Farm406

Despite the BSCNHA's assurances that the NHA designation would have no effect on private landowners' property rights, many skeptical landowners are concerned the designation would serve as a catalyst for doing just that. At the heart of the issue for farmers and ranchers is their culture of stewardship and a duty to be fiercely protective of the land – land that many Chouteau and Cascade County ag producers have been working for generations. Among them are Ross and Janet ayer, whose ranch northeast of Belt has been in the family since the 1800s. Janet explained during a community meeting near Great Falls on Oct. 15 that she first learned about the NHA proposal in August, even though the BSCNHA corporation has been working on the proposal for over five years. She said she wasn't alone. Approximately 83,000 Cascade and Choteau County residents would be affected if the designation is approved. "Most of those people are largely unaware," Janet said. When Janet first heart about the proposed NHA, she thought it sounded like it could be a fantastic project. It was compellingly touted as a "community-driven, resident-driven" undertaking, which piqued her interest," she acknowledged. "You know – us deciding what's important and helping promote that and leing the world know how proud we are of our culture and our heritage," she explained. But when she began looking at the "fine print," she discovered that the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and the Director of the National Park Service play major roles in overseeing America's 55 NHA's, she said. "ose are both politically-appointed positions," Janet noted. "So, something that is promised right now might not be upheld when the power changes federally and we have a new Secretary of the Department of the Interior or we have a different Director of the National Park Service." Some protective language has been added in the federal NHA statute regarding public and private land rights, but those weren't there initially, she said. "As the heritage areas have cropped up across the United States, there have been problems, and that's why in 2019, Congress amended and added language to protect our private landowner rights," Janet explained. "Protections can be added, but protections also can be taken away." ose who oppose the NHA have also expressed concern about the management board itself, to include its inception, its alleged lack of oversight, and the fact that not one of its 14 members is a farmer or rancher. Janet described the BSCNHA corporation's board of directors as a "largely self-appointed and self-anointed" entity which operates under a "self-generated authority." "One of the benefits of an NHA is supposed to be citizen voice or resident voice," she explained. "But there's no obligation for them to allow citizen participation in their meetings because they are a private corporation – despite the fact that the decisions that they are making are going to affect the land that you and I own." Opponents of the proposal have expressed concern that an NHA designation would mark the beginning of a slippery Following socially-distancing, a crowd attending the forum of Montanans Opposing the Big Sky Country National Heritage Area in Great Falls in mid-October, listened to experts on private land issues and asked questions about the proposed designation in Cascade and Choteau counties. Photo courtesy of Montanans Opposing the Big Sky Country National Heritage Area. farm406 24

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