By MATTHEW BROWN

Associated Press

LEWISTOWN, Mont. (AP) -- Rural residents of eastern Montana say they are digging in for a protracted fight against the possible designation of another national monument in the region.

At a Friday forum hosted by Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, several ranchers said a tentative monument proposal from the Interior Department would fragment their communities and take away ranching opportunities.

An internal agency memo revealed in February that 14 sites across the West were being eyed for possible monuments. That includes 2.5 million acres of northeastern Montana prairie land proposed as a possible bison range.

Malta-area rancher Vicki Olson is organizing ranchers and local businesses to oppose the idea. She says it might create more service-oriented jobs but at the expense of agriculture.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.