by Maria Hipp, Darby
My grandparents were drawn to this Valley not for the beauty, but for the promise of a paycheck and a steady living. My grandfather moved to the Darby community to work at the Stoltz Conner Lumber Mill just south of the town of Darby. My soon to be husband’s grandfather was a foreman at the same mill, which has created a special, shared Bitterroot heritage between us.
I grew up believing that every kid knew how to fly fish, shoot a bow, maneuver a river, snowshoe, harvest huckleberries, build a campfire and process their own game meat. When I left Darby High School for the University of Wyoming, I left thinking, “I can’t wait to get out of here and see the world.”
I have lived in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Arizona, in small towns and big cities, and rarely found another person who craved the outdoors like me. I was shocked to see that not every young person knew what I did about being in the woods. It did not take me long to understand that the Bitterroot Valley is one of the most special places on earth to grow up.
I moved back to the Valley in 2020 to find flourishing business and new housing developments. I found No Trespassing signs and river accesses blocked. I found a raft on every stretch of the Bitterroot River and cars parked at every trailhead that I grew up to believe were secret. Not only had I realized what an amazing place this is, but so had everyone else.
I know more people will come to the Valley and a lot of positive change and growth will come as well. Most of the people I have met since I moved home came to the Valley searching for the same feeling I had as a kid. They’re humbled by the beauty and magnificence of the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains and enthused about the blue-ribbon trout fishing. However, we all see the open Valley land disappearing and changing. Regardless if you’re a native or call the Valley home now, I would like to ask you to think about what you are willing to invest to keep the Bitterroot Valley open for generations to come and VOTE YES on the Ravalli County Open Lands Bond on November 8th.
I encourage you to learn more about the Ravalli County Open Land Bond history and the completed projects to date by visiting: https://ravalli.us/189/Open-Lands-Bond-Program .