Arthur Rothstein. Cowhands at dinner during the roundup [Burton Brewster in far right background]. Quarter Circle U Brewster-Arnold Ranch, near Birney, Montana, June 1939

"All of our land is now leased to coal companies for possible future development. It’s been my favorite saying here for the past few years that the most pollution we would have from the coal boom would be ‘people pollution.’ And so far we’ve been much more polluted by environmentalists harassing us than by coal miners. Course the coal mines haven’t moved into my particular area, yet. We’ve got five or six mines within fifty miles of us.

The only effect ranching people have felt is in trouble hiring labor because of the high wages the coal companies pay. There’s nobody wants to work on a ranch. That’s why this ranch now is operated almost entirely by members of the family. We have 24,000 deeded acres. With our Forest Service permit and Bureau of Land Management permit and a little state land, we’re operating on a little over 40,000 acres. On that we run 1,800 cattle. On roundup, we have to use a plane to see where the stragglers are. Then we can dispatch people to bring them in rather than ride the whole range again. I’m 77, and I still have an active pilot’s license."

—BURTON BREWSTER