国家地理:牧野分歧(7)（在线收听）

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，这种睦邻关系跟美国草原保护区却没什么关系，2004年美国草原保护区在这块地的南部买下第一块土地。在那之后，弗伦奇一家两次出资买下了美国草原保护区有兴趣的牧场。“好的邻居会想给你帮忙，而不是买走你的资产”，比尔·弗伦奇说。

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."

这种抵制行为是基于对未来真实的担心。菲利普斯县从1920年达到将近10000人的峰值以来，已经失去了将近一半以上的人口。附近其他的县，现在已经有6个，面临着相似的人口减少问题。越来越多的土地被来自其他州的富裕的买主买走。现在农场和牧场的主要管理者的平均年龄是58岁。美国农村人害怕这样的人口螺旋：学生越来越少，拖拉机、打包机、割谷机、邮车、汽车、卡车、半拖车、拖车，还有当地经销商卖出的轮胎也越来越少。美国草原保护区也会购买这些东西。“当然，我们让更多的家庭为保护区工作，而不是因为把农场卖给我们而离开。”保护区的高级土地征收经理贝蒂·霍尔德说。“我们认为我们正在帮助让经济变得多元化。”

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.

这种反感还来自文化层面。这个组织有大约50个雇员，总部设在博兹曼，那是一个时髦的大学城，那里有渔民和登山运动员，手工咖啡和牛油果吐司，到美国草原保护区最近的地方只需往西南方开四个小时。他们大部分的捐赠人都来自更远的地方--硅谷、纽约市和德国。一些人乘直升机来居住在保护区的奢华的圆顶帐篷里，那里装饰着皮革、家具、枝形吊灯和亚麻桌布。“来自东海岸的大人物们告诉我们应当怎样生活。”拉特雷说。

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.

科学家们提到了景观的生态承载力：栖息地、饲料、猎物和其他的因素会决定这片土地上能生存多少野生动物。但是对野心勃勃的保护机构来说，社会承载力--社会对改变的容忍度--也是一个限制因素。