The Future of Small-town Montana Rides on Public Lands

From Dupuyer to Columbia Falls, a look at the growing recreation economy

The winds of Montana's Rocky Mountain Front buffet the empty Dupuyer Elementary School. At one time the grasslands around it teemed with family-run ranches and Dupuyer was the heart of its region. In 1966 there were 63 students. In 2015, only one remained, with a lone teacher to instruct him. It shocked no one when the school shuttered last year.

Welcome to Dupuyer. Population 86.

John Hayne, a jovial man with thickly calloused hands, graduated from Dupuyer Elementary and is now a member of the school board. He says they're still maintaining the building. "Maybe it's futile," he says with a qu...

 

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