Rick was one of the first professors I met at MSU.  Generous with his time and counsel, he greatly influenced my career.   And it was a treat to teach with Rick.  Here is the beginning of a fifty-year friendship with a fine scholar. I met Rick in 1969 while teaching economic anthropology at Indiana University… Read more: Rick Stroup Eulogy

Ranching with, but not for Money: Enjoying Liberty, Ecology and Prosperity   Here are some thoughts for another fine spring day.  I made them while living on a ranch in Montana, the most remote of Americas’ lower 48 states.  The cost of distance, once a huge liability to those living here, has dropped immensely.  Here’s… Read more: Ranching with, but not for Money: Enjoying Liberty, Ecology and Prosperity

Correcting a Stereotype of Newcomers to Montana Stereotypes generally have some factual basis.  They economize on information and decision making.  For example, caution arises if you and your family are at a highway rest stop and a bunch of motorcyclists pull in wearing black leather jackets.  Especially so if the patches on the jacket backs… Read more: Introducing a Welcome Newcomer

Enjoying a Montana Festival: The 42nd Annual Hyline Angus Bull Sale at the Headwaters Arena I enjoy introducing friends to traditional Montana experiences.   A friend, Jeremy Carl, joined me in a trip to the Van Dyke family’s 42nd annual Hyline Angus Bull Sale at Headwaters Arena near Three Forks.  This event is more than a… Read more: The Hyline Bull Sale: An annual Montana Festival

            Beautiful and valuable registered cows from Bozeman’s Hyline Angus Ranch are grazing our ranch. These cows are on winter range and usually out of sight.  Weighing over half a ton, 1,250 pounds on average, a 30-pound coyote poses no risk.  However a large white wolf is on the prowl. This presents a… Read more: Wolf predation of livestock: A First World problem and with important lessons about prosperity

Enjoying the Messiah in Australia: Technological Blessings of the Christmas Holiday  Ramona and I have a long tradition of attending Bozeman’s Messiah Community Sing.  We find it especially satisfying to share it with Christian and Jewish friends and we always adjourn to a fine dinner.   This satisfying package of blessings was not available this year.… Read more: Enjoying the Messiah in Australia: Technological Blessings of the Christmas Holiday

Climate Change in Paradise  I recently spoke to eighteen Article III federal judges.  They gathered at Sage Lodge, Pray, Montana to join a colloquium organized by the Law and Economics Center (LEC) of George Mason University.  This highly respected organization was founded in 1974 to bring economic understanding to the study of law.   By 1999… Read more: Climate Change in Paradise

Ecology and Economics for Religious Leaders       Mule Deer Buck in John and Ramona’s wheat field It’s harvest season in much of America, and the nation’s houses of worship are filled with prayers of thanksgiving for nature’s bounty. Calls for commitments to honor God’s Creation are highly appropriate. How can we best accomplish this… Read more: Ecology and Economics for Religious Leaders

CELEBRATING PERC’s 40TH ANNIVERSARY   The Property and Environment Research Center, PERC, is a free-market think tank and public-policy training, information and influence center.  It is celebrating its 40th anniversary as the world’s most influential market-oriented environmental center.  No other organization comes close. *    PERC developed from a “Center of Excellence” at Montana State… Read more: Harmonizing Liberty, Ecology and Prosperity

Coronavirus’s Earth Day Threat In 1970 I helped organize the first Earth Day at Indiana University.  The initial Earth Day was a “youth quake”.  Working out of the University of Wisconsin, a staff of 85 people mobilized some ten million American college students.  The event mixed protest and celebration.   Good intentions mingled with error and… Read more: Coronavirus’s Earth Day Threat

Thinking clearly about gun policy isn’t easy.  It’s a highly complex subject with heavy emotional baggage.  These are ingredients for error and acrimony.  And in the case of guns, often strong condemnation of those supporting private ownership of guns.   Susan Vass, aka, Ammo Grrrll, or AG, is a columnist I enjoy and respect.  Her “Thoughts… Read more: Thoughts from the AMMO Line

I hope you enjoy the current issue of the Gallatin History Quarterly  https://www.gallatinhistorymuseum.org/ Two of the articles came directly from FREE’s programs.  These are my “Bozeman Must be a Chicago hotel…” and MSU Professor Jerry Johnson’s account of Grizzly Bear restoration and economic progress in Greater Yellowstone.  FREE supported half of the printing costs of this issue. … Read more: “Bozeman? That Must Be a Chicago Hotel”

FREE promotes responsible liberty, sustainable ecology and modest prosperity.   Working from Bozeman and a Gallatin Valley ranch for over forty years, we host seminars and conferences for Article III federal judges, academics, and environmental leaders.  We give habitat tours on the ranch and cooperate with other think tanks.  They include the Acton Institute in Grand… Read more: Luther’s Apple Tree

Giving Thanks for Kindness  Thanksgiving Day is a grand American tradition.  It dates from 1621 when native Americans shared food with four dozen Pilgrims. It’s likely these gifts saved the Pilgrims from winter starvation.  That set a fine precedent for kindness. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to… Read more: Giving Thanks for Kindness

A classist explains, “Why They hate Trump” Victor David Hanson is a sixth-generation farmer who earned a Ph D in classics from Stanford University.  Farmers converts sunshine into food for humans and other animals. Hanson’s specialty is growing raisin grapes.   What about his work in classics? Classics is the study of the early Greco-Roman world. … Read more: Classical Perspectives on the Trump Derangement Syndrome

Help Wanted signs are now even more common than No Hunting Signs. This has positive implications for people who want to hunt our place.  We don’t charge dollars to hunt here, say $125 per person for deer and $500 to hunt elk.  Instead, we trade hunting rights for work on our recreation land and waters.  … Read more: How to Improve your Hunting Access 2019

The Gallatin Valley’s physical and ecological character is substantially defined by three mountain ranges.   They feed three world renowned trout streams, the Gallatin, Jefferson and Madison rivers.  Hundreds of miles of Irrigation canals built a century or more ago gave birth to and annually recharge a great many spring creeks, marshes, and quiescent waters teaming… Read more: The Ecology of Success

I am pleased to be working with The Goodman Institute as a contributing author, here is a link to my first piece http://www.libertyandecology.org/protecting-our-natural-surroundings/.  The Goodman Institute was founded by economist John Goodman, Ph. D.  His new blog, http://www.libertyandecology.org and his pioneering work in health economics and entitlements.  His new blog fosters appreciation and protection of the environment using the… Read more: Protecting Nature and Wholesome Lives

Losing a Wallet in a Culture of Trust Last week I dropped my wallet while walking out of the Frugal Frame Shop on Bozeman’s West Main Street.  Two young people were outside, one on a lift.  They were putting up a new sign just above the entrance door.   I said “Hi”, when walking in.  “Nice… Read more: Losing a Wallet

Traditionally, America’s Fourth of July celebrations are filled with fun, frivolities, and fireworks.    For many people in Montana the Fourth also marks the start of summer activities.   The significance of Independence Day, the launching of America’s great attempt to foster liberty and prosperity, rarely receives deserved attention.   This neglect is an oversight for America… Read more: Celebrating Independence Eve