Shortly after Rick Stroup and I established the Center for Political Economy and Natural Resources at Montana State University, we received a major grant to host national conferences on resource economics. A foundation president advised me to consult with an LA media expert. I dutifully called him. He asked if we were going to hold […]

Each Friday my colleagues and I produce a column for the following Wednesday. Mine of November 3rd, the day after our election, anticipated election results and suggested constructive reflections. The following day, November 4th, I surveyed 20-plus folks who often read my column. Alas, only two had read the latest. It was like a morning […]

Writing before it occurs, what can I say about yesterday’s election? In this arena, modesty and circumspection come naturally. Yet, I am confident of a few important features of our emerging political economy. Here’s the history from which I write. Ramona and I spent the Wednesday after the 2000 election in the Lima, Peru airport. […]

Here are three important issues confronting our community, region, and state: the 911 and open space bonds and the 147 referendum to repeal the ban on cyanide mining. We dial 911 when things go, or threaten to go, off the rails. It’s our link to first responders. Here are two personal examples. On a Sunday […]

Rapidly growing small towns like Bozeman face choices with long-term consequences for their communities. Next month, Gallatin County residents will be asked to consider its second open space bond initiative. While I tend to favor preserving open space, I also recognize there are tradeoffs. Alas, not all cherished values are free. To get some things […]

I was asked by a friend about my position on I-147, the initiative to repeal Montana’s ban on cyanide heap leach mining. He knows I am a strong supporter of free markets. He thought I would support repealing the ban, for it would generate jobs. He’s certainly wrong about my position, but his misunderstanding of […]

Many of us who love our region consider Wallace Stegner our most perceptive and insightful observer and constructive critic. He chastised a political economy and culture that fostered “boomers,” folks who high-graded, exploited, then bailed out. He admonished us to create a society worthy of our scenery and urged us to foster “nesters,” individuals who […]

In 1968 I had the immense good fortune to work with Garrett Hardin, a distinguished ecologist. His Science article, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” is the most reprinted article in the magazine’s history. Together, Garrett and I produced a book in print for nearly 20 years, Managing the Commons. (A second edition is published by […]

Think tanks challenge conventional wisdom and generate alternatives. Gallatin Writers and FREE seek innovative solutions to difficult environmental and economic problems. In this spirit we sponsor the Wallace Stegner Essay Contest. Here are the results for 2004. Wallace Stegner claimed that he was born to write one story — the story of the “boomer” and […]

Two years ago my cousin Antonio Glassberg lost a battle to cancer. He was 21. Although my uncle lost his only child at an unbearably young age, the most horrific part of his passing was not his youth, but the circumstances surrounding his death. Antonio’s intensive chemotherapy treatment caused endless pain. He often couldn’t sleep […]