Promoting Central Montana
Teepees at First People's Buffalo Jump
Welcome! We are a diverse group of residents from Cascade County and Chouteau County, Montana who are deeply committed to supporting the communities and economy of this area. We want to make sure all of the stories of Central Montana are told for years to come, and many of us have spent a lifetime working toward that end.
Are you doing good work in and around Cascade and Choteau County? Check out our funding opportunities through our Partner Project Fund; it is a program to assist community groups that are working to renovate historic structures, improve historic sites, develop educational programs, boost heritage tourism and more. This grant opportunity comes from donations. If you have questions or want more information about the Project Partner Fund, please email us.
Folks from around the U.S. are working to have National Heritage Areas designated in their state. Read more about Senator Mitch McConnell's and Rep. Hal Rogers' work to have The Kentucky Wildlands, made up of 41 counties in Kentucky, designated as one.
If you would like to learn more about the proposed Heritage Area, watch this video of a Zoom presentation give by Jane Weber and Bill Bronson on December 8, 2021 for Great Falls Rising.
New York Times journalist Reid Epstein recently came to Montana to learn more about the efforts to create a National Heritage Area here. You can read the article on the Times website or if you cannot access it that way, we've made a PDF of the article, called "Where Facts Were No Match for Fear," by Reid Epstein, New York Times, October 24, 2021.
If you would like to write a letter of support for the Heritage Area, please let us know by emailing us at info@bigskycountrynha.org. We can send you more factual information about the history and background of the NHAs nationwide, if you would like, too.
The Latest News
We completed the Feasibility Study and took public comments on it. Now, we are moving forward. Want the latest news on the Heritage Area? Follow us on Facebook. We also urge you to support the development of the NHA by signing our petition.
As we discuss the idea of a National Heritage Area, we need to work together, as so many others around the country have done. How do you want to promote and preserve your community? Learn more by checking out this video, prepared by Roland Taylor.
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At the final community conversation about Montana's proposed first National Heritage Area, attended in Belt by 110 people from Chouteau and Cascade counties, we announced the name of our Heritage Area: Big Sky Country National Heritage Area. We felt that it best reflects the sweeping landscape and broad resources found in the proposed Heritage Area. We believe in sharing and preserving the history and heritage of central Montana. The primary benefit of having a Heritage Area will be to give residents a strong voice for economic development in the land they call home.
Economic development in a rural state like Montana may be different from what is found in urban areas, so we need to work together to make sure we use every tool possible, while protecting private property owners' rights, to ensure our area's future financial stability. President Ronald Regan thoughtfully created the unique National Heritage Area designation to do just that: Give local control to people who live in the designated areas. Although NHAs are Congressionally designated and are affiliated with the National Park Service, those entities do not make the decisions in the Heritage Areas, nor do they exert control over them.
Instead, a Heritage Area is run by a local nonprofit board of directors, comprised of people who want to bring more jobs, more people and more money to the economy each year. The Board also wants to tell all the stories of this region, from agriculture to smelting to the economic successes of manufacturing. We need to share the ways that our area grew over the years, as well as what it has to offer today. Doing so will also draw attention to the fascinating history and heritage of this colorful piece of Montana.
We have worked hard for four years to get comments from residents and businesses in and around Great Falls and Fort Benton, holding public meetings, sporting a detailed website with contact information and sending out electronic newsletters to keep folks informed. Through financial support, both the oil company BP and the utility Northwestern Energy understand why it is important to tell these stories about our history and culture.
Now, after extensive public responses and suggestions, we have nearly completed a summary of all the input, with a formal, written plan to tell area residents how we think this can be accomplished. A draft report is expected to be released in spring 2020, outlining how a Heritage Area will build our economy. It will showcase the important historic and cultural contributions central Montana made in shaping our nation. Six academic experts from Carroll College, Brigham Young University, Briscoe Western Art Museum, Little Shell Tribe of the Chippewa, Tennessee Civil War NHA and the Montana Historic Preservation Office continue to donate time to review the material. Our board has made other great strides this past year to advance our effort, including:
Public Opinion
In 2019, we conducted three public gatherings in Fort Benton, Black Eagle and Belt. More than 250 people attended and overwhelmingly supported our efforts. The mayors of Fort Benton, Cascade, Belt, Neihart and Great Falls each have said they fully embrace this endeavor and support designation. We have not given many presentations in 2020, because of the pandemic.
Legislative Process
In 2019, representatives from the Big Sky Country NHA visited Washington, D.C. twice and met with our Senators and Congressman, House and Senate staff from the Natural Resources Committees, and with the National Coordinator for the NHAs. Montana's Congressional delegation indicated it recognizes the economic benefits of designation, and the National Coordinator has given us positive feedback on our Feasibility Study. Draft legislation was well received.
Projects Underway
Organizations in our two-county area gave requested project assistance; the NHA Board provides technical assistance to residents, private developers and communities to develop, plan and fundraise for projects and programs. The following is a partial list of proposed and ongoing projects we are working on:
Have an idea for ways to tell the stories of your family, your ranch or farm, or your community? Send us a message through the Contact Us form and we will consider it for future work.
Heritage Area in the News
Jenn Rowell of The Electric prepared this news report about the heritage area proposal: Group defines region's national significance as quest for National Heritage Area designation continues, dated January 31, 2019. Here is a news release for the January 2019 Community Conversations.
Read the full press release or contact Jane Weber at info@bigskycountrynha.org if you would like more information or have any questions.
For more news about our work, see Jenn Rowell's article in The Electric: https://theelectricgf.com/2017/10/19/national-heritage-area-project-gaining-momentum-in-great-falls-region/.
Learn more about the heritage area proposal at "Everything you need to know about building Montana's first National Heritage Area," by Sarah Dettmer of the Great Falls Tribune.
Are you doing good work in and around Cascade and Choteau County? Check out our funding opportunities through our Partner Project Fund; it is a program to assist community groups that are working to renovate historic structures, improve historic sites, develop educational programs, boost heritage tourism and more. This grant opportunity comes from donations. If you have questions or want more information about the Project Partner Fund, please email us.
Folks from around the U.S. are working to have National Heritage Areas designated in their state. Read more about Senator Mitch McConnell's and Rep. Hal Rogers' work to have The Kentucky Wildlands, made up of 41 counties in Kentucky, designated as one.
If you would like to learn more about the proposed Heritage Area, watch this video of a Zoom presentation give by Jane Weber and Bill Bronson on December 8, 2021 for Great Falls Rising.
New York Times journalist Reid Epstein recently came to Montana to learn more about the efforts to create a National Heritage Area here. You can read the article on the Times website or if you cannot access it that way, we've made a PDF of the article, called "Where Facts Were No Match for Fear," by Reid Epstein, New York Times, October 24, 2021.
If you would like to write a letter of support for the Heritage Area, please let us know by emailing us at info@bigskycountrynha.org. We can send you more factual information about the history and background of the NHAs nationwide, if you would like, too.
The Latest News
We completed the Feasibility Study and took public comments on it. Now, we are moving forward. Want the latest news on the Heritage Area? Follow us on Facebook. We also urge you to support the development of the NHA by signing our petition.
As we discuss the idea of a National Heritage Area, we need to work together, as so many others around the country have done. How do you want to promote and preserve your community? Learn more by checking out this video, prepared by Roland Taylor.
____________________________________________________________________
At the final community conversation about Montana's proposed first National Heritage Area, attended in Belt by 110 people from Chouteau and Cascade counties, we announced the name of our Heritage Area: Big Sky Country National Heritage Area. We felt that it best reflects the sweeping landscape and broad resources found in the proposed Heritage Area. We believe in sharing and preserving the history and heritage of central Montana. The primary benefit of having a Heritage Area will be to give residents a strong voice for economic development in the land they call home.
Economic development in a rural state like Montana may be different from what is found in urban areas, so we need to work together to make sure we use every tool possible, while protecting private property owners' rights, to ensure our area's future financial stability. President Ronald Regan thoughtfully created the unique National Heritage Area designation to do just that: Give local control to people who live in the designated areas. Although NHAs are Congressionally designated and are affiliated with the National Park Service, those entities do not make the decisions in the Heritage Areas, nor do they exert control over them.
Instead, a Heritage Area is run by a local nonprofit board of directors, comprised of people who want to bring more jobs, more people and more money to the economy each year. The Board also wants to tell all the stories of this region, from agriculture to smelting to the economic successes of manufacturing. We need to share the ways that our area grew over the years, as well as what it has to offer today. Doing so will also draw attention to the fascinating history and heritage of this colorful piece of Montana.
We have worked hard for four years to get comments from residents and businesses in and around Great Falls and Fort Benton, holding public meetings, sporting a detailed website with contact information and sending out electronic newsletters to keep folks informed. Through financial support, both the oil company BP and the utility Northwestern Energy understand why it is important to tell these stories about our history and culture.
Now, after extensive public responses and suggestions, we have nearly completed a summary of all the input, with a formal, written plan to tell area residents how we think this can be accomplished. A draft report is expected to be released in spring 2020, outlining how a Heritage Area will build our economy. It will showcase the important historic and cultural contributions central Montana made in shaping our nation. Six academic experts from Carroll College, Brigham Young University, Briscoe Western Art Museum, Little Shell Tribe of the Chippewa, Tennessee Civil War NHA and the Montana Historic Preservation Office continue to donate time to review the material. Our board has made other great strides this past year to advance our effort, including:
Public Opinion
In 2019, we conducted three public gatherings in Fort Benton, Black Eagle and Belt. More than 250 people attended and overwhelmingly supported our efforts. The mayors of Fort Benton, Cascade, Belt, Neihart and Great Falls each have said they fully embrace this endeavor and support designation. We have not given many presentations in 2020, because of the pandemic.
Legislative Process
In 2019, representatives from the Big Sky Country NHA visited Washington, D.C. twice and met with our Senators and Congressman, House and Senate staff from the Natural Resources Committees, and with the National Coordinator for the NHAs. Montana's Congressional delegation indicated it recognizes the economic benefits of designation, and the National Coordinator has given us positive feedback on our Feasibility Study. Draft legislation was well received.
Projects Underway
Organizations in our two-county area gave requested project assistance; the NHA Board provides technical assistance to residents, private developers and communities to develop, plan and fundraise for projects and programs. The following is a partial list of proposed and ongoing projects we are working on:
- Celebrating the listing of the newly renovated Monarch Depot on the National Register of Historic Places. Written at the request of Monarch residents by Kate McCourt, then the Great Falls-Cascade County Historic Preservation officer, the National Park Service listed it in November 2020.
- Working with the Montana Department of Transportation for highway signage directing visitors to the Fort Benton National Historic Landmark.
- Collaborating, at the request of residents of Great Falls, on projects that tell the stories of our African American and Native American history and culture in the area.
- Assisted with the dedication of the C.M. Russell Honeymoon Cottage in Cascade and premier of a new PBS documentary about the artist's life.
- Participating in planning meetings for the EPA Superfund cleanup of the former Anaconda Co. metals refinery grounds in Black Eagle.
- Assisted with the annual Little Shell Powwow.
- Preparing tourism and historical data for the Visit Great Falls Montana blog site.
Have an idea for ways to tell the stories of your family, your ranch or farm, or your community? Send us a message through the Contact Us form and we will consider it for future work.
Heritage Area in the News
Jenn Rowell of The Electric prepared this news report about the heritage area proposal: Group defines region's national significance as quest for National Heritage Area designation continues, dated January 31, 2019. Here is a news release for the January 2019 Community Conversations.
Read the full press release or contact Jane Weber at info@bigskycountrynha.org if you would like more information or have any questions.
For more news about our work, see Jenn Rowell's article in The Electric: https://theelectricgf.com/2017/10/19/national-heritage-area-project-gaining-momentum-in-great-falls-region/.
Learn more about the heritage area proposal at "Everything you need to know about building Montana's first National Heritage Area," by Sarah Dettmer of the Great Falls Tribune.
LOCALLY Powered
Sculptures pay tribute to the Nez Perce & to Fort Benton as a "Contributing Site"
on the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail
The Big Sky Country National Heritage Area is an all-volunteer nonprofit group formed to establish the first National Heritage Area (NHA) in Montana. To do this, we need to demonstrate to Congress that our regional landscape, culture and history are nationally significant to America's heritage.
We are working collaboratively with local communities to define this special landscape along the Missouri River, from Fort Benton through Cascade County, as a National Heritage Area. The designation is honorary.
For more info about nationally significant landmarks in this region, see the C.M. Russell Museum and Studio National Historic Landmark, Fort Benton National Historic Landmark, the Great Falls Lewis and Clark Great Falls Portage National Historic Landmark, and the First People's Buffalo Jump National Historic Landmark.
Although Congressional designation triggers eligibility for competitive modest federal funding, the Heritage Area is locally powered and managed by a Board of Directors and largely dependent on locally raised funding. All funds raised will be used to promote economic development and tourism within the Upper Missouri River area.
The federal legislation will have NO impact on private property rights. It does NOT require property owners to permit public access to his or her property or modify any provisions with regard to public access or use of private lands. A National Heritage Area is NOT a government land grab. The National Park Service does NOT manage the Heritage Area. The heritage area will be a nonprofit organization run by your neighbors, friends and colleagues.
We are working collaboratively with local communities to define this special landscape along the Missouri River, from Fort Benton through Cascade County, as a National Heritage Area. The designation is honorary.
For more info about nationally significant landmarks in this region, see the C.M. Russell Museum and Studio National Historic Landmark, Fort Benton National Historic Landmark, the Great Falls Lewis and Clark Great Falls Portage National Historic Landmark, and the First People's Buffalo Jump National Historic Landmark.
Although Congressional designation triggers eligibility for competitive modest federal funding, the Heritage Area is locally powered and managed by a Board of Directors and largely dependent on locally raised funding. All funds raised will be used to promote economic development and tourism within the Upper Missouri River area.
The federal legislation will have NO impact on private property rights. It does NOT require property owners to permit public access to his or her property or modify any provisions with regard to public access or use of private lands. A National Heritage Area is NOT a government land grab. The National Park Service does NOT manage the Heritage Area. The heritage area will be a nonprofit organization run by your neighbors, friends and colleagues.
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Explore
Explore the history, natural resources, businesses, industries, arts and culture of this area!
If you would like more information on the exciting and interesting, check out the many tourism and hospitality organizations in this corridor. Check in with Great Falls Tourism to find out more Great Falls. And then check in with "Fort Benton, The Birthplace of Montana Experience All Fort Benton Has to Offer" to find out about the many assets and things to do in and around Fort Benton. |
Capture the Stories
What makes the Upper Missouri River from Fort Benton to Cascade unique? The stories of Lewis and Clark and the people they met? The art of Charlie Russell? Our agricultural way of life? The Native American history? The industrial history? We literally "wired the world" by refining copper and other metals dug from the Butte mines.
Today, five dams on the river provide electric power to the United States. We are working to capture all these stories as a part of our Heritage Area work. What story would you like to share about this area? |
Get Involved
Learn more and help our efforts!
The supporting documents on our web site are designed to help you:
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