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ENVIRONMENT COLUMN  
TOM ARRANDALE  
Keeping the Wild in the West
Cattle ranchers may have to think the unthinkable — zoning open space to keep developers from eating it all up.

...The time has come to consider zoning the whole 2,600-square-mile county.That is the only way, Skinner has reluctantly decided, for Gallatin County to preserve its wild landscapes and also save a treasured way of life in farm and ranching communities. Last year, the county won a Trust for Public Lands award for a $20 million open-space program that’s saving 40 square miles from subdivision. But the county’s three commissioners have come to believe that’s not nearly enough to get a handle on growth that’s overwhelming isolated communities and ruining wildlife habitats. “Even though you’re not seeing a lot of development up here now, you will,” Skinner told Sedan’s ranching families. “We need to start doing things differently.”