In the past Montana was a vacation destination for families wishing to enjoy nature in its finest. They came, they spent money, and they went home. With new technology and the ability to work remotely, they no longer go home. Instead they search for their own little bit of paradise right here. Many counties in Montana have had unprecedented population growth these last 2 years. This growth has been challenging for our communities to deal with, but the most distressing changes are happening in our rural landscape.

Montana historically has had numerous farms and cattle ranches. These ranches helped give this state the magical “step back in time” appeal that draws so many. Today though, these ranches get gobbled up by wealthy out of state investors. It’s easy to see the rational, as the ranch owners age and the next generation chooses not to continue with the family business, the inherently valuable ranches are sold off for enormous prices. Many of the buyers are not interested in a working ranch, but rather a private vacation retreat. Previously assessable properties for hunting, fishing or recreating are now off limits to the general public. One of the largest problems with this new wave of ranch owners is the loss of access to public land. This has been a growing issue across the west. Many thousands of acres of public lands are only accessible through private lands. Landowners have been shutting down that access for years now. Some have leased to outfitters, or outfitting themselves. Others are just shutting down all access through their property.

This population explosion has also resulted in a enormous increase in the use of front country recreation. Campgrounds have expanded and new areas have been created, but they do not seem to keep up with demand. As a result we are seeing some very distressing scenes on this pristine landscape. Close to our home there was a small primitive site where a handful of locals would camp and recreate along the Flathead River. This is not a developed site with parking spots, tables and fire pits, rather this is primitive camping where people pull in and park anywhere on the river bank. For the last couple of years this site has been inundated with newcomers. We have heard of as many as 70 units parked on the small gravel bar near the blankenship bridge. Consider the ramifications of this activity. All these vehicles parked on a high water area of the river, vehicles that are sometimes leaking fluids or other contamination that inevitably will be absorbed into the river as soon as a rain event occurs. In addition to the vehicle contamination, there are hundreds of people inhabiting this area now. All these people spreading their human waste throughout the shoreline. These situations are atrocious.an old bus repurposed for camping stuck trying to access a gravel bar

One of the most popular summer recreation activities is rafting the Flathead River. The river access sites are packed with enthusiastic floaters almost every summer day. In addition to the normal populace enjoying an outing on the river, you have numerous commercial outfitters offering raft trips. These businesses cater to the many tourists and newcomers to our state. Often in groups of six large rafts at a time, these groups create a continuous river parade coming down the river. Blue, green, yellow and red are the most often seen colors distinguishing the different commercial groups as their customers shriek with glee making their way through the white water. Members of our family enjoying a commercial rafting trip

The point of this writing is to question what is to be done to protect the most valuable resource in Montana, our public lands. Our government agencies are tasked with providing access to public lands and balancing use to prevent degradation. In so many instances these agencies (primarily the USFS) fall drastically short. The front country (areas accessable by vehicle) seems to be overwhelmed with activity. In my opinion the USFS needs to be proactive in addressing the use of these areas. These popular sites should be developed and maintained. This would allow for controlling the number of users and also would minimize contamination of the resource. Rather than allow for unlimited commercial use, the outfitters profiting from exploiting this resource should have their permit (usage) numbers capped. Outfitters provide a valuable service, but we have reached a point where the commercial aspect of this service is diminishing the appeal of this pristine river system.

Most of our activities take place in the backcountry. What I observe in these areas is equally disturbing. Our forests used to have a trail system in almost every drainage. Lack of funding for trail work has led to USFS focusing on primary routes into the backcountry and allowing secondary routes to become overgrown and impassable. With the increase of population comes an increase in backcountry use, so what we see is these primary routes getting enormous pressure. Rather than close or restrict access, our backcountry could be improved by the USFS putting additional emphasis on improving access to secondary trails. Also in many instances our public lands are completely inaccessible because of private ownership changes. In these situations our USFS should be in the forefront of the legal battle to maintain public access. Our public lands should be available for all who want to enjoy.

Although our landscape is becoming more populated, this country is still very beautiful. It’s up to us to keep it for our children to enjoy. Not to be locked out and not to be exploited by commercialism.