A while back I wrote about the loss of Montana’s public lands. I think it’s a shame to see all the prime wilderness being gobbled up for private usage. And since I’ve been up here in AK for the holiday season, being subjected to the completely awful mess that has become Wasilla has only fueled my anti-urban-sprawl attitudes. So let’s just say I am “interested” in issues of land usage and development. Well I finally came across an article in the Havre Daily News, of all places (not sure if it originated elsewhere, I was just trolling Yahoo looking for something to bitch and moan about) about Roger Lang, a California software tycoon who “saved” the Bitterroot Valley Ranch from development:
He looks for properties that are “in harm’s way,” he said Friday. “I believe that had the Schroeder Ranch gone to a developer who would have put 300 homes on it, that would have been an utter loss for Montanans,” he said.
Now listen, we all know I’m no big fan of the huge subdivision tactic of housing. But I’m also not a big fan of Californian absentee landlords coming up to “protect” us by buying up all our land. At least when we have sprawling subdivisions, we’re building homes where real Montana residents actually live, rather than a pet project for some bleeding-heart millionaire.
There has to be a middle ground here. How about some sort of, oh I don’t know, planning? Well that sounds good to me. But then again I’m a communist so of course I am in favor of central planning! I guess I can’t expect the rugged individualists of Montana to agree with me on that one. We’ll just have to leave it up to the wealthy developers and the wealthy “conservationist” land-buyers to fight it out, and be happy with whatever they decide for us. The invisible hand will take care of everything, just like it always does.
Posted by Jesse 
