When shows are focused on a place, such as the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, it’s important to keep in mind that while Montana is, in theory, a real place, the characters and situations that happen in are not. You wouldn’t go to a fancy Chicago restaurant hoping or head to an Italian resort to get a glimpse of hotel, would you? No, because those places aren’t real (Chicago might be, but who knows for sure?). But fans are an entirely different type of person: they wear cowboy hats and don’t mess around.
Locals in Bozeman, Montana claim that the show’s popularity has been causing fans to flock to the city, which is becoming a headache for anyone who actually owns a real ranch. Bozeman Police Chief Jim Velkamp told that the influx of out-of-towners has actually had a negative impact on the city. “I think overall for us specifically with the city of Bozeman it’s just the growth and the challenges related to growth .
.. that is our biggest challenge,’ Velkamp said.
“Our city has grown so fast. Bozeman wasn’t literally on the map, now it’s a well-known place.” Velkamp said that the show definitely helped make Bozeman a desirable destination, which has its drawbacks.
“I can’t blame one single factor, I certainly can’t attribute it all to the show , but we hear it routinely,” he continued. “The fact that our population is going up so fast means the numbers of crimes are going up fast. We simply need more capacity and bandwidth to keep up with those number.