That neighborliness, however, does not extend to APR, which bought its first property in 2004 just south of here. Twice since then, the French family has pitched in to buy ranches that APR was interested in purchasing. "A neighbor wants to help you out, not buy you out," Bill French says.
然而，這種睦鄰關系跟美國草原保護區卻沒什么關系，2004年美國草原保護區在這塊地的南部買下第一塊土地。在那之后，弗倫奇一家兩次出資買下了美國草原保護區有興趣的牧場。“好的鄰居會想給你幫忙，而不是買走你的資產”，比爾·弗倫奇說。
This resistance is based on real concerns about the future. Phillips County has lost more than half its population since its peak of nearly 10,000 people in 1920. Other nearby counties -- APR spans six now -- have seen similar declines. More and more property is being bought up by wealthy, out-of-state owners. The average age of the principal operator of a farm or ranch these days is 58. It's a demographic spiral that rural Americans fear: fewer kids in the schools, fewer tractors, balers, swathers, post pounders, cars, pickups, semis, trailers, tires bought at local dealers. APR buys those things too, of course: "We've brought more households in to work for APR than have left as a result of selling to us," says APR senior land acquisition manager Betty Holder. "We believe we are helping to diversify the economy."
這種抵制行為是基于對未來真實的擔心。菲利普斯縣從1920年達到將近10000人的峰值以來，已經失去了將近一半以上的人口。附近其他的縣，現在已經有6個，面臨著相似的人口減少問題。越來越多的土地被來自其他州的富裕的買主買走。現在農場和牧場的主要管理者的平均年齡是58歲。美國農村人害怕這樣的人口螺旋：學生越來越少，拖拉機、打包機、割谷機、郵車、汽車、卡車、半拖車、拖車，還有當地經銷商賣出的輪胎也越來越少。美國草原保護區也會購買這些東西。“當然，我們讓更多的家庭為保護區工作，而不是因為把農場賣給我們而離開。”保護區的高級土地征收經理貝蒂·霍爾德說。“我們認為我們正在幫助讓經濟變得多元化。”
But the antipathy is also cultural. The organization, with roughly 50 employees, is headquartered in Bozeman, a trendy college town of fly fishermen and mountaineers, artisanal coffee and avocado toast, four hours' drive southwest of APR's nearest property. Most of APR's large donors hail from even farther away -- Silicon Valley, New York City, Germany. Some fly by helicopter to stay at APR's luxury yurts equipped with leather furniture, chandeliers, and linen tablecloths. "Big fancy East Coast people coming in and telling us how to live," LaTray says.
這種反感還來自文化層面。這個組織有大約50個雇員，總部設在博茲曼，那是一個時髦的大學城，那里有漁民和登山運動員，手工咖啡和牛油果吐司，到美國草原保護區最近的地方只需往西南方開四個小時。他們大部分的捐贈人都來自更遠的地方--硅谷、紐約市和德國。一些人乘直升機來居住在保護區的奢華的圓頂帳篷里，那里裝飾著皮革、家具、枝形吊燈和亞麻桌布。“來自東海岸的大人物們告訴我們應當怎樣生活。”拉特雷說。
Scientists speak of a landscape's "ecological carrying capacity": habitat, forage, prey, and other factors that determine how much wildlife the land can support. But for ambitious conservation projects, "social carrying capacity" -- the community's tolerance for change -- is also a limiting factor.
科學家們提到了景觀的生態承載力：棲息地、飼料、獵物和其他的因素會決定這片土地上能生存多少野生動物。但是對野心勃勃的保護機構來說，社會承載力--社會對改變的容忍度--也是一個限制因素。
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