Dear editor:

I read with interest Kelly Spiering's recent letter to the editor about the upcoming elections and what candidates are saying about private property rights, land use and agriculture. I would challenge Mr. Spiering to name one farming/ranching family in this county that has been put out of business because of housing or development pressure. I'd be willing to bet he can't name any because it simply isn't happening.

Selling small lots in an ag area is not "killing ag." Anyone who has spent time in the industry knows it's an extremely tough business even when things are going well. The unfortunate reality is that ag in this county, this state, and across the country is struggling. There are many reasons for that — too many to cover in a letter like this. We are no longer in the 50s where every house you see in rural Park County is occupied by a farmer or rancher making their living on the surrounding lands. There are only a handful of people my age from Powell west to Heart Mountain that make their sole living from production agriculture these days.

Ag is a land rich, cash poor endeavor. Rural residential development is a symptom of the larger challenges facing agriculture, not the cause of it. Development comes when ag is out of options, and I will not tell another farmer or rancher what they can or cannot do with their property. Land represents generations of hard work and is almost always a family's greatest financial asset.

Seeing once productive and vibrant ag lands go to houses is heartbreaking. I hate it. I will continue to advocate for ag and do everything I can to stay in the business because I love it, but if the day comes I need to sell something, or sell everything, I have the right to do it and should not be forced to do so in 20 acre pieces!

I have been extremely vocal over the past few years about the land use plan and proposed regulations, and it's no secret I was outraged at the direction things were originally going. Over the past year, however, I am encouraged and grateful the county commissioners now seem to be listening to landowners and appear to have realized that large minimum lot sizes and more overall restrictions on ag and ag business is not the right course of action.

Seeing something change across the fence may be frustrating to longtime neighbors, but it does not equal the same harm as the outright taking of private property rights and values by the county government. Not even close. For those who want to preserve larger tracts of land, conservation easements have long offered a voluntary way to do that.

Carrie I. Peters

Powell