I've read every post of this thread and I just want to share what a lot of my friends, family, and work associates who are natives to my state are feeling:
My family has been in Montana as trappers and loggers, then teachers, and now various healthcare professionals since the late 1800's. I can say with all my heart, that we don't want you here from wherever you are coming from, no matter what your "values" or "political views" or "love of hunting and the outdoors" is. We don't care about what you think you will do for our economy or what business you will bring, etc. You (yes, YOU) are going to be one more piece of firewood (do they even have that where you come from?) thrown on the fire of increasing costs, reduced opportunities, and overcrowding of both rural communities as well as "cities" in Montana. My parents live in a very rural town in MT and people from out of state are buying properties there, site unseen, for twice what they were worth a year ago. I live in Billings, and am watching growth daily! My neighbor is a realtor and she tells me how many properties she is selling every day to people from out of state. WHY! More people coming here at the rate that they are will ruin our amazing state regardless of what their mindset or intentions are. You are better off enjoying Montana and other western states as a nonresident than you are flocking here like sheep and subsequently driving up costs, pressuring wildlife, limiting opportunities, crowding towns and cities, etc. All of which will lead to implementation of legislation that will make our state much less desirable to live. Many Montanans feel this way. Exceptions are perhaps those, who themselves are already transplants.
The only solution I would propose is to tax the hell out of people who want to move here. A one time entry tax to make them cover the increase in tax revenue that will be needed for such a rapid increase in population. This will both discourage such rapid growth as we are now having as well as provide some benefit to the people that already live here. It would also keep property prices from creeping up if, for example, Joe Blow who sells his 1200 sqft house for $800K in California and moves to Montana to "work" remotely has to spend a big chunk of that on his entry tax rather than offering 35% over an asking price on a property here. I also feel that people who live in Montana should be employed in Montana or provide some sort of good or service to Montanans. None of this working from home for a company in Silicon Valley B.S. because doing that, you're really only taking up space.
A couple of things for people who are thinking about flocking here to remember:
1. Just because you also like elk hunting does not mean you and I and other native Montanans are alike.
2. You are probably more like the people from the state you're coming from than you are like someone from My state, even if you think you're not.
3. Because you are more like the people from you're current state, native Montanans often have to be the ones to adapt to you and not the other way around. I've seen this so much over the years
4. We don't want you here