Fascinating piece of investigative journalism exploring the incremental take over of southern Montana’s Crazy Mountains by the ultra-wealthy.
The checkerboard layout of public vs private land in the Crazy Mountains has long been a source of conflict between the general public and private landowners who have been accused of blocking public trails dating back to the 1940s. These tensions have been steadily growing in the ensuing years and reached a near boiling point with the modern day free satellite mapping imagery highlighting the potential injustices for all to see.
Back in 2015 the US Forest Service was approached by the Yellowstone Club (which rivals Manhattan for concentration of billionaires) to do a land exchange in Big Sky near the Club’s private ski resort. The Forest Service turned down the offer and the Yellowstone Club responded by expanded its land offerings to the Crazy Mountains. That deal was authorized the Forest Service last month.
The question is, who is benefits and who is left high and dry? The following video attempts to answer that question.
