Under Montana state law, counties must adopt a Growth Policy. A Growth Policy is the community’s long-term vision of what it wants to look like in the future, and the goals and strategies it will use to achieve that vision. A Growth Policy does not contain regulations – it guides the actions the County will take to manage growth in the future. To reach the County’s goals and achieve its vision, growth management tools such as subdivision regulations, zoning, and infrastructure plans are then used to implement the Growth Policy. Gallatin County’s Growth Policy contains goals of conserving water quality, important wildlife habitat, opens space, and productive farm and ranch lands – look to chapter 3 for the list of County goals (Current Growth Policy (4/15/03)). The overarching land use pattern called for in the Growth Policy is compact communities with open space between them, and not sprawl.