{"id":262580,"date":"2026-03-02T08:56:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/?p=262580"},"modified":"2026-03-02T11:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:03:22","slug":"where-does-eastern-montana-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2026\/03\/02\/where-does-eastern-montana-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Where does eastern Montana start? Montanans disagree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This piece is part of MTFP’s 2026 poll week<\/a>, where we’re exploring data on how Montana voters feel about their elected officials, environmental concerns, immigration enforcement and other issues.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montana is, in many ways, a land of two halves: a western Montana of snow-capped mountains and national forests and an eastern Montana of wide-open plains and flatland agriculture.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a time-honored divide: peaks versus plains, Missoula versus Miles City, Flathead versus Fort Peck lakes. But where exactly would Montanans place the dividing line?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out, there\u2019s no clear point of consensus \u2014 at least according to an MTFP-Eagleton poll conducted this winter, which asked Montana voters about that crucial geography question alongside weighty issues like the president\u2019s immigration policy and support for a statewide sales tax<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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None of the options we presented as eastern Montana\u2019s official starting point \u2014 ranging from the Continental Divide to the city of Billings \u2014 garnered approval from more than a third of respondents. Billings was the closest, at 31%.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Next up was the Continental Divide, which snakes along mountain ranges from just south of the state\u2019s western \u201cnose,\u201d before passing east of Butte, west of Helena and northward through Glacier National Park. That\u2019s Montana\u2019s portion, of course, of the hemispheric Continental Divide, which extends from the Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska to the Strait of Magellan in Chile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly a fifth of Montanans, 18%, named the Divide the best dividing line on our list. That would place the state capital of Helena, in eastern Montana alongside Dillon and Havre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other respondents split among points between the Divide and Billings: Bozeman, Great Falls, Livingston and Lewistown. None of those options garnered more than 12% support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few others cheekily declined to pick one of the options on our list, offering their own descriptions instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One respondent said eastern Montana is \u201cthe mostly flat part.\u201d A few others cited the Rocky Mountain Front, where the mountains meet plains \u2014 most prominently to the west of Great Falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others named extremes: The North Dakota state line in one case (i.e., Montana\u2019s eastern border). Lincoln County in another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the record: Lincoln County, where Libby is the county seat, is nestled up against Idaho in Montana\u2019s Northwest corner \u2014 a definition that would put Kalispell and Missoula in eastern Montana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think you can do better with an Eastern Montana definition? We\u2019d love to hear how you\u2019d draw the line and why. Assuming we get enough insightful \u2014 or at least creative \u2014 responses, we\u2019ll mention the best ones in Friday\u2019s edition of our <\/em>Lowdown newsletter<\/em><\/a>. Email your submissions to news@montanafreepress.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tOTHER POLL STORIES<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
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75% of voters want Montana to have at least as much federal land as it does now<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t

Federal land transfer has been a party of the GOP party platform at both the state and national level, but a recent MTFP-Eagleton poll indicates that a majority of Republican voters oppose reducing the amount of land in federal ownership.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Amanda Eggert<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Montanans want more solar, natural gas development, are less interested in new coal plants<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t

The poll results on Montana\u2019s energy mix come as politicians and policymakers grapple with surging electricity demand spurred by investment in artificial intelligence and the data centers that support it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Amanda Eggert<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Poll week: How Montanans feel about sales tax, immigration and state officials<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t

We polled Montana voters on an array of issues. Results will roll out the week of March 2.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> MTFP Staff<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t