One of the most remote regions in the contiguous United States, the Upper Missouri River Breaks in the Northern Great Plains of Montana is both “cattle country” and “pristine prairie”: an identity that brings repeated tension over land use. Over the last twenty years, a conservation organization with a mission to rewild the region has purchased thousands of acres of ranchland from willing sellers despite widespread agricultural community resistance. In this study, I interview those who chose to sell and those who chose to stay, and I ask how landowners justify their decisions to sell, or not sell, their land. By using what C. Wright Mills calls “vocabularies of motive,” I investigate two central questions. The first asks why a landowner would sell land against what social norms would dictate to be “right.” The second asks why a landowner would not sell land, given the perceived inevitable eventual loss of a regional agricultural livelihood. I suggest one way to understand these questions is by considering how senses of place shape what decision‐makers believe to be the most justifiable course of action. Extending the vocabulary of motive framework to include senses of place better informs the understanding of land sale decision‐making. Though deeply contextual, the themes running through this case (i.e., ongoing existential threats to the agricultural industry, booms in the buying power of private philanthropists, and decision making in socially and politically contentious spaces) are relevant to a broader understanding of shifts within agricultural communities and the ongoing perceived “battle” between production and conservation.

中文翻译：

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迈向动机的词源：北部大平原的地方感和土地销售决策*


蒙大拿州北部大平原的密苏里河上游断流是美国本土最偏远的地区之一，既是“牛之乡”，也是“原始草原”：这一身份在土地使用方面反复带来紧张局势。在过去的 20 年里，一个以恢复该地区野化为使命的保护组织不顾农业社区的广泛抵制，从愿意出售的卖家那里购买了数千英亩的牧场。在这项研究中，我采访了那些选择出售和选择留下的人，我询问了土地所有者如何证明他们出售或不出售土地的决定是合理的。通过使用 C. Wright Mills 所说的“动机词汇”，我研究了两个核心问题。第一个问题是为什么土地所有者会违反社会规范所要求的“正确”来出售土地。第二个问题是，鉴于人们认为区域农业生计最终不可避免地会丧失，为什么土地所有者不愿意出售土地。我建议理解这些问题的一种方法是考虑地方感如何影响决策者认为最合理的行动方案。扩展动机框架的词汇以包括地方感，可以更好地为理解土地出售决策提供信息。尽管背景深刻，但贯穿本案的主题（即农业产业面临的持续生存威胁、私人慈善家购买力的激增以及社会和政治争议领域的决策）与更广泛地理解农业社区内部的变化以及生产和保护之间正在进行的感知“战斗”有关。