Romanticism and nostalgia; everyone who lives in the Gallatin Valley seems to develop one or both. In the face of dramatic growth, residents lament that the area can’t be frozen at some point in time. For some, that point would recall a farming and ranching population to a place where the cultural center was a […]
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FREE just completed a conference for religious leaders, “The Environmental Economics of Creation Stewardship.” Participants came from a dozen states and even more denominations. All agreed we are indeed blessed to live here. Hiking, riding, and rafting near Gallatin Gateway testify to an environment worth conserving. And this is a great place to learn how […]
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I lived in Seattle during the academic years of the early 1990s. Ramona and I had sold our half band of breeding ewes (A band of sheep is 1,000 animals.), but ran a few dozen horses on our winter range. A good neighbor fed and monitored the horses while another friend lived in the manager’s […]
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We recently joined friends in exploring unused railroad lines in northern Idaho. This is part of my new research project on the economic and cultural history of a changing West. The “rails to trails” concept has the potential to counter fiscal constraints. The conversion of railroad rights of way to bike trails illustrates creative and […]
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The American Prairie Foundation (APF) may be America’s most ambitious conservation organization. I’ve long admired it from afar, provided modest support, and hope to visit the area again. Getting there, however, is quite the trek. Here’s how the Spokesman Review described the reserve’s location: “To reach the refuge, tourists are going to have to travel […]
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Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “Success is a journey, not a destination.” Given that my journey landed me here in Bozeman working with the Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment (FREE), I consider both my journey and destination to be wildly successful. During the upcoming months it will be my pleasure to work with […]
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Our interns and research students are smart, fun, active, and presentable. Some have come from the MSU Honors program, others from the Ivies or other top schools such as Duke or University of Virginia. They work hard and enjoy our conferences with federal judges, seminary professors, and other religious leaders. Nearly all go on to […]
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From the Financial Times Published: May 10 2011 The accident at Fukushima was a test for the global environmental movement. Concern about global warming over the past decade led many greens to reconsider their long-standing opposition to nuclear power. But old habits die hard. Caught between their anti-nuclear sentiments and their increasingly apocalyptic fears of […]
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Despite April snows, I find spring a fine time to be here. I know it’s spring for the Sand Hill cranes have returned to our place. One pair has long claimed an island on one of our ponds. The hen began nesting on Easter—after driving off trespassing geese. The male has less luck when fighting […]
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Steve Hayward’s column below makes one wonder how noted environmental professionals, and even scientists, can be so, how can I say it gently, remarkably ignorant and intellectually arrogant as this: “Economics is a form of brain damage.” Economics isn’t an ideology or a mental affliction. Rather, it’s the systematic study of allocating scarce resources among […]
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