Big Sky is seeing unprecedented growth, partially due to the area’s access to open lands. How should the Big Sky community balance growth and the preservation of these open lands?
Tracy Jacobson, Big Sky, Mont.
Sales Associate, Montana Living Big Sky Real Estate
“With Big Sky being encompassed by 14 million acres of wild lands – including Yellowstone National Park, national forests and wilderness – the community is already utilizing that land for our own recreation and personal lifestyles. The organizations already formed like the Big Sky Community Corporation and the Chamber [of Commerce] are doing a great job of maintaining the balance of private versus public lands. For instance, the new Hummocks and Uplands trails required numerous grants of easements.”
Amanda Cox, Big Sky, Mont. 
Sales Associate, Grizzly Outfitters Ski & Backcountry Sports
“A lot of it will have to do with community groups such as the Gallatin River Task Force and the Big Sky Community Corporation. We need more groups like this to spread awareness and keep the balance.”
Zane Patton, Big Sky, Mont.
Social Media Manager and Clerk, The Cave Spirits & Gifts
“The goal of each is counterintuitive to the other. We want the place to be bigger, but also the bigger it gets the more disconnected we feel from a small town. A lot of people say, ‘Well, we’re not Aspen yet,’ but it’s a double-edged sword. You can’t have pristine, untouched beauty along with the development that growth entails.”
