Development News | New West Network

Bison Update

As changing land use and attitudes toward bison open the possibility for reduced conflict between bison, cattle and humans on the west side of Yellowstone National Parl, a potential deal on the north side of the park could allow bison to follow a traditional migration corridor for the first time in a long time. But the deal is short some $1.5 million from the federal government, and it is also not without criticism from bison advocates.  [more]

Bison Management

Yellowstone Park and the Montana Department of Livestock sent this winter’s 991st bison to slaughter on Tuesday morning, and as the Billings Gazette reported, that number paired with the 166 killed in state and tribal hunts means nearly one quarter of the park’s 4,700 bison have been killed this winter. This year’s tally is the largest number of bison killed in a single winter, but not the highest percentage, which occurred in the 1996-97 winter when nearly one-third of the park’s 3,500 bison were killed. Park spokesman Al Nash said the park’s bison management strategies ensure genetic diversity and described the park’s bison population as “robust.”

Meanwhile, 69 landowners in the Horse Butte area filed a letter with Earthjustice addressed to four Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) signatories demanding all haze and slaughter operations in the Horse Butte area cease until an Environmental Impact Statement addresses the changing nature of the now cattle-free peninsula.

And if bison weren’t in the news enough, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle is reporting the Animal Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) doesn’t have the federal funds to complete a grazing lease on the Royal Teton Ranch, which would allow bison to access about 7,500 acres of winter habitat north of Gardiner.  [more]

Defining Urban and Rural Dialogue

The Western landscape is viewed with different economic, social and recreational values, depending on your livelihood and residence. But can we share the same sense of place? Susan Duncan continues her discussion of urban and rural inhabitants, but this time, with examples of common grounds and shared dialogues that assist in understanding each other.

A shared sense of place evolves from dialogue in an atmosphere of mutual respect for differing views.

How much do you know about the people and places that surround you and the forces that affect your daily life? What does it mean (to you and others) to live in this place? How can you and your neighbors work together to adapt to the forces of change to protect what is important to you?

The result of this exploration is a shared sense of place. A shared sense of place is a large jigsaw puzzle in three dimensions – urban, rural, and public land. Your job is to find where you fit into the whole.  [more]

Across State Lines as a regional whole

The 25 counties that comprise of the Yellowstone-Teton region of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana may be separated by state lines, but all share common amenities: high-quality natural areas, extensive amount of public lands, large wildlife populations and plentiful outdoor recreation.

But this also subjects the region’s economy to seasonal fluctuation — a shared challenge between both the rural and urban centers. How does this region, which shares similar environment and economic drives, understand and coordinate with each other in order to turn on the off-season?

The Yellowstone Business Partnership recently completed the first phase of a research project to characterize and analyze off-season assets and economic opportunities in the region. Therefore, local businesses and governments can grasp the regional growth trends and build an understanding across jurisdictional boundaries and vast geography. The recently completed report can be found here.   [more]

FireSafe Montana Conference

The wildfire issue is a pressing one in the New West. Fire seasons are getting longer and drier by the year, fires are more severe, and, to top it off, the modern western migration is bringing an unprecedented influx of homes into the wildland-urban interface (WUI).

As wildland fire suppression operations increasingly consume dwindling Forest Service budgets and taxpayers grow ever wearier of footing the pricey bill of defending homes in the WUI, the onus for preparation and protection is increasingly falling on homeowners and local communities.

In 2006, interested parties from the public and private sector gathered in Helena at the Montana Communities and Wildfire Conference to begin a new discussion on the WUI and the West’s changing fire seasons. According to organizers, participants expressed overwhelming support for the formation of a non-governmental non-profit to perform public education, outreach and on-the-ground assistance in wildfire mitigation in the WUI. The result is FireSafe Montana, which held its first annual conference in Bozeman this week.  [more]

Documentary Looks at Wolf Reintroduction

No wildlife species is as iconic and controversial as the wolf. Canis Lupus is a symbol of wildness and healthy ecosystems to some, but to others it is a callous killer and an economic threat.

Loathed and loved, the American Gray Wolf has gone through a tumultuous history in the West. They were hunted as vermin to virtual extinction by the early 20th Century, reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, and now are around 1,500-strong across the Northern Rockies. Biologists say wolves are officially recovered in the West and should be removed from the Endangered Species List, but – true to form – disagreements over wolf management between pro-wolf and anti-wolf groups has delisting at a standstill.

In 1999, journalist William Campbell began a documentary film to tell the story of what wolf reintroduction meant for people living in wolf territory. The result, “Wolves in Paradise,” sheds invaluable light on this story, giving a face and a voice to the many people trying to live with this species.  [more]

Introducing...

Driving past most any Western city these days is a little like watching those time-lapse films back in grade school. Empty fields become bulldozed lots become framed houses become finished homes with trucks in the driveway and new grass in the yard.

It’s a time of dramatic change in the Mountain West. And I’m excited to say that we at NewWest.Net are now launching a quarterly print magazine to help us tell the big story of growth and change in the region.

The best way to check out our magazine is to subscribe. We want to know who’s interested in The New West, so we have made the magazine available free to qualified subscribers who answer a short questionnaire.

• Click here for the questionnaire for a free subscription.
• You can also subscribe for $9.95 a year by clicking here.

We’d love to hear your input and feedback on our new venture. Comments? Criticism? Story ideas? I’d love to hear them. You can email me at . And click “more” below for the full announcement. 

Preserving Eden

Editor's Note: As the City of Bozeman and Gallatin County undertake the monumental tasks of steering growth in the Gallatin Valley and beyond, a renewed responsibility falls on the valley's citizens to become part of the process to ensure their property rights, make their values heard and preserve the economies, community spirit and environmental values that make living here so great. In this ongoing series on NewWest.Net/Bozeman, Susan Duncan begins a new discussion on redefining the relationship between rural and urban. As Duncan explains, the two are mutually dependent.

It’s the $64,000 question. The query everybody wants the answer to: “What can we do to keep this place the ‘Eden’ that it is?”

Want to see a real leader on this issue? Look in the mirror. It is time for each one of us to step up to the plate and lead.  [more]