A new perspective on the Crazy Mountain Ranch
Last week we took to the skies to gain a fresh perspective around the ongoing golf course development and water rights dispute on the Crazy Mountain Ranch (CMR), an issue that has roiled the Shields Valley community this year.
Over the years we have worked with EcoFlight to get a bird’s eye view of the Park County landscape and the issues and activities that are taking place here. When they reached out about doing a flight here this summer we knew that we needed to get members of the Shields Valley community to join us in taking a more expansive look at CMR’s golf project and water use situation.
Over 30 people joined us at Mission Field, from Shields Valley ag producers and Rock Creek water users in the midst of a water dispute with CMR, to local elected officials, to concerned neighbors and conservationists. All were on hand to talk about the current situation, both amongst themselves and to local reporters.
While not everyone was able to get a seat on a flight, all who participated came away with a deeper understanding about what’s been unfolding over the past year. The dispute between neighbors and CMR has been a major cause for concern and topic of conversation in our community. That’s why it was so valuable for people to come together—to learn how folks are being impacted, share information, connect, and plan next steps.
The impacts now extend to Sweet Grass County, where Big Timber had been selling water to CMR so they could keep their greens alive after the DNRC forced them to shut off water for illegal use. At another packed city council meeting this week, the council voted to halt those sales until a clear policy is in place. Across what sometimes feels like local divides, the community is coming together around shared concerns over CMR’s actions.
For us at PCEC, this reinforces the importance of bringing people together and building power within our community.
No matter what the final outcome of the water rights dispute and the finished completion of the CMR’s golf course, the bonds that tie our rural communities together will remain strong, and what continues to define the character of Park County.
We would like to see CMR recognize that character and make a concerted effort to be a better neighbor than they have been up to this point. We will continue to support the folks in the Shields to take on these new changes, large and small, and create a more resilient future for everyone who lives and works here.
Read more of the latest news on CMR:
A Guest Editorial by Shields Valley Residents
The Livingston Enterprise: EcoFlight