Terry Pollard, a co-owner of a Wyoming outfitting business, on the number of hunters who unsuccessfully went gunning for wolves this past weekend.
-  Casper Star-Tribune
04/01/2008

Gerry House, chair of Hayden Lake Recreational Water and Sewer District, about Idaho's inadequate fines for violating the state's setback and water-quality rules.
- Coeur d'Alene Press
04/04/2008

Chris Servheen, grizzly recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, warning that implementation of Alberta's grizzly bear
recovery plan will take commitment, political will and money.
- Edmonton Journal
04/07/2008

Sarah Hamlen, a Montana State University Extension agent in
White Sulphur Springs, about the market for wind-project sites.
- Great Falls Tribune
04/21/2008

Bill Wade, chairman of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees,
on a proposed rule change that would allow people with concealed
weapons permits to carry loaded guns in national parks.
- Jackson Hole News & Guide
05/01/2008

Geoffrey Howard, an invasive species expert with the International
Union for Conservation of Nature, one of the groups urging caution
before jumping on the next biofuel crop bandwagon.
- New York Times
05/21/2008

John Turner a former Republican Wyoming legislative leader and former
director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about federal legislation
to ban future energy development on the Wyoming Range.
- Casper Star-Tribune
05/23/2008

Bob Gallagher, head of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association,
on Colorado's Rio Blanco County's consideration of imposing
impact fees on energy development.
- Santa Fe New Mexican (AP)
05/27/2008

D uring the University of Montana summer session, Center Director Larry Swanson, Associate Director William Farr,  and Senior Fellow Pat Williams will present lectures for Rick Graetz of UM Geography Department course on "The Crown of the Continent" featuring Glacier National Park and its environs. Swanson will discuss growth and change in the Crown and larger Rocky Mountain region and Farr will lecture on the Blackfeet and their relationship to Glacier National Park and the Crown of the Continent.

W illiams provides regular commentaries for Montana Public Radio and also provides occasional newspaper column to newspapers in the West, including the regional publication High Country News and Writers on the Range.

The average annual price paid by oil refineries in the U.S. for crude oil from all sources recently rose to about $100 a barrel and is projected by many analysts to continue rising, perhaps as high as $200 a barrel in another two years. The chart below shows crude oil prices in the U.S. since the early '70s. At the time of the nation's last major "energy crisis" in the early '80s, crude oil rose to a whopping $35 a barrel before falling to under $20 a barrel for much of the last decade. However, more recently, this price has risen from an annual average of $29 a barrel in 2003 to $37 in 2004 and to $50 in 2005 before reaching $60 in 2006 and $68 in 2007. The chart shows how an average of $100 a barrel in the current year, should this happen, compares with previous years. As crude oil prices rise, these ripple though the entire energy sector and can increasingly hamstring growth in the economy.
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center in the news 

Crowning achievement - The Daily InterLake, May 30, 2008

Starting over: Last of the Stimson mill workers face uncertain future - Missoulian, May 18, 2008

Recession will touch Montana, warns economist - Billings Gazette, May 18, 2008

In West, mining's return faces resistance - The Christian Science Monitor, May 2, 2008

Missoula's urban fringe: the gray amoeba - The Clark Fork Chronicle, April 23, 2008

Flying high in Big Sky Country - Bozeman Daily Chronicle, April 18, 2008

Conservation in the New West - Bozeman Daily Chronicle, April 18, 2008

Blixseth, Redford helped shoulder state into new economy - Bozeman Daily Chronicle, April 18, 2008

Blackfeet chief seeks museum for treasures - Great Falls Tribune, April 7, 2008

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

On June 3^rd in Post Falls, Idaho, Senior Fellow Daniel Kemmis gave a keynote address to the Northern Idaho Regional Scenario Planning Workshop, emphasizing the importance of regional thinking and of transcending rural-urban divisions. The workshop was for civic, business and political leaders from communities across northern Idaho.

On June 3^rd in Bozeman, Mont., Senior Fellow Bob Brown provided election night commentary for public television KUFM-TV.

On June 1^st in Missoula, Mont., Williams co-hosted a radio talk show with Leslie Lotto on Missoula's KMPT discussing the presidential campaign.

On May 30^th in Helena, Mont., Williams gave the keynote address to the Northwest Energy Coalition. The Coalition is made up of several dozen energy, business, and conservation groups in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

CONFERENCE IN LIMERICK, IRELAND
provided by Larry Swanson

On May 29th in Limerick, Ireland, Center Director Larry Swanson spoke at the annual conference of the PASCAL Observatory, discussing ways in which conservation and protection of the environment are being incorporated into community and economic development thinking and planning in the Rocky Mountain West of North America. The conference was entitled "Learning Regions' Role in Regional Development and Re-Generation," and included reports on studies of 14 learning regions around the world done through the PENR3L project (PASCAL European Network of Lifelong Learning Regions). The Minster of Higher Education of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) also attended the conference to discuss OECD work on "Supporting the Contributions of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development."

PASCAL is an international organization dedicated to advancing the role of higher education in regional development and advancing of the "3rd Mission" of regional systems of higher education. Swanson is a member of the international board of PASCAL. Representatives of universities and regional authorities around the world attended the conference.

On May 29^th in Missoula, Mont., Williams hosted a meeting of Restoration in Montana, a new group with the purpose of encouraging landscape and waterway restoration.

On May 28^th in St. Paul, Minn., Kemmis welcomed participants to the third annual Grassroots and Groundwork conference. The conference, sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation, brought together service providers, educators, researchers, private citizens, policy-makers, business and civic leaders, faith leaders and others from across the United States, working to reduce poverty long term.

On May 20^th in Helena, Mont., Center Director Larry Swanson made a presentation on "Aging Trends and Patterns in Montana" as part of the Governor's Annual Conference on Aging. Swanson was part of a panel organized by Experience Wave, an entity supported The Atlantic Philanthropies to advance federal and state policies for mid-life and older adults to stay engaged in work and community life.

On May 12^th-14^th in Rapid City, S.D., Swanson made the opening presentation at a special gathering of rural development program and extension directors and specialists representing land grant universities in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. The meeting was entitled "A Vision for the Great Plains in the Year 2020" and was organized by the Rural Initiatives Program at the University of Nebraska. Aspects of rural decline are accelerating in many areas of the region and land grant professionals are considering new approaches and initiatives to counter the decline. Swanson's presentation was entitled "Can the Path be Altered: Salvaging and Renewing Rural Communities in the Plains."

On May 12^th in Pablo, Mont., Williams was interviewed at the Salish-Kootenai College's public television station for two half-hour programs telecast throughout the Reservation on various Montana and national topics. The program is hosted by Thompson Smith.

On May 6^th in Missoula, Mont., Senior Fellow Bob Brown was campus host for German Consul General Rolf Schueth.

On May 2^nd in Missoula, Mont., Williams and Swanson joined UM Environmental Studies Program Director Len Broberg and UM Forestry Assistant Dean Jim Burchfield in taping a program on the importance of public lands in the West. The program was taped at UM's Broadcast Media Center and prepared for use by the Montana Conservation Corps. Williams was the congressional sponsor of the act creating the various state corps now known as AmeriCorps.

On May 1^st in Missoula, Mont., Swanson was the featured speaker at a client meeting organized and hosted by Payne Financial Group - a company headquartered in Missoula that does commercial insurance and other business throughout western Montana and Idaho. Swanson discussed key trends that will shape the region's economy in the future.

On April 30^th in Missoula, Mont., Williams spoke at a UM gathering to honor Stan Kimmit, Great Falls native and former Secretary to the U.S. Senate during the Mansfield years as Majority Leader. The main address at the gathering was by former U.S. Senator Bob Kerry. Earlier that day Kerry also was a guest presenter at CRMW's class on Regionalism the Rocky Mountain West.

On April 29^th in Missoula, Mont., Swanson participated in a meeting of the Missoula Community Medical Center strategic planning committee. Swanson is a member of the committee.

On April 28^th at Fort Belknap Agency in Mont., Swanson participated in a briefing and presentation to members of the Fort Belknap Tribal Council on studies now being done by a team working with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation and Native American Development Corporation. The study team is assisting tribal planners and others in community development and workforce improvement programming at three of Montana's Indian reservations.

On April 25^th in Helena, Mont., Williams helped in hosting the year's second Leadership Seminar at the Feathered Pipe Ranch.  The seminars are sponsored by The Policy Institute of Helena.

On April 24^th in Helena, Mont., Swanson made an invited presentation to members of the board of the Montana Community Foundation. MCF is doing strategic planning on ways to assist communities in Montana in their development.

On April 14^th in Billings, Mont., Swanson spoke to over 200 high school educators and administrators in the Billings Public Schools System on key trends in the Montana economy, work force development challenges, and the importance of incorporating "career pathways" programming into Montana's high schools in guiding students toward promising careers after high school.

On April 11^th in Missoula, Mont., Williams addressed the Association of Disabled Students at UM to honor the organization's 20^th anniversary.

On April 10^th in Missoula, Mont., Swanson spoke at a meeting of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Public Works Association, discussing key population and demographic trends affecting community development and infrastructure planning in the future.

On April 9^th in Missoula, Mont., Swanson guest lectured at UM at a class on "Regionalism in the Rocky Mountain West," examining patterns of change in the region's economy.

On April 8^th & 9^th in Laramie, Wyo., Kemmis presented guest lectures in two classes at the University of Wyoming. The classes were "Wyoming's Political Identity: Its History and Politics," and "Wyoming Futures."

On April 8^th in Great Falls, Mont., Swanson participated in a meeting hosted by the Great Falls Development Authority examining the Great Falls trade area. Swanson has contracted with GFDA to assist in an economic development study primarily being done by Angelou Economics of Fort Worth, Texas.

On April 4^th in Tacoma, Wash., Williams gave the keynote speech at a Watershed Restoration and Forest Road Symposium hosted by a coalition of groups working on landscape restoration.

On April 2^nd in Portland, Ore., Kemmis spoke as part of a lecture series entitled "What's the Big Idea?" sponsored by Portland State University's College of Urban and Public Affairs. Kemmis's speech, entitled "Is the Presidency Overrated?" explored the changing role of the nation-state, and in particular of the presidency, in a world that is simultaneously becoming more globalized and more regionalized.