Romance versus Finance on Public Lands Introduction by John Baden, PhD, Chm. FREE Here are two important truths to consider when managing America’s “romance lands”: First, the values that economists measure best are not those that matter most. It is relatively easy to measure or estimate the values of commodities extracted from […]
Read MoreBozeman’s Montana State University created the Wonderlust program for adults interested in exploring intriguing topics. While open to all, the majority of “students” are accomplished retirees with intellectual and historical interests. Retired professor John Baden is offering a Wonderlust course, “Yellowstone and the Second Century of Our National Parks,” beginning September 12th. It will meet […]
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FREE’s work on Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, links ecology, liberty and prosperity. This summer we are engaged with MSU professor Jerry Johnson on a new project, Ecology and Prosperity in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We are exploring how sustainable, largely natural ecosystems, have become engines of prosperity. This is mainly because amenity […]
Read MoreIntroduction by John Baden FREE has recently received a substantial gift. It enables us to expand our work to conserve important values linked to America’s parks, wildlands, forests, range, wildlife, and waters. The focus of the project is Greater Yellowstone. This continues work begun at MSU four decades ago in its Center for Political Economy […]
Read MoreIntroduction by John Baden, Chairman, FREE My friend and colleague, professor Jerry Johnson of Montana State University, just returned from two inspiring trips. One was to Lake Iliamna, the largest lake in Alaska. The other was the Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s (GYC) first 400-mile bike trip through the Greater Yellowstone area. Jerry’s essay below focuses on the […]
Read MoreIn the now classic The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups (1965) the author Mancur Olson wrote: “(O)nly a separate and ‘selective’ incentive will stimulate a rational individual in a latent group to act in a group-oriented way”; that is, members of a large group will not act in the […]
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David Parker has done a commendable job lately of covering the impact of big money in the Tester/Rehberg race. I fully expect a variation of Gresham’s law to apply as negative ads funded by outside groups drive away a civil discussion on issues important to Montana and the west. Here is one version of how […]
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In 1966, on a rainy summer day in the French Alps, Yvon Chouinard tested over a dozen ice axes to see if he could improve on the traditional design. He did, and with this innovation and dozens of others he transformed the outdoor recreation industry. If you own a pile coat, thank Yvon: he brought […]
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If you drive, chances are you have damaged a car. Maybe, through no fault of your own, a fender was damaged or, as happened to me, a violent hailstorm dimpled your car like a large golf ball. What’s next? You make an insurance claim, cash the settlement check, and make a decision to fix or […]
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The Gallatin Valley is truly a great place to build a life. As John Baden recently observed, the community is growing richer in civic culture, and access to high-quality amenities is easy. But might it also be an “ecological trap”? If it is, let’s understand it in hopes of helping folks avoid it. Here are […]
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