The Council is proud and honored to support the BLM’s video and interpretive display of the historic settlement of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.  Long before the area was proclaimed a National Monument in 2001, families like the Darlingtons, Andersons, Wortmans, and others recognized the unique beauty and splendor of the Middle Reach, bringing their families here in the early 1900s and creating a heritage of hard work, respect for the land, and dedication to the rural communities they helped establish.  The BLM project will include a 24-minute video featuring interviews with descendants of the area’s original homesteaders, local experts, and others with historical ties to the Monument.  The professionally produced video will be suitable for broadcast and will be available at the BLM Interpretive Center in Fort Benton.  Additionally, the project will include interpretive signs throughout the Monument that highlight and describe homestead sites, domestic life, agricultural endeavors, early use of the rivers and roads for transportation and shipping, and establishment of near-by communities.  Interviews and filming will take place in July and August 2008 with production of the video completed by the end of 2008 and the interpretive signs ready for installation by April 2009.