New Reality Show Documentary Reflects Harsh Reality For Wittmann Residents As Warren Buffet Owned Railway Project Threatens Community And Cowboy Culture
(WITTMANN, Ariz.) It’s like an episode of Yellowstone but real. Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, owners of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), want to build a giant railroad hub which would surround the rural community of Wittmann, Arizona on three sides.
The $3.2 billion project would encompass more than 4,000 acres, destroying Wittmann’s unique open spaces, clean air, and cowboy culture that has managed to survive the urban sprawl that has destroyed so much of Arizona.
The men, women, and families who live in Wittmann, many of whom raise horses and livestock, are struggling to save their community. They are working with documentary film producer Reece O’Connor to tell their story and the story of a community fighting for survival. “The Lost Cowboys” is an ongoing reality series that chronicles the lives of Wittmann residents who want to preserve a cowboy culture that has survived in Wittmann for decades.
To view episode one click on this link.
The first episode entitled Cowboys Vs. Corporate Profits profiles residents such as Kirby Anderson, Riley Minor, Lyle Delp and countless others, giving viewers a look at horse and cattle ranching, rodeo training, and wide-open spaces that once flourished all over Arizona.
These residents come from all walks of life. And they had no way of seeing this coming. Much of the land in Wittmann was never zoned for a giant railroad hub and the massive warehouses, hazardous materials, and pollution that go with it.
The railroad and Buffett are trying to convince the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to change the zoning to accommodate the project.
Anderson said, “If this project moves forward Wittmann as we know it will be lost forever, and another piece of Arizona’s cowboy culture will have vanished. I don’t know if anyone has looked around lately, but there aren’t many pieces left. This documentary may be the last look at a vanishing way of life.”