Our Plea for Honesty and Fairness in the Gravel Pit Debate at Gallatin County Commissioner Meeting on August 15, 2023.
In the past few months, I’ve talked with many people that oppose and support the gravel pit. I wanted to listen to and consider their concerns. After hours of conversations I can tell you that we have many concerns in common. Some are valid and deserve careful consideration. I appreciate everyone that honestly expressed their concerns. During that time I’ve also experienced individuals and activist group leaders who are using virtue signaling and dishonesty to oppose the pit. Those folks have become easy for me to identify by what I don’t ever hear them say.
You won’t hear anything from our opponents about the state of cultivated land that is currently at the proposed gravel pit site. They won’t acknowledge opportunities to increase biodiversity and provide beneficial shelter to wildlife. You’ll only hear about how negatively a gravel pit is going to affect the environment. They won’t mention anything about our vision for reclamation and all of the environmental benefits it will create for generations to come. A vision that I hope and pray will provide wildlife habitat, educational, recreational and charitable opportunities all while helping a ranch survive and greatly benefiting the Gallatin Gateway community. Instead, They will claim that it’s going take too long, all while hypocritically ignoring that they use long term investment strategies. They will claim the gravel pit will interrupt the Elk’s migratory patterns and be harmful to them. They won’t mention that the Elk’s current migration is a new phenomenon in the past four years, caused by increase wolf population in the higher elevations, and that their four chambered stomachs are adversely affected by consuming alfalfa in the fall and early winter months.
They will talk about how dangerous the road will be with all the added gravel trucks. You won’t hear about TMC’s impeccable record on the roads, and that the gravel trucks will be driving less distance, so fewer will be needed. Reducing carbon emissions and the number of trucks driving through Gallatin Gateway from Belgrade. They will express concerns about the Gallatin River and wells. What you won’t hear is that runoff will immediately be reduced once the pit is in place. They will raise concerns about property values, values that have never been higher, but you won’t hear about the land that they have for sale to subdivide.
They will bring up health concerns, but you won’t hear about all the mitigation steps that TMC Inc. is taking to make sure that dust stays put and that the environment and water are protected. They won’t mention the significant number of Gateway folks that TMC Inc. employs, the economic impact that the gravel pit will have on the area, and the numerous charities and causes that TMC Inc. supports in the Gallatin Valley. They ignore TMC Inc.’s impeccable record in environmental matters.
You haven’t heard these views because up to this point none of the media have chosen to cover the story from a balanced perspective. Oh, how I miss the days of investigative journalism. Instead we’ve seen the media adopt an agenda and sew a one sided narrative. You won’t hear from the multitudes of people that have given support to us and the gravel pit. They are the real “unheard voices”.
You won’t hear activist group leaders admit what they’ve admitted to me. That they are hypocrites, and that their true concern is where this pit is located. They are willing to sacrifice all their environmental concerns to just push the site of the gravel pit up Highway 191 four miles.
You won’t hear any gratitude for the 150+ years that the Black family has provided open space on our ranch, they’ll only complain about the time that their views will be affected. They will talk about protecting school children but won’t mention the DEQ’s statements that the rock in the area does not contain harmful silica.
You’ll hear some neighbors lament how the pit will infringe on their property rights, but they won’t mention ours. I don’t recall any of them asking me, my brother, or my father, if we liked it when they built their gravel roads, houses, wells, and septic systems on our border. Structures that are permanent and aren’t going to be reclaimed.
In my hundreds of conversations and numerous Q&As the one thing that I yearn for more than anything else is honesty. I’ve rarely seen it from some of the people opposing this pit. Could we just get back to being honest? Could we all admit that we have common concerns and want to do everything possible to mitigate any negative impacts? We desire to do something that will be a blessing for years to come.
If this governing body decides to use zoning as an attempt to stop the pit, I want to remind you that you’d be robbing my family of our right to protect our ranch and make it better. I want to remind you of Montana law and how we’ve followed it precisely. Some of our opponents want to change that law, manipulate others with fear, censor us, zone us, and ride the waves of propaganda they’ve sewn on hot button issues. I want you to do a noble thing by refusing to hinder our rights. It’s important to recall the humbling past litigation concerning the proposed sub division and gravel pit just north of the Cottonwood and Highway 191 intersection. What would we have today if the land owner’s original vision would have been left unimpaired? What did we end up with? Please consider the violation of property rights, subsequent costly litigation, and the result. If the Gallatin County Commission hasn’t learned that lesson we will do everything within the law to re-teach you.
We have a real crisis on our hands. We’re driving out the very people that make Gateway so special. The combination of operating expenses and the inflationary cost of everything from fence posts to hydraulic oil doubling in such a short period of time, is creating a burden on the local landowners here, that could eventually destroy the ranch and farming community if nothing is done to stop it. The proposed “solution” of zoning will only amplify that burden.