Wealthy Americans Carve Up Prairie

While this is not a new phenomenon, especially to those of us who live, fish, and hunt here in the West, the continued push by wealthy Americans to purchase large swaths of ranch and farmland is concercning for a number of reasons. As noted by Neirin Gray Desai for The Guardian, ranches and farms are now being used as vehicles to park large amounts of wealth, similar to collectible art.

The difference, of course, comes in the impact to both access to fishing and hunting land, as well as the impacts on local economies. One only needs to look at the housing crisis in Jackson, Aspen, or Big Sky to understand that the West is quickly outgrowing itself. People who have lived in the Rockies for generations can no longer to afford to work here, and it’s creating a shortage of not only workers, but it’s decimating the communities that give the area its charm.

If fishing and hunting guides, shop owners, retail clerks, cooks, delivery drivers, cleaning crews, and maintenance workers can no longer afford to live and work in the West, then the West will cease to exist as we know it. It could quickly become a playground only for the ultra-wealthy, and in many places, that’s already the case.

I’d highly suggest reading Desai’s piece in The Guardian, and any other reporting on the Western housing crisis you can find. It’s illuminating, frustrating, and should serve as a reminder that we need to support our small communities that often act as the first line of defense for our vaunted public lands. Remember, it was a coalition of guides and outfitters who drew attention to the Big Hole River trout decline, and forced Montana Governor Greg Gianforte to acknowledge the problem. If those people are gone, who else is left to defend our wild spaces?