Gallatin Gateway is a genuine community, not a contrived artifact of the New West. It has been my home for nearly 40 years and I cherish it deeply. Just like other rural gems of the West, however, Gateway’s attractive ecological, cultural, and geographic features put it at risk for exploitation. The question is can the community control its destiny, or will outside money exploit it to the detriment of locals?

Gateway offers a case study of regional significance. It complements recent work by Don Snow, Mellon Professor of Environmental Studies at Whitman College and a founder of Gallatin Writers. His recent publication “Round the Next Bend…the Transformation of the Rural West” focuses on the forces behind change and how to deal with them constructively so that good will prevails over opportunism. (Publication available at www.free-eco.org)

After discussing declining towns in Eastern Montana and the Dakotas, places where “…the sense of optimism has become fugitive”, Snow moves the reader to the impending challenges. Many rural communities are subjected to “…a wrenching and rapid transformation propelled by heavy influences of new residents and new wealth.” He asks how these communities can deal with extraordinary growth and the attempted cultural and economic impositions of others.

Snow warns that the purported blessings of development often camouflage curses. Outsiders driving changes have the money to buy immunity from adverse consequences, to place their bets and move on. Not being from the community, they may care little, if at all, what the residents think.

Fortunately, communities have learned to anticipate coming distractions. If they are on guard and ready to take action, these communities’ future need not diminish in quality. For example, a few years ago Chicagoans converted a convenience store near Gateway into a strip club. Outraged locals successfully pressured Sinclair Oil to immediately pull their pumps. This sent an important message about community resourcefulness and values. Locals may recall this for inspiration; intruders may see it as a warning.

Communities like Gateway are places where residents either have logged millions of board feet of timber or know folks who have. These are places where folks worked with material stuff: wheat, wool, wood, and water. This history is part of the charm. In contrast, the urbanites expecting to exploit these communities have logged millions of miles of first class travel, and earned their living by manipulating numbers, electrons, and people. This situation results in a cultural clash with conflicts over differing ethics and values.

The developers and hired consultants bring visions--and not only of money to be made. Sometimes they also have plans to impose their enlightened, sophisticated “new urbanism” on previously rural settings. This, they claim, will provide “affordable housing” and mixed-use development for service workers. Of course if it is truly affordable, the tax assessments on these apartments and townhouses will be far less than the burdens imposed on local schools and public services. The gap will be filled by residents of communities such as Gateway. Property taxes must increase to accommodate the changes, and some established residents will be taxed out of their homes.

Another problem stemming from such development is that high-density rental housing and a high turnover rate are ingredients for ghettos. Ask anyone who lives near university rental housing about the sort of community it breeds. Such accommodations fleetingly please 20 year olds who fully expect to move on.

There are always a few transient workers in places like Gateway. However, home ownership is the norm, and the ideal. And this matters a lot. Tom Friedman’s slight exaggeration, “No one has ever washed a rented car”, surely applies to homes. Owners care more. Everywhere. Always.

It is resident owners who build communities. Consider the Gallatin Gateway Community Center. It was built by property owners and friends lead by the Willing Workers Ladies Aid, a volunteer organization founded a century ago. Funds came from donations, saddle and rifle raffles, and corned elk and cabbage dinners. This kind of “development” both illustrates and perpetuates a viable culture. Communities must unite if they are to protect their environment and way of life. New challenges from outsiders require alertness to threats and willingness to mobilize principled opposition in defense of community.