Greetings,

As the summer winds down, the new school year gets into full gear.  We hope you are having a good summer. This is another of our updates to you on recent work at the Center. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions.

From all of us at the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, The University of Montana

THE GREAT FIRE OF 1910
provided by William Farr

Once again it is fire season in the West. And while it is only early August, prospects are good that we may avoid anything approximating the calamitous forest fires of 1910 that were visited upon the vast timberlands that straddled the Idaho-Montana border.

It all began with abnormally dry conditions early on and escalated as the rainless summer progressed. Although there was a fledgling U.S. Forest Service (created in 1905), there were few roads, little equipment and personnel. All were impediments as a drum roll of fires broke out in the forests of the Rockies in record numbers. There were 90 fires alone on or near the National Forest lands of the Coeur d'Alene National Forest and the Lolo National Forest. By Aug. 19 there were nearly 3,000 fires, all located in northern Idaho and western Montana.

Whipped by near-hurricane force winds that reached 70 miles-an-hour, the timber dry forests burned at an alarming rate. Some three million acres exploded into fire within two days, Aug. 20-21, killing 87 people and destroying much of Wallace, Idaho, and a number of small towns in western Montana. Called by a welter of names-the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, the Great Fire of 1910, like the Great War of 1914 that followed-the catastrophe was the greatest forest fire in American history.

     The hurricane-force winds that preceded the fire picked up entire
                      forests, dropping trees like matchsticks.

Firefighters numbered in the thousands with a reported 10,000 before it was over. These men came from the mines in Idaho and Butte, Montana, from the forest camps of loggers, from small urban centers like Missoula, to bigger cities such as Spokane. Even the U.S. Army was called in by Pres. William Howard Taft.

Although no official set of causes was ever determined, human causes prevailed, ranging from loggers, homesteaders and others to the inevitable arsonists. The largest single contributor, it was reported, was the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway. Its coal-fueled locomotives "spewed" red-hot cinders, frequently starting fires along the tracks that crossed the Bitterroot Mountains.  There were many consequences; suffice it to say that the most important was the Forest Service's decision to declare war on fires-fires needed to be suppressed. We are still living with this institutional decision.

For an excellent account of the 1910 fires and their consequences, see Stephen J. Pyne, Year of the Fires: The Story of the Great Fires of 1910, (New York: Viking, 2001).

upcoming events

On Aug. 9^th in Missoula, Mont., Headwaters News and Fact & Fiction will host a book-signing by Courtney White for his new book: Revolution on the Range: The Rise of a New Ranch in the American West.  The book began as a series of essays White wrote for Headwaters News.  White will sign his book at Fact & Fiction on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

On Aug. 11^th in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Senior Fellow Pat Williams will meet with members of the Coeur d'Alene tribe to discuss the Restoration Economy.

On Aug. 22^nd in Browning, Mont., William Farr, Center Associate Director, will be a featured speaker at the annual Piegan Institute's conference. Titled "Sinaaki" or "Images" the conference will explore photographs and artists of the Blackfeet-their images and their impact. Farr's talk will focus on the life and career of Walter McClintock, author of The Old North Trail, first published in 1910.

On Sept. 7^th in Butte, Mont., Williams will give the keynote address at the National Mining Summit.

On Sept. 9^th in Helena, Mont., Center Director Larry Swanson will present information and analysis examining the potential for Local Option Taxes in Montana as a source of badly needed revenue for local bodies and communities. The presentation is part of a "Tax Summit" meeting being organized and sponsored by the Billings Chamber of Commerce and other area chambers throughout Montana.

On Sept. 15^th in Great Falls, Senior Fellow Daniel Kemmis will make a presentation to "New to Montana," an annual gathering of pastors recently assigned or called to Montana. The event is sponsored by the Montana Association of Churches. Kemmis will speak about community-building in Montana, past, present and future.

On Sept. 16^th in Whitefish, Mont., Swanson will discuss major demographic shifts occurring in the western United States at a meeting of state revenue department representatives from throughout the western U.S. The conference is being hosted by the Montana Department of Revenue.

On Sept. 17^th in Indianapolis, Ind., Kemmis will be a co-presenter at the annual conference of the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals. This year's conference, "Galaxy III" is devoted to "celebrating the Extension System, its strengths, diversity, and unique qualities." Kemmis's session is entitled "Creating, Building, and Sustaining a Thriving Rural Community," examining styles of community leadership that can contribute to reducing poverty in rural and reservation communities.

On Sept. 22^nd in Missoula, Mont., Williams will co-host a reception for Prof. John Leshy, speaker at the Land Law Review Conference.

On Sept. 25^th in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Swanson will participate in a panel discussion discussing changes occurring in the region's economy and likely impacts on area communities, as part of the annual conference of Philanthropy Northwest. 

On Sept. 25^th in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Kemmis will moderate a session on "Faith and Philanthropy" at the annual conference of Philanthropy Northwest.

project activity

In July, Center Director Larry Swanson and the Center submitted a study report to the Great Falls Development Authority entitled, "The Great Falls' Primary Trade Region and Labor Market Area." The report is part of a larger economic development study of the area by Angelou Economics of Fort Worth, Tex.

Swanson and the Center are continuing work under contract with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation of Little Canada, Minn., assisting in community and economic development planning on three of Montana's reservations. ILTF is collaborating with the Native American Community Development Corporation in this work.

Former Congressman Pat Williams has been asked to lecture to students chosen by the Washington Center, which selects students from throughout the D.C. area colleges and universities. His lectures will be held during the Democratic National Convention in Denver during the last week in August.

Senior Fellow Pat Williams has received the Friend of the Clark Fork Watershed Award by the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program.

This semester Pat Williams will teach a class in the Environmental Studies Department: History of Wilderness Policy and Concepts. The class meets three times each week.

Williams is also teaching Congress and the Politics in this Election Year. The class meets on Thursdays from 3:00 to 4:30 in the Todd Building. The course is open to the public under the Lifelong Learning Institute. The phone number is 406-243-2904.

regional trends

20 Years After the Big Fires at
Yellowstone National Park

"The summer of 1988 turned out to be the driest in the park's recorded history. By July 15, only 8,500 acres had burned in the entire greater Yellowstone area. [O]n July 21 .. a decision was made to suppress all fires. But within a week, fires within the park alone encompassed nearly 99,000 acres, and by the end of the month, dry fuels and high winds combined to make the larger fires nearly uncontrollable. [ .. ] On the worst single day, August 20, 1988, tremendous winds pushed fires across more than 150,000 acres. [ .. ] By September 11, 1988, the first snows of autumn had dampened the fires as the nation's largest fire-fighting effort could not. [ .. ] More than 25,000 firefighters, as many as 9,000 at one time, attacked the Yellowstone fires in 1988, at a total cost of about $120 million. [ .. ] Ecosystem-wide, about 1.2 million acres were scorched; 793,000 (36%) of the park's 2,221,800 acres were burned."

Twenty-years after the fire, scientists and park managers have been amazed at the way in which Yellowstone National Park has bounced back from these devastating fires, noting: "The 1988 fires have laid bare the broad extent of our ignorance of those natural processes." - "Wildland Fire in Yellowstone," National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of Interior

In a series of pieces by Brett French of the Billings Gazette, Don Despain, a now retired fire ecologist who worked in the park in 1988 notes: "There's just a lot of myth around the fires that's taken for truth. All of (the theories) have been proved wrong. [ .. ] A 200-year-old forest becomes a 1-year-old forest. Some of the biomass will change for a few years. The small mammals are back within three years. There are not large masses of animals killed. The system is just adapted to fire." - Billings Gazette, July 6, 2008

center in the news 

Blue-staters run through it: Newcomers reshape politics in Montana - The Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2008

Advances in oil pumping technology enrich Eastern Montana counties - Billings Gazette, July 20, 2008

Condos linger on Missoula's market - NewWest Net, July 18, 2008

Out of the wilderness: People are shunning the great outdoors. Blame conservationists, not video games - Economist.com, 
July 10, 2008

Closed-door deal could open land in Montana - The Washington Post, July 5, 2008

Secret deal may open prime land in Montana - Contra Costa Times, July 4, 2008

Battle for the West: Rocky Footing for Candidates - Denver Post,June 29, 2008

Group says Poplar can become vibrant community once again - Fort Peck Journal, June 24, 2008

Good times and bad require adjustments - In Business Monthly, July 2008

Revitalization project leader says housing, workforce keys to community's growth - Fort Peck Journal, June 19, 2008

Great divide getting higher, harder to scale - Disparity growing between top and bottom incomes, with the very rich virtually impossible to track - In Business Monthly, June 2008

On Aug. 7^th in Missoula, Mont., Senior Fellow Pat Williams co-hosted a reception for the best-selling author David Sirota at Fact and Fiction bookstore.

On Aug. 6^th near Big Fork, Mont., Williams attended and spoke at the annual conference of Montana's tribal lawyers.

On Aug. 5^th in Poplar, Mont., at the Fort Peck Community College, Center Director Swanson participated in a community planning and visioning forum organized by the Native American Community Development Corp. (NADC) and Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF). Swanson gave the opening presentation on future challenges and opportunities for community improvement in Poplar. Members of the Fort Peck Tribal council, the Poplar City Council, and Roosevelt County Commission, along with representatives of other organizations doing business and community development work in the area, participated in the daylong forum. Breakout group sessions facilitated by planners with CTA Architects were conducted, identifying key needs and opportunities facing Poplar and the surrounding area as it plans for the future.

Swanson also participated in a community tour hosted by city and tribal planners and staff with Fort Peck Community College on June 10^th in Poplar. Later that day, Swanson and a team working with NADC and ILTF met with members of the Fort Peck Tribal Council to discuss community needs and opportunities.

On July 26^th in Gleneden Beach, Ore., Senior Fellow Daniel Kemmis presented the keynote address to the Ford Scholars Award Conference. The Ford Scholars Program was created by the Ford Family Foundation to assist disadvantaged students in Oregon to obtain a college degree without financial assistance. The scholars gather every year for a conference.  This year's theme was "Principled Leadership in Challenging Times." Mr. Kemmis's address examined the kind of leadership that will be required in a rapidly changing world, while encouraging people to work together to build sustainable communities that are satisfying for people of all ages and backgrounds.

On July 9^th in Missoula, Mont., Williams joined Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Greg Lemon in the release of Lemon's biography of the Governor.  Williams wrote the forward for the book.

On June 25^th in Butte, Mont., Williams spoke about the West's emerging restoration economy to a summer teachers laboratory.

On June 19^th in Girdwood, Alaska, Kemmis made a presentation to board members of Philanthropy Northwest about the role of philanthropy in Indian Country. Philanthropy Northwest is a consortium of grant makers in the Pacific Northwest. Recognizing the importance of native communities to the region, Philanthropy Northwest is seeking to assist its member foundations in becoming more effective in that arena.

On June 18^th in Missoula, Mont., Swanson gave a guest lecture in a class on the "Crown of the Continent" region, discussing growth and change in the Crown and larger Rocky Mountain region. The UM course is led by Rick Graetz of UM's Geography Department.

On June 17^th in Missoula, Mont., Swanson participated in a strategic planning meeting for Community Medical Center. Swanson is a member of CMC's strategic planning committee.

On June 11^th, Kemmis presented a keynote address to a conference at George Mason University in Virginia. The conference, "Beyond the Academy: Engaging Public Life" focused on giving public scholars from across the country an opportunity to discuss ways in which their work is more than "academic," but instead how it helps strengthen democratic institutions and public life. Kemmis's keynote address examined the ever-evolving intersection of theory and practice in the realm of civic engagement. 

On June 6^th in West Yellowstone, Mont., Williams spoke at the 25^th anniversary banquet of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

On June 3^rd in Post Falls, Idaho, Kemmis gave a keynote address to the Northern Idaho Regional Scenario Planning Workshop. The workshop provided civic, business and political leaders across northern Idaho with analysis of the economic and demographic forces affecting their region, and encouraged them to work together to address those challenges. Kemmis's keynote emphasized the importance of thinking and acting regionally, and in particular, the importance of transcending rural-urban divisions.

" It's inconsistent for the state to continue leasing along the Rocky Mountain Front, when the federal government has made a commitment through legislative action to not lease or develop."

T.O. Smith, a Montana wildlife and parks official, about the auction of energy leases on state lands along the Rocky Mountain Front. - Billings Gazette (AP)  6/05/2008

" Reports of (abandoned horses) are happening in every state that has public lands."

"We know a lot about wolves. But when you hunt them, we don't know a lot about wolves."

"We're all standing together in brutal solidarity. We're going to put our lives between our children and harm."

"We've got something to sell, and it's wind."

" We don't have to sit around and watch trees die."

" If you can pee in a jar, 25 bucks an hour to start. That's not bad for a kid straight out of high school."