Last Fourth of July weekend I hiked up Mt. Baldy, a low summit in the small yet lovely Bridger Mountain Range just north of Bozeman, Montana. I started the hike from the “M” trailhead, surely the most traveled trail in Gallatin County. Mt. Baldy too is a popular local destination. One expects company out on […]
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I’m writing soon after the invasion of Iraq began. I’m scheduled to travel before this appears. What can I say that’s neither trite nor obsolete, but surely true? First, few adults live here by accident or assignment. We have consciously, deliberately elected to live in the Northern Rockies. The reasons carry a common theme; attraction […]
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A question for the reader: Does the development of land inherently degrade our shared social and environmental values? If you answer yes, I would agree that it typically does. But, does it have to? I believe not. It is possible to harness development as a tool to serve and protect those same values. This question […]
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At our ski hill I recently overheard one of my friends, Duke Brown, tell a refugee couple from Denver that “this is the perfect place to live.” Mr. Brown holds a good position, lives the good life, skis, mountain bikes, and guides fly-fishing clients. My friend is an excellent ambassador-in-residence. I’m glad he is here […]
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The Kalispell Daily Inter Lake lamented the closing of the Stimson mill in Libby: “When the centerpiece of Montana’s timber basket loses its last mill, industry watchers say the impacts will be profound.” It tells us even Montana’s best timberland can’t compete with the Southeast and Pacific Northwest. The laws of silviculture dictate that trees […]
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When I was in college, average income in Montana ranked in the top 10 of American states. Now we’re in the bottom 10, along with Mississippi and Arkansas. The reasons are clear. Our once prosperous basic industries–ag, forestry, and mining–are, and have been, in hard times. This is most unlikely to change. That’s the reality. […]
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Does the Bush administration care about the environment or the sensitivities of conservation-minded voters? On western public lands issues environmental groups have successfully portrayed the Bush administration as pandering to the old Sagebrush Rebels and Wise Use constituencies. And although Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey is a former lobbyist for the timber industry, his plan to […]
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During our recent snowstorm I backed into a pickup, nicking its rear fender. I waited about 15 minutes but the driver didn’t appear. Time is precious so I left my name and phone number on the windshield and reported the damage to my insurance company, Farm Bureau. I explained my fault, gave them the vehicle’s […]
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One of life’s greatest challenges is educating our children for an unknown future. Historically, people expected the future to be much like the past. This predictability is long past. How can we cope and responsibly prepare our youth for the unknown? It’s helpful to understand economic forces and anticipate opportunities. We can learn from Montana’s […]
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Finally, after decades of waving good-bye to children leaving for jobs in other states, we can replace sorry stories with happier endings. Since WWII, Montana’s most valuable export has been its educated children. Many, perhaps most, left reluctantly. Why, then, did they leave? Usually because the opportunities gained were too valuable to resist. The better […]
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