Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 15 BLACK TIE 1/2 BEYOND THE HORSES The Pryor area is geologically, ecologically, meteorologically, and culturally unique, and the wild horse range encompasses only a small portion of the region. Access the Pryor Mountains through Bridger or Warren, Montana, and Cowley or Lovell, Wyoming. Botanists treasure the diversity of plant species in the Pryors as they are home to rare plants that don't grow anywhere else in the world. The Pryors comprise the northern limit of many plant species' ranges. The area is also rich in cultural history, containing hundreds of archaeological sites that include tipi rings, quarry sites, vision quest structures ,and cave and rockshelter sites. To learn more about the rich Pryor Mountains visit pryormountains.org. "You either love them or you hate them," Crow Elder and historian Howard Boggess said. "I love them." Howard Boggess grew up on the Crow Indian Reservation and remem- bers seeing the wild horses in the Pryors well before the area was a federally designated horse range. "We used to ride horseback and cross Bighorn Canyon and wild horses were there," he said. In 1968 former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall established the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, an action that predated national legislation pro- tecting all wild horses by three years. Nearly 50 years later controversy over the management of the horses continues, something well tracked by newspapers and advocacy groups alike. It is somewhere in between these voices and reports that the Pryor horses find themselves today, grazing on the spring grasses of Mustang Flat, sipping water from the Bighorn River, or sunning themselves on the slopes of East Pryor Mountain, breathing in the air of a truly spectacular place. The Roman nose, or convex head profile, is a common characteristic of the Pryor horses, a trait that is reflective of Spanish heritage. JESSIANNE WRIGHT JESSIANNE WRIGHT In - Room Fitting Slope Side Service Complimentary Return www.blacktieskis.com | 406-995-3372 | bigsky@blacktieskis.com Aspen/Snowmass, Banff, Big Sky/Moonlight, Breckenridge/Keystone, Crested Butte, Mammoth, North Lake Tahoe, Park City/Deer Valley, South Lake Tahoe, Steamboat, Sun Valley, Telluride, Vail, Whistler, and Winter Park USE Coupon Code DistMT17 and receive 20% all season long! North America's largest ski and snowboard rental delivery service

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