CLYDE PARK — Residents in the town of Clyde Park, which has about 350 people, are anxious about the controversial ownership of the Crazy Mountain Ranch, located just a few miles from their community.
The owners are CrossHarbor Capital Partners, the same group that runs the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky. Many fear that the changes that have happened there will also come to this area, as Crazy Mountain Ranch became a private, membership-only resort.
Watch this video to hear residents' concerns:
As the final part of our series on the East Crazy Mountain Land Exchange, we’re examining the impacts of the Crazy Mountain on nearby communities. Clyde Park is the closest community to the sprawling development. Read previous installments here, here, here, and here.
Longtime Clyde Park resident Parker Connell said he's fearful of what the new resort could do to his town.
"I definitely air on the side of wariness," Connell said. "Just because you have a bunch of money doesn't mean you should be able to ruin everyone else's time."
Connell isn't alone. Megan Franecki, another Clyde Park resident, said she is also apprehensive about the changes made since the former Marlboro Ranch was purchased in 2021.
"It's sad, and it's frustrating," Franecki said. "What's going to happen to all the families here who have had these ranches for generations?"
Franecki proudly displays her opposition of the new ownership with a sign outside of her home that says "Ranches not resorts." The sign can be seen by drivers as they make the trek up to the ranch.
"It's to support our community and to support the ranchers," Franecki said. "We're not ranchers, but it's hard work and we don't think their lives should change."
The ranch has already ruffled feathers in the state outside of the development, including the use of water from surrounding Montana communities. The ranch had been purchasing water from Big Timber to irrigate a recently added golf course, before community push back led to the ending of the deal by Big Timber City Council.
Since then, the ranch has started purchasing water from other communities, including Boulder and Columbus.
"It's almost like that because of the amount of money they have, they're untouchable," Franecki said.
Connell said that it's an example of steamrolling that he fears the most.
"Everybody in this community, to me, is equal," Connell said. "I want people to come in and also see themselves as equal."
Franecki, who used to live in Big Sky, said it's exactly how the Yellowstone Club first began in that area.
"We always joke that we moved to Clyde Park to move back to Montana," Franecki said. "We've seen what happened in Big Sky and Gallatin Gateway and I think it's just a matter of time before those changes start coming out here."
Some in the community, such as Mayor Sydney Wiley, believe these changes are inevitable.
"You cannot stop people from selling their land and who they sell it to," Wiley said. "Change happens. Change happens every day."
Wiley said she's focused on protecting the values of her historic town, holding meetings with the community to narrow in on what's important.
"My interest is in protecting the best interest of the town," Wiley said.
Wiley said that not all development is bad and could boost her town's economy.
"If you just look at it from an economic standpoint as well, having a larger tax base is always helpful," Wiley said.
That's not all the ranch hopes to bring. Crazy Mountaina Ranch owners told MTN in an email that they are committed to preserving the historic guest ranch and plan to invest in the community.
Currently, the ranch employs 130 locals and has plans to increase that number. The leadership also pledged $500,000 to Shields Valley schools if a bond was passed last fall. Ultimately, that measure failed, but the ranch said the offer still stands.
"Everybody needs money, right?" Wiley said. "But there are a lot of different ways to define richness."
Connell and Franecki still question the ranch's motivation.
"Anything they want to invest in the town, I'm all for," Connell said. "But that can't be a free pass to do whatever they want."
"Money can be blindsiding and that's unfortunate," Franecki said.
And many fear any bigger changes could destroy the home they love.
"I see a lot of people getting swept under the rug and pushed out of town," Connell said. "That's the last thing I want to see."
See the full Crazy Mountain series:
'We're losing it': One man's fight to keep the Crazy Mountains public
One forest supervisor stakes her legacy in the Crazy Mountain land exchange
Finding common ground: The group quietly shaping future of the Crazy Mountains
Montana Ag Network: Cabin in the Crazy Mountains 'just the beginning'
