The ranchers of the Big Hole learned long ago to integrate their cattle and haymaking operations using the least-cost technology. Baling and shipping hay is a rare practice in the Big Hole. The result of these efforts is a sustainable system of agriculture. Until very recently, nearly every high school student in the Big Hole was a graduate of the University of Haying. Unfortunately, the ranchers and the fish end up competing for the same water.
Environmentalists recognize the cost to the vanishing grayling.
Given the marginal nature of agriculture, some fear that too much pressure on Big Hole ranchers will hasten land subdivision. Residents have crafted their own solution by creating the Big Hole Watershed Committee, which devises non-coercive solutions to the valley's dilemma. The committee seeks to raise money, public interest, and expertise in efforts to save the grayling while keeping agriculture viable. This strategy seems to be working. Gallatin Writers believes that this model of collaborative resource management should be studied, evaluated, and eventually publicized, for it provides positive models for the future.