Hello:

As winter slowly transitions into spring, we are transitioning our newsletter from a bi-monthly to a quarterly publication.  We will now publish on a spring, summer, fall and winter schedule to keep you updated on the activities of the Center along with timely features of history, regional trends and headlines of the Rocky Mountain West.

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

readers of the pioneer
Provided by William Farr

Now in the age of the worldwide web and informational overload, of news 24/7, it seems implausible, but at one time, in March of 1861, here in the Rocky Mountain West, there were two brothers who were so "famished" for something to read that they decided to do something about it. Their names were Granville and James Stuart and they had a great passion for reading but they had spent a long, severe winter at Gold Creek east of present day Drummond at the north end of the Deer Lodge valley where they    worked on their mining claim and took care of their stock that included an ox team, horses, and cattle.  Although the brothers did not lack for visitors, both Indian and white, from  Fort Owen in the Bitterroot Valley or from Hell Gate, some three miles from where Missoula is today, they were self-declared "great readers." As Granville pointed out in his autobiography, Forty Years on the Frontier, "we had been all winter without so much as an almanac to look at."  Some passing Salish from the Bitterroot Valley, stopping to trade for powder and lead, managed to convey that a white man who had entered the Bitterroot had a trunk full of books.  How the Salish would have known of the Stuart brothers' interest remains a mystery. Nonetheless, according to Granville, "on receipt of these glad tidings, we saddled our horses and putting our blankets, and some dried meat for food, on a pack horse, we started for those books, a hundred and fifty miles away, without a house, or anybody on the route, and with three big dangerous rivers to cross, the Big Blackfoot, the Hell Gate, and the Bitter Root.  As the spring rise had not yet begun, by careful searching we found fords on these rivers, but they were dangerous, and at times we were almost swept away." 

Without knowing even the name of the man, the Stuart brothers arrived in the Bitter Root only to learn that the owner of the books was gone, but that he had left the trunk of books "with a man named Henry Brooks, whom we finally found living in a tepee, at a point on Sweathouse Creek...We gradually and diplomatically approached the subject of books, and 'our hearts were on the ground.'" Brooks informed them that a Hudson's Bay Company trader by the name of Neil McArthur was the owner and that he, Brooks, had no authority to sell them. Faced with this obstacle, Granville pleaded. "We told him how long we had been without anything to read, and how we had ridden many days, seeking that trunk, and that we would take all the blame and would make good with McArthur when he returned. At last we won him over, and he agreed to let us have five books, for five dollars each, and if McArthur was not satisfied we were to pay him more."

The next step was to make a choice. "How we feasted our eyes on those books.  We could hardly make up our minds...but finally settled upon Shakespeare and Byron, both fine illustrated editions, Headley's Napoleon and his Marshals, a Bible in French, and Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations." Finally they had "the blessed books, which we packed carefully in our blankets, and joyfully started on our return ride of a hundred and fifty miles."

Was this an example of March madness or rather does it exhibit the rare pleasure that comes from holding a simple book in your hands and the intellectual delight of reading words-perhaps even reading aloud to each other, brother to brother.

CENTER FORMS NEW ADVISORY BOARD

The O'Connor Center recently reconstituted its advisory board and held an initial meeting of the new board on March 17 at The University of Montana. The board includes the following members from outside the University:  James Scott with First Interstate Bank in Billings (the only carryover member from the previous board); John Fields of West Hills, Calif., brother of Nancy Fields O'Connor, and former administrator with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management; Michael Gulledge, publisher of the Billings Gazette and vice president with Lee Enterprises, owner of major newspapers throughout Montana and the larger region; Bob Nysteun, president of Glacier Bank in Kalispell and trustee of Flathead Community College; Chief Earl Old Person, traditional chief of the Blackfeet Nation; Bob Rowe, CEO of Northwestern Energy; Larry Simkins of Missoula who is CEO of The Washington Corporation; and James Steele, Jr., of Pablo who is chairman of the Salish-Kootenai Tribal Council.

Three additional members of the board come from within The University of Montana including Daniel Dwyer, Vice Pres. of Research and Development; Royce Engstrom, UM Provost and Vice Pres. of Academic Affairs; and UM President George Dennison who serves in an ex officio role on the board.

Headwaters News
Celebrates Its 10^th Anniversary

In February, Headwaters News celebrated its 10^th anniversary of providing daily roundups of news important to the Rocky Mountain West.

Headwaters News began as a project of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana in February of 1999, with a three-year grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The Foundation was the primary support for the online news service through 2007.

Today Headwaters News is supported by a variety of funders, with the Foundation for Community Vitality a major sponsor and Good Works Ventures, LLC and the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation as partners. We also have partnerships with Idaho Public Television and the Media Innovation Project at Northwest Public Radio/KWSU/KTNW, Washington State University.  And we also receive on-line donations from many individuals.

During its 10 years in publication, Headwaters News has tracked issues of the Rocky Mountain West ranging from endangered species to  public lands, as well as growth and development and the economy. We have thousands of subscribers to the daily newsletter that include federal, state and local officials, journalists, policy makers and residents from across the region.

center staff activities

Pat Williams was recently awarded the title of Senior Fellow Emeritus of the University of Montana by the State Board of Regents after being nominated for the honor by UM President George Dennison. Former Congressman Williams was cited for his 26 years as a teacher as well as for his work as Chairman of the Postsecondary Education Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.  In prepared remarks President Dennison noted Williams' work in sponsoring the Biological Research Laboratory at MSU--Bozeman as well as the Leopold Wilderness Institute and the National Laboratory for Disability Research at UM.

Williams teaches five classes this school year: "Regionalism and the Rocky Mountain West" for History/ Geography; two classes in "Montana Wilderness Policy and Process" for Forestry; "The Congress" for Continuing Education; and "The History of Wilderness" for Environmental Studies. Since leaving the U.S. Congress in 1997 Williams is now in his 13^th year at UM's Center for the Rocky Mountain West from which he teaches, writes and studies contemporary policy.

Daniel Kemmis, who most recently served as a Center senior fellow in public policy and prior to that as Center director, has left the Center to pursue other work and opportunities, including his work on several major foundations and philanthropic organizations in the region. He joined the Center in 1996 after serving most of two terms as mayor of the City of Missoula. Prior to that, he had served in the Montana Legislature, in both the Senate and House, including as House Speaker. While at the Center he worked to complete fundraising in meeting requirements of a challenge grant to the Center by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He also led in establishing Headwaters News, the Center's daily web-based clipping service on important news stories from around the region.  Headwaters News is now in its 10^th year and is an on-going program of the Center. He also has been a frequent writer and commentator on the region and its change, particularly on regional governance and decision making and community adaptation to changing needs and opportunities. His work at the Center also involved frequent analysis of public lands policy and management. His work in these areas is greatly appreciated and will continue in other venues.

Doug Lawrence, who is the Center's computing coordinator, is teaching a course during the spring semester at UM in database design.

Larry Swanson was recently named to serve on the editorial advisory board of the Missoulian newspaper. Swanson also continues to serve on the planning committee of Missoula's Community Medical Center. He also was recently named to two planning committees of the Missoula Public School District: the Citizens' Advisory Committee on School Planning and School Property and Assets Committee.

"It's a bit challenging, because we do have to look at how the laws in three states work for us."

Al Nash, spokesman for Yellowstone National Park, about the
National Park Service's new policy on guns in national parks.
- Jackson Hole News & Guide
01/14/2009

"At the end of the day, it should be the scientific foundation that drives the decisions."

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, on his decision to review changes made by the Bush administration to the Endangered Species Act.
- Los Angeles Times
01/28/2009

"We should never have air like that here in the least populated county in the least populated state in the country."

Pinedale Town Councilman Dave Smith, responding to the
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's warning 
hat ozone levels in the Upper Green River Basin could
exceed federal limits today.
- Casper Star-Tribune
02/04/2009

"I don't believe this has anything to do with out-of-staters; I don't believe this has anything to do with how many digits are in your bank account. I do believe this is about protecting that river."

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commissioner Rose Nyman,
about a decision to deny a request for a private bridge over
Montana's Big Hole River.
- Montana Standard
02/25/2009

"It wasn't worth it. All we got out of the deal was a bad smell and now an empty building."

Dennis Young, a resident of Burley, about the news that
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. was closing down its plant in the 
Idaho city after receiving $1.45 million in federal and state
money to build the plant.
- Twin Falls Times-News
02/26/2009

"From Donnelly south, I know of 50 families that have loaded their possessions in their cars and left, and I'm watching this town dry up and blow away."

Mayor Dick Carter of Cascade, Idaho, where the shuttering
of the Tamarack Resort has had a considerable
economic impact.
- Idaho Statesman
03/16/2009

regional trends

Recent Migration Trends in the U.S.

The latest population estimates for U.S. counties were recently released showing that the Rocky Mountain West region continues to grow. The single fastest growing state between July of 2007 and July of 2008 is Utah, with an increase of 2.53%. The 5th, 6th, and 7th fastest growing states are other Rocky Mountain West states - Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming, at 2.00%, 1.85%, and 1.80% growth, respectively. The other Rocky Mountain West state, Montana, is the 14th fastest growing with growth of 1.13%. The U.S. as a whole grew by 0.93%.

Population change in a particular area is the product of three things - area births, area deaths, and area net migration or the number of persons moving from an area versus the number moving to the area, considering only those who actually change their permanent residence in the process. Sixty-four percent of Utah's total population growth during the year was from positive net migration. About 60% of growth by both Wyoming and Montana and about half of growth by Colorado and Idaho was positive net migration. So migration trends play a large role in regional growth patterns.

The map below shows the most recent pattern of population change, considering only percentage change resulting in the last year from net migration. The counties that are dark red added 2% or more to their populations between 2007 and 2008 through net in-migration. Those in medium red added 1 to 2% and the ones in light red added half a percent to one percent. These red counties are the ones where people are moving to disproportionately. On the other hand the ones in black and gray are areas where considerably more people are moving away than those moving to the area.

Click here for more information.

recent activities

On Feb. 12^th in Missoula, the Twelfth Native American Lecture, "Overview of Blackfoot War Art and the Issue of Ownership and Reproducing It," was presented by Prof. L. James Dempsey at UM's Gallagher Business School. The O'Connor Center sponsored the event in conjunction with The University of Montana Charter Day Celebration.

Prof. Dempsey, an enrolled member of the Blood Tribe and director of the School of Native Studies at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, and author of Blackfoot War Art. Pictographs of the Reservation Period. 1880 - 2000, related with visual examples how Blackfoot war art was depicted on robes, tepees and shirts to give status to the warrior and to impress enemy tribes. Some examples of war art were a tally of different kinds of guns used, enumeration of scalps taken, and counts of horses or mules taken from horse-raiding expeditions of the warriors. Prof. Dempsey also addressed the controversial issue of design ownership with respect to tepees and robes and how those rights were transferred as well as rights to reproduce war art in contemporary society.

From March 29^th through April 1^st in Dekalb, Ill., Center Director Larry Swanson was part of an evaluation and review team for Pascal Observatory International, examining regional engagement plans of Northern Illinois University. NIU's northern Illinois region is one of 15 regions around the world that are participating in the Pascal University Regional Engagement or PURE project. Within each region is a university or collection of higher education institutions who are vigorously pursuing programs and initiatives aimed at community and regional engagement for purposes of regional development and advancement. NIU is featuring work it is developing in cooperation with surrounding area community colleges - work aimed at skills enhancement, broader workforce development and poverty alleviation.

The Pascal review team was hosted during its visit by NIU's Center for Government Studies. Besides Swanson, members of the Pascal review team were John Tibbett, Pascal's CEO and Secretary General who works from the University of Glasgow in Scotland; Jose Gines Mora Ruiz from the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Institute of Education at the University of London; and Hans Schuetze of the Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education and Training at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C.

Under the PURE project, Pascal is currently working with higher education institutions in 15 regions around the world on special initiatives in university community and regional engagement - the "Third Mission" of higher education.

On Feb. 11^th in Twin Falls, Idaho, Swanson spoke at a public meeting organized by First Federal Bank of Twin Falls. He describes regional aspects of the current national economic slowdown and examined how this slowdown was playing out in the Twin Falls area.

On Feb. 5^th in Missoula, Swanson spoke at a meeting of the Ruffato Club. The Club is composed of longstanding business leaders in the Missoula area. Swanson spoke on how the current national recession was affecting the Missoula area economy.

center in the news 

Regents to honor former Rep. Williams - Missoulian, March 20, 2009

Feeling Weight of National Crisis, Local Banks Stay the Course - Flathead Beacon, Feb. 25, 2009

Montana's economy: For better or worse? - The Montana Standard, Feb. 8, 2009

Expert to discuss Blackfoot war art on Charter Day - Missoulian, Feb. 4, 2009

Missoula Demands Its Share of Transportation Dollars - New West Network, Jan. 20. 2009

Missoula, Mont., home sales drop, but not from subprimes - USA Today, Jan. 19, 2009

It's Boom and Bust Again in Montana Mining Town - Flathead Beacon, Jan. 10, 2009

Best wishes for federal aid to states - Billings Gazette, Jan. 8, 2009

upcoming events

On April 28^th in Missoula at the DoubleTree Inn, Center Director Larry Swanson will participate in a Missoula Business Forum organized and hosted by the Missoula Chamber of Commerce, Missoula Area Economic Development Corp., Missoula Building Industry Association, Missoula Organization of Realtors, Missoula Convention and Visitors Bureau, Missoula Downtown Association, Missoula Mid-town Association, and Missoula Women's Business Network. The Missoulian newspaper and First Security Bank are serving as co-sponsors. The forum is entitled "Beyond the Current Economic Slowdown - Positioning Missoula for Future Economic Success." In addition to a presentation by Swanson, the forum will also feature a panel discussing key needs for advancing Missoula in the future. Panelists include Wolfgang Ametsbichler of the Missoula Job Service and Hal Fraser of First Security Bank and the Missoula Redevelopment Agency board. 

On April 30^th in Hamilton, Mont., Swanson will participate in a client meeting organized by Farmers State Bank. Swanson will discuss the current status of the economic slowdown in Montana and in the Bitterroot Valley. He'll also participate in a panel discussion on the area economy. 

On May 15^th in Helena, Mont., Swanson will speak at the annual meeting of the Montana State Fund (MSF). MSF is a quasi-public entity providing workforce compensation insurance coverage in Montana.

Between May 17^th and 21^st in Vancouver, B.C., Swanson will participate in a conference organized by Pascal Observatory International and the Centre for Policy Studies in Higher Education at the University of British Columbia. The conference is entitled "Community Engagement and Service: The Third Mission of Universities."  During the conference Pascal will feature presentations on university regional engagement projects being conducted in regions around the world including ones in Botswana and Lesotho in southern Africa; Melbourne and Darling Downs in Australia; Thames Gateway, Essex, and Kent in England; Varmland and Jamtland in Sweden; Buskerud in Norway; Flanders in Belgium; Southern Trans-Danube in Hungary; Puglia in Italy; and Northern Illinois in the U.S. Swanson, who is on the board of Pascal, will chair a session on alternative concepts and working notions of "region" that are useful in organizing and sustaining university regional engagement activities and initiatives.  

AMERICAN RECOVERY AND
REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009
Provided by Shellie Nelson, editor, Headwaters News

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the national economic stimulus bill, will pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the Northern Rockies states, and Montana and Wyoming appear to be ready and waiting for those funds, while Idaho's governor and state legislators debate how that state should handle the funds.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal put together a team of state personnel to analyze the bill and how federal funds would flow into state coffers. Wyoming has a web site to track the federal stimulus funds and it estimates it will receive approximately $519 million in funds that will be paid out on a formula basis and $15 million in discretionary funds that can be spent as the state wants. The lion's share of Wyoming's $519 million in "non-discretionary" funds will be funneled through the Federal Highway Administration for highway work; approximately $37 million will go for drinking water projects and $1 to $2 million for grants from the U.S. Forest Service for state and private land projects.

In Montana, Gov. Brian Schweitzer estimates that the state will receive $800 million in federal stimulus funds and has submitted House Bill 645 authorizing the release of those funds to specific projects. The Montana House passed the bill, with some amendments on March 27 on a 64-33 vote. Montana has also set up a web site to provide citizens with information about federal stimulus funding, and as in Wyoming, the Federal Highway Administration will funnel the bulk of those federal funds, $220 million, to the state for highway and road work. Montana is in line for $5 million in U.S. Forest Service grants for projects on state and private lands.

In Idaho, Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter established an eight-person panel to advise the state on how to slice up the $1.2 billion in federal stimulus funds, including $44.8 million in discretionary spending. Otter has recommended the $44.8 million in discretionary funding be split as follows: $29 million for state highway projects; $10 million on improving wastewater systems, and $5 million to improve drinking water in the state.

The decline in state revenues in Idaho has led to considerable belt-tightening and the governor's plan for federal stimulus funds reflects the state's priorities in its changing fiscal fortunes. Gov. Otter recommended allocating a third of the stimulus funds-$408.8 million-to health and welfare programs;  education would get 21 percent of the funds, about $260 million; and 16.2 percent of the money would go toward transportation projects. 

But the $1.2 billion from the federal bill is just the beginning. The Idaho Statesman reported March 29 that Idaho is in line for millions more in federal stimulus funds for education, energy and unemployment help.

The Center recently contracted with the Missoula Public School District to do a study of population growth trends and changing demographics in the district.  The study will include an analysis of past enrollment levels and trends across all grades in the district and future enrollment projections.

Swanson and the Center also contracted with Pascal Observatory to serve as a reviewer and evaluator in Pascal's PURE project, which involves examinations of university regional engagement activities in 15 different regions around the world.

Swanson also continues to serve as a consulting independent certifier, evaluating projects around the Greater Yellowstone region under the sponsorship of the Yellowstone Business Partnership (YBP).  Projects are being developed under the guise of the Greater Yellowstone Framework, which aims to encourage sustainable development practices for new projects, businesses, and facilities.

Center to Initiate a New Public Radio Program

Working in cooperation with KUFM public radio at The University of Montana and Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings, the O'Connor Center is planning to launch a new on-going radio program this summer. As a public education and outreach program of the University, the Center views the program as an important new way of reaching out into Montana and into the larger region. The program will provide weekly installments telling stories of individuals and groups who have found new ways of living in the northern Rocky Mountains. The focus will be on stories mainly from Montana, but occasionally spilling into surrounding areas in Wyoming, Idaho, and Canada.

The stories will oftentimes be about people who have transcended the common conceptions of what's possible in our region through insight, creativity and a willingness to see things anew. Through their stories, the weekly program will aim to inform, educate and inspire our listeners, expand their perspectives and strengthen their visions for themselves and their communities; and in the process connect the diverse communities of the northern and central Rockies to each other and to the world. Some of the programs will also be made available for airing on National Public Radio so that a larger national audience can learn more about the region.

The program is being developed in partnership with Clay Scott, a writer and radio producer living in Helena, and Cooper Burchenal, a businessman and conservationist living in Missoula, who together conceived the program. Clay will be the program's primary producer and chief reporter. Clay spent more than 15 years abroad, working as a freelance writer and correspondent for Christian Science Monitor Radio and for ABC News. He has won numerous awards, including an Emmy for his coverage of the Kosovo refugee crisis, Society of Environmental Journalists In Depth Reporting Award for his radio documentary series on an endangered river in Georgia and Florida, and an EMMA (Exceptional Merit Media Award) for his radio story on two western Shoshone sisters in Nevada. Since moving to Montana, Clay has worked as a print journalist and radio journalist, producing programs for Living on Earth and other NPR programs.