Throughout time, the value of this place has been tied to its rich resources. Indian families, area landowners, the State of Montana, heritage groups, and conservation organizations, each from their own perspective, have acknowledged the value of the Rosebud Battlefield. Concerned that impending mining would damage the land, these groups called upon the state legislature to use Montana Coal Tax Fund monies to purchase the core battlefield area. In 1978, 3,052 acres of the battlefield became a state park almost exclusively surrounded by private lands. Today, coal bed methane extraction remains a threat to the park. While Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) owns the surface acres within the state park boundary, it has no ownership of the subsurface mineral rights, which are controlled by a mix of private interests and other government agencies whose mission is different than FWP's. Proponents of park preservation fear that mining and drilling operations will destroy prehistoric and battle-related archeological objects and will obliterate the landscape's splendor.