Connect With Your Community!
Connect With Your Community!
We as Montanans have a special sauce, a secret weapon, a social compact. Nobody gives you official Montanan status but you know a Montanan when you meet one.
Whether you moved here last year or are fifth-generation, one learns how to be a Montanan from other Montanans, and from being on the land. In 1934, famous Western writer Zane Grey tried to put words to this unspoken “Code of the West” that guided the behavior of the hardy pioneers.
The West is far less wild today, but the rules still ring true. Live each day with courage. Always finish what you start. Do what has to be done. Be tough, but fair. Ride for the brand. Talk less and say more.
Remember that some things aren’t for sale. Know where to draw the line.
Later additions included: Never steal another man’s horse. Never order anything weaker than whiskey.
Complain about cooking and you become the cook.
Our community is changing. It might be time to add a few additions to our code of the west.
1. Be grateful. If you’re lucky enough to live in Montana, you’re lucky enough. Being a Montanan is knowing what you have and never taking it for granted.
2. Share common ground. Regardless of when you arrived, what you do, where you live. Whether you hunt or fish or run or bike. Despite our differences, we each belong here and we share the responsibility for the future of this place.
3. Don’t complain. The forces that are changing this community are mighty, and they won’t relent anytime soon. In Montana, we don’t complain. We roll up our sleeves and get to work. We don’t wait for other people to solve our problems. Nobody is going to come save this valley. It is up to each of us.
4. Don’t give up. Living in Montana takes a lot of grit. We’re used to working hard for the things that are important. What we have today is no accident, and what our valley will look like 50 years from now won’t be an accident either.
5. Blaze trails. The stories about Montana ingenuity are never-ending. The quickest way to get something done is to tell a Montanan it can’t be done.
Every town in the West is growing. While I think our valleys are exceptional, they’re not unique. Great places will continue to face the challenges of population growth, ours included.
We need to continue trying innovative solutions to protect what we love.
If we live by the code, we might just have a chance of holding on to what makes this place so special. What if in 50 years, the newspaper headlines talk about the town that got it right?
“Bozeman: The most walkable city in the west.” “The Valley that Feeds Itself: 50% of Gallatin County Food Needs Met by Local Growers.” “Barry the Bear Breaks International Barriers: First Grizzly Walks Safely from Banff to Yellowstone.”
All eyes are on us, the West is watching what we do, and maybe more importantly, what we don’t do. Will they learn from our mistakes or emulate our solutions? What will the headlines say about what happened to paradise and the people who had the chance to save it?
It might sound crazy but the pen is still in our hands and the headlines have yet to be written. If anyone can find a sustainable path forward for this special place, it’s Montanans.
EJ Porth is the associate director of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust.
