Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1441944
Photo by: CK Galloways "If you have nothing but wild bison, elk, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs and other wildlife roaming the prairies then you might as well erase the towns because this will destroy their economic base" a farmer from Fort Benton recently told farm406 Magazine. eyes. While romantic as it may seem, the public must realize that for this to happen, several generational ranches will no longer exist, and the communities surrounding this over three million-acres reserve will not be much more than ghost towns. Agriculture is Montana's number one industry, generating billions in revenue annually. While tourism also brings significant amounts to the state, local communities will not receive a lot of tourism dollars. For example, many Missouri River floaters spend several days floating the river, passing through the Upper Missouri River National Monument from Coal Banks Landing to the Fred Robinson Bridge. When they get off the river, they are tired and dirty and want to get back to their hotel to clean up and eat a meal. In case you haven't noticed, there are not a lot of big hotel chains in Winifred or Big Sandy. Consequently, most river tourists head to larger cities in the area. I would expect the same result aer visiting the APR . Most will head back to the bigger cities and not leave much of a financial impact on the smaller communities around the reserve. What would happen to central and eastern Montana if the APR was stopped? I believe that a certain percentage of inflated land values would drop to more realistic prices. However, even if land prices remain inflated and private, out-of-state individuals purchase the ranches for hunting or recreation, chances are, local ranchers would lease the land and continue to raise cale with all the economic benefits. Moreover, these ranches oen change ownership within less than 20 years, making them available for new agriculture operations in the future. e non-profit status of the APR makes it doubtful that these properties will ever enter the market again, meaning they are permanently removed from agriculture. It is time to take notice of what is really happening to our traditional way of life as longtime residents of Montana. Several interest groups are working in every corner of our great state to turn most of Montana into a reserve of some kind. With President Biden's America the Beautiful 30X30 initiative, the proposed Big Sky Country National Heritage Area, and additional American Prairie land purchases, it is very clear it will become more difficult for family ranches to be passed down through the generations unless the general public wakes up and realizes how valuable it is to have meat, bread, and other produce on their local grocery shelves. If the Covid Pandemic taught us anything, it should be how valuable our food supply chain is and how vulnerable it is. Food for thought: Will you sleep beer at night knowing that NOT donating to the APR will keep a viable livestock industry producing food for the world? Or will you sleep beer knowing your APR donation makes you more dependent on food supplied by a foreign country? 45 farm406