The Rocky Mountain Front is more than just a collection of scenic splendor and a wild animal haven. Though we humans are part of the system, our imprint is minimal and for the most part confined to a handful of small, well-spaced communities and a scattering of multi-generational ranches. The towns, set well to the east of the mountains, are unobtrusive. Strung out along 152 miles of a two-lane highway, they are the pleasant communities of Augusta, Choteau, Fairfield, Bynum, Pendroy, Dupuyer, Heart Butte, Browning and East Glacier, with a total population under 5,000 folks. With the exception of Browning, all rely on ranching, outfitting, and some farming to sustain their economies. Browning is the base for the Blackfeet Reservation and hence tribal government is a large employer.

Ranching dominates the agricultural sector. The fact that these cow-calf operations have been sustainable for so long provides a key to the pristine nature of this piece of Montana. Many ranchers have put their land into conservation easements—more than 200,000 acres as of this writing—with The Nature Conservancy and the US Fish and Wildlife Service playing the largest roles. Other organizations such as the Montana Land Reliance and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are also involved in the easement process.

Before the European invasion of Montana, the first stewards of this expanse of prairie-meets-mountains were the many native peoples who relied on the land and its bison herds for their food supply. The last group to occupy and consider it their realm was the Blackfeet Nation. They left behind, for the most part, only footprints and trails. Today, the most recent of the original owners reside on the Blackfeet Reservation in the northern sector of the Rocky Mountain Front. A concerted effort is being made to preserve traditions, including their language, and to buy back land that had previously been bought by non-tribal members.

The northern 130,000 acres of the Front adjacent to the reservation are known as the Badger-Two Medicine area, which in 1973 was declared "sacred ground" by the Blackfeet Tribal Council, as it is the focus of their creation stories. The area has recently been recognized as a Traditional Cultural District under the National Historic Preservation Act because of its religious and cultural significance to the Blackfeet people.

Abundant and diverse wildlife populations place the Front in the top one percent of the best wildlife habitat in the United States. In terms of biodiversity, it is unmatched. These are just two of the reasons the tribe has been instrumental in the fight to keep the Rocky Mountain Front free of development.

-from Chapter 1: Montana's Rocky Mountain Front