I have two friends who are salmon innovators. On Al Adams’ quarter-acre lot I watched two species of salmon and a foot-long steelhead living in 50 linear feet of water. I think Al and Jerry Manuel represent a future for native fisheries in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone area. Al and Jerry developed a backyard […]

A year ago I wrote: “Urban and affluent newcomers to our region bring an utterly different value system for the land. To them, commodity extraction is inferior to the amenity value of land — scenery, recreation, open space, fish and wildlife, wilderness. Rather than the ‘boomers’ decried by [Wallace] Stegner, we now attract landscape architects […]

On March 14, the Wall Street Journal ran a 12-page special on the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The feature story by Stefan Fatsis, “Where Are They Now,” followed the post-tournament career of Mississippi State University’s 1996 Final Four team. (It ranged from prison to college administration.) Fatsis described tensions inherent to melding academic and athletic goals. […]

Contrary to recent rumors and reports in the New York Times, environmentalism is not dead. An essay declaring it so, “The Death of Environmentalism,” has sparked an intense debate. Environmentalism is in trouble — but not for the reasons claimed. Modern environmentalism evolved from the radical social movements of the late 1960s. As a social […]

High human capital is critical to future success. Forty years ago, Montana’s per capita income ranked in the middle of the states. Now we are near the bottom. Here’s why. Montana’s traditional economic base of agriculture, forest products, and metals has dramatically declined and has no prospects for future growth. This is the result of […]

The International Energy Agency projects 65 percent growth in world energy demand by 2020. Two questions pop up: How will we meet this energy demand and what are the environmental consequences of our choices? When we consider these issues we confront three vexing realities. First, fossil fuels (i.e., oil and coal) are our cheapest, most […]

Bozeman’s extended spell of vernal temperatures spurs thoughts of global warming. The preponderance of scientific evidence shows that for whatever reasons (human-induced carbon emissions, natural climatic variation), average global temperatures are increasing. The important question is: What do we do about it? The most common arguments revolve around reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. But this […]

Bozeman is home to close to fifty nonprofits. Together, they contribute to our social and economic well-being and offer an arena for civic involvement. Nonprofits offer public goods free from the constraints of the market or government regulation. Nonprofit organizations produce incalculable benefits. Bridger Bowl is one such example. Yet, I am concerned about the […]

It’s an accident of geology that most of the world’s proven reserves of low-cost oil are in unfriendly or politically unstable countries. This reality prompts calls to “reduce our dependence on foreign oil.” A recent article in Slate magazine describes an alliance of Iraq war hawks seeking to reduce American dollars flowing to oil-rich Islamic […]

Here’s a true, important, universal generalization: Across time and cultures, water normally flows uphill toward money. What are the implications for our area? Let’s first consider Yellowstone Park. The thermal features of Yellowstone are fed by aquifers that reach and recharge far beyond Park boundaries. Yellowstone would still be magnificent, but it would be much […]