A Photographic Documentary: Story of the Land on the Rocky Mountain Front, Montana

The history of the land is the history of rural communities. If one were to document what the land was and what the land is and follow it through time trying to understand what and why…You have, in a capsule, the function of rural communities and how and why they have changed over time.

The standard assumption among many folks is that the land, pre-white settlement, was pristine and was always a veritable sea of grass across the west. Secondly, it is largely assumed that man, in the broadest context, had no influence on the rangeland landscapes. Current evidence casts serious doubt on both assumptions. It is now clear that drought, fire, grazing, blizzards and many other events not only had influences on the animals but the land, as well. Untold numbers of bison, elk, and other large grazers undoubtedly had local, if not regional, influences on the landscape. Native Americans have documented the use of fire and other tools in warfare, and in attracting animals. This probably changed the face of the rangeland in localities and perhaps beyond. With the advent of the horse they accumulated hundreds if not thousands of horses for a multiplicity of uses and values. It is quite clear that in some areas horse grazing probably was quite heavy. That exacerbated by droughts and other events. So, it seems fair to assume that all rangelands were not pristine all the time, everywhere.

The Rocky Mountain Front. The early history saw Native Americans use the land for sustenance both by animal harvest and roots, berries and other plant parts. The first livestock use on rangelands by people  was unlimited pasturage, running cattle over several years to “make weight” for market. Perhaps, the early stockmen and cowboys worked diligently to distribute use across the range resource but almost certainly, not always and everywhere. Itinerant sheep people brought thousands of sheep in, raised primarily for wool, to use the “common domain” much earlier that most people suspect. Leave it to be said that the combination of this use had impacts of the forage resources. The fortunate circumstance was that the weather in northern Montana is taciturn and frequently has events of extreme wind, heavy snow and extraordinary cold. These events have caused economic wrecks created by heavy livestock losses.

It was one of these events that spelled the end of the open range livestock use and made the hardy retrench in new enterprises like making hay, raising crops and others to survive in such a tough environment. The onset of the homestead era augmented the population of folks testing their resolve and ingenuity in this environment. However, this led to plowing tens of thousands of acres of land for crops in a region where winds are often incessant and drought common. The footprint of homesteads is still apparent today, though most of the buildings are long gone. The land continues to tell its story.

It is the endeavor of this book to document the history of the land on the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana and put it in a context to understand what the land was and what it is today and what it might be tomorrow. No story is complete with words alone, so the book is replete with historic photos, and current photos documenting in a graphic way what words may be unable to achieve.