE TO A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT SOME OF US DONT HAVE THAT OPTION.
MIKE A
February 6, 2011 at 10:43 pm
BY THE WAY ILL FINALLY COMMENT ON THE SHOW IT WAS GREAT. WATCHING THE PEOPLE OF PARSHALL STANDING AROUND LIKE A BUNCH OF MONEY GRUBBING VULTURES OPENING THERE CHECKS GOING SO BIPOLAR IN THE MOMENT OVER A FEW BUCKS, REALLY SHOWS WHERE THERE PRORITIES ARE. THEY CAN SAY ONE THING BUT THERE ACTIONS OF THE SHOW SPEAK MUCH LOUDER THE WHOLE SHOW IS BASED ON MONEY AND THE LOVE OF MONEY. YOU GO CITIZENS OF PARSHAL JUMP ON THAT CASH LIKE A BITCH IN HEAT. LOVE THE SHOW YOU FELLAS ARE VERY ENTERTAINING!!!!!
Fred
February 14, 2011 at 2:17 pm
To Mike A: The only poison involved in this story is the koolaid you’ve been drinking. Please get educated by people who understand groundwater science instead of the lunatic left fringe. Here’s a question for you: Why hasn’t all that Bakken Oil, which has been there for about 65 million years, already migrated upwards and contaminated all the drinking water sources? Think about it and do a little research before answering, because the answer is the same reason why fracs at 10,000 feet won’t contaminate the water either. And please turn off the caps – it makes you look even dumber.
Interesting
February 18, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Watch ‘Gasland’ for an explanation!
mike a
February 7, 2011 at 7:37 pm
as for the lady that has to stare at that drilling rig ouside her home they are probably done by now. if that became a site of production thats were the real danger comes in. that well will continue to leak toxic gas that will blow right into her propery and will affect her health and grandkids health. im sure there is a very hungry trial attorney out there that will give you his services on a contingency basis. i would send a demand letter first and give them a chance letting them now what the options are. i wouldnt put up with that.
Interesting
February 18, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Watch ‘Gasland’ to see how communities are affected by FRAC’in. People are able to light their faucets on fire and their animals lose all their hair. People get sick, take your money and run as far from ND as possible.
Holly
February 24, 2011 at 8:19 pm
If you guys would just look around..the entire world is looking for work, here it is..I have a family, my husband is gone MOST of the week and I have two young kids but THANKS to this BOOM, we SURVIVED and are surviving very well, not without hardships of our own but we made it and are still making money every week
Mike Morrow
February 28, 2011 at 8:55 pm
I have watched all of the shows and it does seem very “sad” that a surface land owner gets nothing for millions of gallons of oil being pumped out of the ground that he or she farms and gets a cold slap in the face.
I get the whole mineral and surface right thing in my opinion its wrong, I just hope that all the experts really have your best interest including ground water in mind. If its like everything else now a days its all about the almighty buck.. Remember that greed is dangerous.
michael d
March 11, 2011 at 2:45 pm
dont worry we are comming to save the earth from this rape.
I cant believe the earth can take any more we will save the land and stop this raping of the land ..
the earth is shaking all over the world we most stop the drilling now
Jill Mitchell
October 23, 2011 at 7:42 pm
I just read about this “boomtown” . I just ran across a story online. It was about the housing crunch up there in ND. I’ve been out of work for three years. I took two training programs to find a new job with no luck. I don’t think drilling forn oil is good for the environment or for the people ripped off by the oil companies, but, God forgive me, I need a job. I’m a 52 year old single woman with no family facing destitution. If I can make it up there, I’ll work there.