blackfoot-valley

Modern Economic Developments The economy of Montana, right up to the present, has hinged on the use and exploitation of natural resources. Since the nineteenth century, there have been several booms which ended in busts that were followed by rebounds to a greater or lesser degree. In the immediate wake of the Lewis and Clark expedition, came the American rush to trap beaver and ex- port their pelts (actually a continuation and expansion of the French Voya- geurs’ activities, which persisted for a time in the area although the French became increasingly outnumbered by Americans and some in fact became Americans). Throughout this period, the trappers were few in numbers, but they were efficient enough to trap out one area after another before mov- ing on. The depletion of the beaver coincided with a consequent decline in European fashion for their fur. The next rush was for minerals, focused on metals: first the precious metals gold and silver, followed by the less honored but much more widely used copper. Then came the heyday of the cattlemen of the region using 74