How a Billionaire Candy Man Fights Energy Companies
In many western states, landowners don’t necessarily own the minerals beneath their own property. This allows energies companies, in some cases, to drop in and drill. That doesn’t sit well with one wealthy Montana resident.
Forrest E. Mars, Jr. is the billionaire owner of the Mars Candy Company, the wonderful people who bring us treats like Snickers and M&Ms. He’s been a relatively secretive and private individual, but his sprawling Montana ranch - called Diamond Cross - also happens to sit near some of the largest natural gas and coal deposits in the country, including on the northern end of the Powder River Basin. So Mars and his $14 billion are joining ranchers and groups like the Northern Plains Resource Council to file a lawsuit to stop the companies’ operations.
Pinnacle Gas Resources is one of the energy companies that holds a lease on Mars’ land predating his ownership. Last week a judge ruled that Pinnacle could start drilling on Diamond Cross for coal-bed methane, a type of natural gas found in lodged in coal seams.
