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Join the Conversation. Shape the Future of the Rockies.

Here at NewWest, we’re gearing up for great conference, Planning in the West, and this year’s 2nd annual event will be a platform for insightful conversation and valuable tools for shaping the future of the region.

The conference will kick off on Thursday, June 3rd with three pre-conference tours focused on bringing more hands on, face-to-face experience and discussion to the topics of planning in the West. The day will conclude with a conference opening reception and social.

Friday, June 4th will be a full-day program at the spectacular Stueckle Sky Center at Boise State University with a mix of presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. Highlights of the day include:

The Best and Worst in 2009

In the routine “2009’s best and worst” lists, Bozeman made the top three in the nation by Preservation Nation. Unfortunately, (but to no surprise) it was the “worst” list for loss of historic structures for the downtown blast that occurred in March.

In their article Highs and Lows for Historic Places, they share the most uplifting projects and the crushing losses of 2009.

Due to a freak natural gas explosion in March 2009, Bozeman lost four historic buildings, dating 1891, 1889, 1912, and 1929, along with structurally threatening three other turn-of-the-century buildings. The large hole in Main Street is still prevalent today.

Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies

The walls and streets of Butte tell an amazing tale of Western architectural history, and can also tell a tale of what’s to come.

NewWest.Net’s upcoming Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference will be touring Butte as part of the pre-conference tours, but from the perspective of looking forward instead of looking back.

Join this tour that will give you insight into the redevelopment potential of Butte with insight from local developers, local historians and Butte’s historical preservation office.

Are we transitioning to urban or rural?

Bozeman is the latest Montana town to squabble over allowing chickens into the city limits.

It ruffled a few feathers over the past couples months after one couple was forced to move their chicks outside the city limits, leading to the formation of Community Led Urban Chicken Movement.

We can learn from our Missoula neighbors on the humor and seriousness of the subject through this great film put together by contributor Anne Medley in 2007 when Missoula was debating the same issue.

Read on to watch more on that subject... [more]

Photos

More than 160 people gathered Thursday and Friday in Bozeman for NewWest.Net's 2nd Annual Designing the New West conference. Friday's conversations -- about design, architecture, the economy and the regulatory environment in which all those function -- took place at the Gallatin Gateway Inn, pictured here. [more]

A community reacts

I left the house on Thursday morning in Bozeman to walk a few blocks downtown for the usual errands: meetings, bank, post office, coffee. What I found was my community has been ripped open — literally.

I live nine blocks from the site of the explosion. At 8:12am, it sounded and felt like a dump truck had rammed my house. I ran out of my bedroom naked and then frantically checked out all my windows and thought, That was strange. Didn’t feel quite like an earthquake but it sure had that kind of sudden earth-shaking intensity.

My friend Ron told me he thought the big old tree in his backyard had fallen on the house. My friend Sara told me her bedside candles had fallen over. I can only wait for the stories we tell for years to come, “What were you doing when Main Street exploded?” [more]

Where is the future our media going?

Print publications in Southwest Montana are losing some ink these days.

After 18 layoffs at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle in late July that included well-respected reporters, The Tributary magazine, the area’s monthly alternative news source, will print their last issue in December.

Currently owned by Lee Newspapers, The Tributary had an editorial switch from Holly Zadra from Corinne Garcia this summer, who actually sold The Tributary and Explore magazines in 2004. The Tributary is a well-loved publication in Bozeman, and the community is sad to see it go after its 17 years on our news stands. They are looking for a buyer, so if your interested, contact . [more]

Staples in Ballots are no good

Update: Gallatin County completed counting the remaining 10 precincts at 5:30pm. Obama won with 23,984 votes over McCain with 22,375 votes. Click more for complete Gallatin County results.

Gallatin County is still processing ballots through the counting machines, with over 15,000 ballots left and are not expecting to finish until late this afternoon.

The clincher is that over 21,000 of the absentee ballots returned were pocked with staples marks and could not be processed by the automated reader. All unreadable ballots were then presented to a 3-person board that recreates a duplicate ballot for scanning. Another setback was the courthouse still had a line of 150 people when the polls closed at 8pm.

These 10 remaining of the 36 Gallatin County precincts are the only ones in the state not counted. Some of the statewide close elections may hinge on Gallatin County's results, such as Secretary of State that currently holds a 2,000 vote difference. [more]

Forest Roads to be used for Timber Harvest Only

The Government Accountability Office released a letter Friday that questioned the closed-door land use plan between Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey and the Plum Creek Timber Company — the largest private landowners in Montana with 1.2 million acres.

The GAO investigators — provoked by the secretiveness of the land use easement and potential impact on Montana’s forestland — referenced the National Forest Roads and Trails Act passed by Congress in 1964, which states the purpose is “to facilitate timber harvesting,” and concluded the agency cannot grant a right greater than what the act allows.

Many argue private driveways are not facilitating timber harvest, particularly when the road easements detail “cost-sharing agreements,” where taxpayers and Plum Creek split cost of road construction and maintenance.

In other news, Rick Holley, President and CEO of Plum Creek Timber, will be a Keynote Speaker at the upcoming Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference, and will be discussing the company’s approach to real estate activities. [more]

Hitting the pocketbook from all sides

Transportation issues are bearing down on the economy of Montana. How is this affecting our farmers, industries and how we view our future strategies, policies and approaches?

The Burton K. Wheeler Center, at the Montana State University, hosted a conference on transportation in Billings last week, with the goal to discuss with leaders and legislators how this increase in fuel has forced a shift in our economy and how are we to approach the future.

Representatives from three of Montana’s major industries — tourism, farming and food distribution — discussed how Montana’s markets are being significantly affected by fuel costs. [more]