Common Ground – Our Love for the Landscape

Fire: It’s hot, it’s smoky, it’s uncomfortable, it’s dangerous, it’s scary.

All of us in the Seeley/Swan and Blackfoot Valleys are feeling anxious, stressed, fearful of losing our homes and fearful of our beloved landscape changing.

Placing blame, pointing fingers, becoming angry and vindictive will help no one, nor will it solve any of the issues we are facing. The interagency fire teams that are here working on our landscape and in our communities deserve our respect. These folks have the training and the knowledge to do their jobs, and they are doing the very best they can, given these extreme fire conditions and with shrinking resources available.

We need to recognize that despite all our differences, we all share one very important thing: our love for this landscape that we call home. Whether we share the same political views, land management techniques, deep ranching roots or not, we need to focus on what brings us together. Strong communities are important in times like these; we cannot work together when we are divided.