Montana Hi-Line : Conclusion.gif)
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| Lonely
Road near Havre |
This
section about the Montana Hi-Line on Big Sky Fishing has
been an awfully big task to create. But it has been an
enjoyable one, too. I always enjoy my travels down the
Hi-Line, as I’m sort of a fan of big spaces and open
views. And since hundreds of thousands of people pass through
the Hi-Line every year on their way to Glacier National
Park and other areas of western Montana, I felt some solid
information about this part of Montana was really needed
on the site, even though at first blush it seems totally
unrelated to the fishing theme of Big Sky Fishing.Com.
If you’ve read through all the articles and gone through
all of the pictures, you should have a good idea of what
the Hi-Line region of Montana is like. But, in case you haven’t
yet, or just need things summed up a bit (I have diarrhea
of the word processor at times, spewing out endless amounts
of printed word on my computer which some people may find
rather daunting to fully read), this conclusion should hopefully
brings things together a bit.
Quick Summary
The
Montana Hi-Line region, broadly speaking, runs the full
length of US Highway 2 in Montana – from the North
Dakota border in the east to the Idaho border in the West.
But, in Montana, when most people talk about the Hi-Line
region, we refer to the prairie part of the state, or the
eastern 2/3 of Montana. Thus, when most people refer to the
Hi-Line in Montana, they are talking about that part of Montana
on US Highway 2 that is in-between the North Dakota border
and Browning, Montana.
The primary business all along the Hi-Line region of Montana
is agriculture. Particular, cattle grazing and wheat farming
are the two main commodities to be found. Other economic
sources include some limited oil and gas development around
Cut Bank and Shelby.
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| Downtown
Nashua, Montana |
The Hi-Line region has been hit hard by the consolidation
of the agricultural industry, which has led to fewer people
working on larger and larger farms and ranches. This in turn
has affected the local towns, leading to closures of many
small town businesses. This is why you see so many abandoned
farm and ranch buildings outside of town, and why many of
the small towns on the Hi-Line have so many abandoned stores
and homes inside them.
The
Hi-Line region boasts a wide variety of geographical terrain.
By and large, the area is primarily flat. By flat,
though, we don’t mean truly flat. Most areas on the
Hi-Line have many, many rolling hills. Often times the hills
aren’t even noticeable until you reach the top of them.
In addition to these hills, larger mountains are found in
the Sweet Grass Hills and in the Bears Paw Mountains.
The Hi-Line region, unlike many areas in Montana and elsewhere
in the Great Plains, has a decent if not spectacular water
supply. The Milk River flows through the vast majority of
the area, and the Missouri River picks up where the Milk
River ends at Fort Peck. Several large reservoirs, including
Fresno Reservoir, Fort Peck Lake, Nelson Reservoir and Tiber
Reservoir help provide water to the region as well.
The future of the Hi-Line region seems to be mixed. Many
towns on the Hi-Line seem to be well positioned to capitalize
on future growth and society trends in the United States,
while other towns are likely to continue to struggle. By
and large, it seems like the county seats of each county
are destined to do reasonably well in the future, while other
small towns will continue to battle a loss of population
and businesses.
Some Parting Thoughts....
Overall,
the Montana Hi-Line is a region that many travel though
but few people ever truly see. In general, people
from out-state who travel the Hi-Line seem lacking in time
or inclination to actually venture off of US Highway 2, so
intent are they on just getting “out of” this
part of Montana. As such, although the Hi-Line is visited
each year by hundreds of thousands of people, few of them
spend any money beyond gas, munchies, fast food and potentially
a one night stay in a hotel.
And
this is, in my view, kind of a tragedy. The Montana Hi-Line
is a region that is just ripe for exploration. By
taking some time and exploring the Montana Hi-Line region,
a visitor will see all sorts of new and beautiful sights,
can brag about how they visited a part of Montana that few
in-state people ever even see, and will also likely come
away with a deeper appreciation of the prairie in general.
Moreover, people who take the time to explore the side roads
off of US Highway 2 will also wander through some great small
towns that have changed little in the past few decades.
So…if you plan on venturing down the Hi-Line on a
trip to Glacier National Park or some other popular tourist
spot in Montana, make time in your schedule to explore the
Hi-Line, even if it is for an just an extra day or two. You
won’t be sorry you did.
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