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The Crude Life Podcast: Tessa Sandstrom, North Dakota Petroleum Foundation
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The Crude Life Podcast: Tessa Sandstrom, North Dakota Petroleum Foundation

In 2018, they planted 58,000 trees, which beat their three-year goal in less than two years.

Tessa Sandstrom, North Dakota Petroleum Foundation, talks about a fundraising campaign for their Planting for the Future Program.

Planting for the Future’s goal is to work with wildlife groups, private landowners, and industry, to create large-scale tree and shrub plantings on private land that will serve as habitat for future generations. Trees and forests are an important resource, providing watershed protection, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and protection for crops, soil and livestock.

Last year, they planted 58,000 trees, which beat their three-year goal in less than two years.

The North Dakota Petroleum Foundation has partnered with the Outdoor Heritage Fund and many of the Petroleum Council’s premier partners to launch this program.

It generally takes a tree three-to-five-years to establish a stable and healthy root system.

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Below is the raw, unedited transcript from our artificial intelligence translator.

Tessa Sandstrom

Tessa Sandstrom, North Dakota Petroleum

Jason Spiess

Council Outstanding. And here we got another example of how the oil and gas industry is saving the planet and what's happening here is the North Dakota Petroleum Council planting trees. I mean, again, another example of where industry is actually being a part of the solution as opposed to just pointing fingers. So I'll get into that extreme narrative in just a second test.

But how you doing pretty good. We just put out on a kick lately just saying how this is like a really unique time in the industry's history to where they can actually promote because they are the leaders in saving the planet. They're the ones doing the investment. They're the ones creating communities to plant trees and do a number of these environmental things that have been around for a long time.

And this is another one of those great examples happening in the bacon. So talk to me a little bit about what's going on with planting of the trees courtesy of the North Dakota Petroleum Council.

Tessa Sandstrom

Well, we started this program last year as a solution to a sort of a unique challenge that one of our members were facing um, in, in building some of their pipeline infrastructure, they were, they were required by the PSC to plant two or three trees or shrubs for everyone removed. And, and they've done this for a number of years. But uh, the landowners on whose land that the pipeline was crossing have had more than enough trees. Um, but with Ron and myself and many of our members being

involved with outdoor groups like mule deer foundation or pheasants forever pheasants for the future and so on. We know many landowners who are looking for trees and want to plant huge um plantings for habitat. And so we were able to serve as sort of a tinder, so to speak for for landowners and trees match those trees up with landowners who needed them so they can make a real difference in creating um nice solid habitat.

Jason Spiess

Did you say timber? Sorry, timber? Right. It's it's it's for Lumberjacks, timber. Right. And okay, I'm looking at a CNN article from April 17, the most effective way to tackle climate change. Plant one trillion trees. You guys familiar with this article, you know about this movement to plant trees.

You obviously were soothsayers and this whole movement, but no, it's been around for a long time, everybody knows it, but talk to me about just the idea behind, you know, helping the environment and that sort of thing. Did how much of this sort of climate changes is involved with that?

Tessa Sandstrom

Well, it really is more of a solution for what we were facing here in North Dakota is not exactly known for its trees. Um but we are a state that really holds its traditions of hunting and being in the outdoors very, very close and very dear. Um and so we're definitely dedicated to trying to create more habitat for for wildlife, but it definitely does have other very positive um aspects associated with it as well in terms of taking away that carbon dioxide out helping the environment.

Um And so it's been accepted really Well by both landowners and our member companies. We planted our goal through the outer Heritage Fund was to plant 58, trees. And three years we did 58,000 trees last year alone. And this year we have plants to plant about another 30,000 trees.

Jason Spiess

Have you guys seen any other uh positive out shoots? You mentioned, because just a second ago you say, you know that kind of the drive was more for the wildlife and just that sort of thing and then, you know, yeah, we're taking care of the C. 02 problem as an offshoot and that sort of thing. Are there any other ones? You know, it's relatively new for two years now. So I mean, are there other positives that you're seeing?

Or even maybe if you I can't imagine a negative, but if there's any negatives feel free to say what those are and how you guys are addressing them or at least aware of them, that sort of thing. Maybe somebody's got a solution but talk to me just a little bit about the processing that you guys have had now for two years.

Tessa Sandstrom

Well, we, like I mentioned, we started it last year, we opened up for um applications, landowners who want to do these plantings can apply uh fill out the application, we review it based on, you know how it's going to help with the habitat, making sure it's large enough, it's in areas that truly need it. And also a plus side if it's in an area where there is oil and gas development to help curb some of the impacts that we've had with the construction of infrastructure and and you know,

just the expansion of activity out there. Um, after that we chose landowners. We worked with them. The unique part about this program versus others as we asked the landowner to buy in, have a stake in the project by bringing out volunteers helping with some of the costs. Making sure those trees are going to thrive and make it For at least three years. Um, it's about how long it takes for them to really those trees to really take and and grow.

Um, and so with that leverage with that extra help, we're actually able to plant trees for as little as 250 per tree. And that means we're able to plant even more than you might in a more traditional program that you have through um other organizations that do tree planting programs.

Jason Spiess

Tessa Sandstrom with the North Dakota Petroleum Council and this is the North Dakota Petroleum Foundation. That's different than the council. Yeah, we started the

Tessa Sandstrom

Foundation. Um, late last year we have so many programs now that are involved in the community and we wanted to make sure to keep those separate. We are now a 501C3. So um we can accept donations um a lot easier for us to get corporate donations that way and really help make a better impact in that way.

Jason Spiess

So. Okay, so it's a North Dakota Petroleum Foundation. Sorry, I've been saying council. Uh okay, good. I don't want to say it's the same thing, but it is an offshoot and it's kind of under the umbrella. Okay. Okay. So uh what what I see where this is going to be really beneficial for reclamation and some other oil and gas, you know, just ongoing things that they're always trying to improve reclamation of course, being one of them. Are you working with any companies that you care to

share? Um Just anybody involved or just talk to me about some of the people that you guys are targeting and some of the people that you're working with and just some of those types of information. So people kinda, I don't know, okay. You know how people are when they network, they don't like to call the people directly necessarily, but if they know someone who knows someone, they'll start that way. So just start the conversation how we know how in North Dakota.

Tessa Sandstrom

Well, we've we've had a lot of buying from our member companies already one Oaken Whiting gave quite a bit last year to pro to plan things that we did throughout the state this year's lawson is a big donor and helping us with a project around van hook fishing resort on lake Titicaca leah Kanako recently just gave us $5000 for the probe. And we have probably about a dozen other sponsors who have contributed $500 uh, for this campaign.

Um this is the first year that we've done a fundraiser. So we launched that today, Earth Day and we'll go through our brigade to try and raise some money to help with those plantings for this year. Those 30,000 trees that were, we plan to plant this year.

Jason Spiess

And how can people donate? I see you've got some websites in the press release, we'll put those on our, on our website as well. But uh if you get social media and that sort of thing, you know how there's a million ways to get uh uh in touch with people today. So just to name a few of your more popular ones that people are seem to be attracted to these days,

Tessa Sandstrom

we are on facebook, the energy of North Dakota as well as twitter and instagram and it's at Energy of nd or Energy of North Dakota as well as the North Dakota Oil Foundation Weber Petroleum Foundation's website, that's N. D. Oil Foundation dot org

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Living The Crude Life
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