TURNER - As locals tell it on both sides of the border, the idea of a 24-hour port of entry started with "two dumb farmers" talking over the hood of a pickup truck in this isolated farming town 12 miles south of the world's longest demilitarized border.

While Jay Anderson and Alan VanVoast don't mind taking the brunt of a joke or two in this town of 199 people, their self-deprecating humor ends quickly. The two farmers have tackled the task of persuading U.S. Customs and Border Protection to turn its new port of entry at Turner into a commercial trucking facility open around the clock.

While the low number of crossings may not help their chances of success, and while they find themselves competing with other communities bidding for a 24-hour port of their own, the two well-spoken farmers have earned the backing of municipal leaders from Harlem to Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, and the newly formed Sask-Mont Rural Development Group.

Residents along the border are stuck between a push for better national security and a need to improve a lackluster rural economy. Tighter border security has been a national focus since Sept. 11, 2001. In recent years, it has only gained momentum, resulting in a series of critical security reports from the Government Accountability Office and billions in federal spending to correct shortcomings.

But others have warned that security can't take place at the expense of the nation's economy. Those on both sides of the rural Montana border are urging policy makers not to lose sight of cross-border trade and its importance to both the U.S. and Canadian economies.

Here in Turner, creating a new trucking line that links areas of the beleaguered Hi-Line to the booming oil, gas and manufacturing industries in Saskatchewan could have positive economic implications throughout the rural region. A 24-hour port, they add, would only create tighter security, since it would be staffed around the clock.

"If there was 24-hour traffic through this particular port, these small towns would benefit greatly, just from people stopping to eat or buying fuel, or giving them more hours to buy their farm supplies," Anderson said. "I was on the phone with several trucking firms out of Saskatoon and Moose Jaw. If this port was open 24 hours, it would become the port of their choice."

The Port of Turner currently operates on a seasonal schedule, open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the summer, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the winter. The closest 24-hour port into Saskatchewan sits a daunting 324 miles east at Raymond, an arduous drive during any season, but especially perilous when the snow flies.

New potential

Up here, farmers jump off their tractors to chat with strangers. The tea is served cold and the fields, when the rain comes, create a sea of green, buckled land visible in all directions.

"Up in our area, it's strictly farming," VanVoast said. "There's not a lot of potential for agricultural growth. There's no more land. So we're looking for ways to give this little town a boost and we think, logically, it's a good spot for a 24-hour port, given the closeness of the two major highways."

If nothing else, geography is on the side of those who support a 24-hour port at Turner. The post sits on State Highway 241, the shortest route between U.S. Highway 2 in Montana and Trans-Canada 1, the main route connecting Regina, Swift Current, Medicine Hat and Calgary.

Customs and Border Protection built the new port of entry at Turner back in 1992. It's one of only two facilities in Montana shared by U.S. Customs and their Canadian counterparts, and one of four in the entire agency.

The two-story facility poised on the 49th parallel is painted with race-car style striping. On the Canadian side, it's known as the Port of Climax. On the U.S. side, it's the Port of Turner. Whatever they call it, those on both sides of the border would like to see it become a pipeline, if not a lifeline, for economic trade within the region.

"I really think the key is taking a look at the commercial side of this," said David Anderson, a member of Canadian parliament representing the Cypress Hills Grasslands district. "It's the closest route from Saskatoon to California. There's a good reason why this should be given a serious look. I think having the commercial port and expanded hours would obviously increase the traffic here."

Anderson admits the world changed after 9/11. He acknowledges the need for continued security and vigilance at the border. He also points out, however, that the Saskatchewan economy is booming around energy production.

According to the Canadian Consulate General's office in Denver, Canada supplies the U.S. with 85 percent of its natural gas imports, 96 percent of its electricity imports, and 16 percent of its oil imports, with more than 2 million barrels a day coming south.

The numbers are expected to grow in the coming years as energy production in Alberta and Saskatchewan increase. Alternative fuels are also expected to come online, with shipments increasing south across the Montana border.

"We're looking at other measures of energy, including biofuels and such," said Jay Meyer, the general manager of the Cypress Hills Regional Economic Development Authority in Canada. "We're working on an ethanol plant north of the border in Shaunavon. We're definitely going to be moving product north and south. From the Canadian side, we're looking at a commercial port as much as anything."

Everyone wants a piece

For those who support a 24-hour port at Turner, the idea seems an easy one to make - just keep the facility open longer.

For Customs and Border Protection, however, it's a question not of want but rather one of traffic counts, funding and resources, which are currently limited.

The agency is looking at hard numbers, which it says don't currently warrant a multimillion-dollar investment to create a 24-hour port, regardless of the benefits it might have on surrounding communities.

"You may see increased tourist traffic coming to the U.S. from Canada to take advantage of the stronger dollar," said Larry Overcast, a 20-year veteran with CBP. "But even though we're a large agency, we have a finite number of resources. We have to deal with our border crossings like any other business."

Overcast noted a push by other trade groups across Montana's northern tier, as well as southern Canada, for a 24-hour port of their own.

Those in Morgan, about 30 miles east of Turner, believe they sit in the best position to serve the region, offering east-west access on Highway 2 and a direct north-south route between Swift Current and Billings.

Just north of Havre, backers there would also like to see the Port of Wildhorse open around the clock. Like the others, the port offers access to Highway 2 and connects Great Falls and Medicine Hat, Alberta. Of the three competing ports, Wild Horse may have the numerical advantage.

"Every location, of course, wants to have its specifics addressed," Overcast said. "We wouldn't make any decisions about a subject like that locally. We would do the research. We would convey those to the office in Great Falls, which would relay it to the regional office Seattle."

Michele James, who oversees the regional office in Seattle, admitted at a recent Senate hearing in Havre that the numbers don't add up, even at Wild Horse, which sees more vehicle traffic than either Turner or Morgan.

At the same time, she said, Customs and Border Protection isn't adverse to increasing hours of operation, so long as the resources are available.

She understands the significance of a 24-hour port, particularly for those who cross the border on a regular basis and depend on cross-border visitors for economic support.

"I fully recognize this is a very passionate issue with everyone, and I don't take this lightly," James said. "But we have these requests daily. We have to look at the limited resources we have. We have to look at the workload."

'Irreducible minimum'

Members of the Sask-Mont Rural Development Group are accustomed to occasional setbacks. Farming isn't getting any easier, and the population, at least in this slice of the continent, has slowly declined in recent years, reaching what one Harlem City Council member called an "irreducible minimum."

Harlem and Climax, Saskatchewan, located 20 miles north of the border, could be twin cities. Green fields surround the two communities, giving travelers a sense of agricultural prosperity.

But look closer and visitors will see more shuttered storefronts than welcome signs. The attitude among locals is friendly and hopeful, even if the communities appear beaten down and on the verge of disappearing.

"I remember Harlem being a bustling place, full of energy and life, and full of commerce," said Harlem City Council member Sondra Ashton, who grew up on the Hi-Line.

"Saturday night in Harlem was an exciting day. Today, Saturday in Harlem is rather dead. But if we had a 24-hour port, I think we could not only make it better, but also grow it just a little, and a little is a good thing."

Ask those who live here, and the issue has little to do with national security. Supporters of extended port access may mention it in passing, but the conversation quickly returns to economics, and that's where it stays.

"We believe it would definitely improve the transportation service for our manufacturers and our tourism," said Sharon Dickie, mayor of Shaunavon. "We're in the stages of growth because of the oil and gas development, and we're excited about that. The port would benefit Shaunavon from an economic point of view. But right now, truckers are restricted in their hours at the port, and they're using other crossings."

To view videos related to this story and browse content from both the 2007 series and this three-part series, click here.

Editor's note: It's been one year since the Independent Record's breaking and award-winning series "Big Sky, Big Border" examined national security along the northern border. Much has changed, but more remains to be done. This next installment investigates the changes in manpower, technology and commerce since last year. Click here to view more content from the series.

About the 'Big Sky, Big Border' series

The Independent Record's original "Big Sky, Big Border" series, published last September, won numerous journalism awards and contributed to improved awareness by the federal government of the potential dangers along the porous northern border.

After this series and a Government Accountability Office report highlighted the weaknesses in security along the U.S.-Canadian border, the U.S. Senate passed a $3 billion amendment to border security funding. Portions of that appropriation were spent directly on hiring new agents and examining existing and future technology to improve how the northern border is patrolled.

The IR series won two first-place awards for investigative journalism by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Montana Newspaper Association, and the series was submitted for a Pulitzer Prize in local reporting.

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair. com