Page 32 - Flathead Beacon // 10.5.16

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
GUEST COLUMN ELIZABETH QUIST
SUPPORT LEADERS WHO SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY
DILLON TABISH
WILD AND SWCENIC
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On my hikes in Glacier National Park I’ve noticed the glaciers have shrunk substantially, so much so I had to Google at what point a glacier is too small to be a gla- cier any more (the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s website was very informative). I realized that there is a very real possibility that my children will one day ask me why Glacier National Park is named that. “What is a glacier?” they will ask, and I will have no example to point to.
But commodities prices are down and land is more expensive than it used to be, making farming a di cult
living. This is the tipping point where most places will fall in favor of exploiting natural resources and favor- ing privatization. Now, I want to be clear, I am always in favor of progress, especially when it enriches the lives of Montanans. But progress when it destroys the very reason we live here is not progress at all but naïve action that only bene t the current moment, disregarding entirely future consequences. The good news is Mon- tana has the two most important things needed to suc- ceed in the age of sustainability: incredible renewable energy potential and the people who are best t for suc- cessfully tackling an emerging eld: Montanans. I am also hopeful when I see leaders like Gov. Steve Bullock calling for greater renewable energy investment in our state. Montana needs to continue divesting from dirty energy and continue looking for new ways to power our state and create jobs.
It’s predicted that by 2020 most, if not all, glaciers in Glacier National Park will have melted. It is 100 per- cent up to us what happens to our state and we must be informed when we make these decisions. Not only how it will a ect us but also how it will a ect future gener- ations. When my daughter asks me what a glacier is, I better be able to point to Grinnell Glacier and say, “That right there, baby!”
E PADDLED ACROSS THE SLOUGH INTO the golden glow of the horizon and the crisp, clear current of the Flathead River. The ame
of fall had completed its colorful sweep across the young willows and black cottonwoods that trace the shoreline, igniting the landscape in autumn hues. Dozens of small sh danced beneath us as we gazed into the transpar- ent ripples. Upstream, a bald eagle glided over his Sun- day dinner, waiting and watching with a di erent kind of delight. The eagles and hawks and falcons that reside here adore these hushed sections of water, as do we.
It was the magic hour, a eeting yet magnifying moment each day that seems to demand re ection. We got to talking about meaning and purpose. What drives us forward? And once we’ve arrived at a long-sought-af- ter goal, what now? How will we appraise ourselves when we reach the end of our lease on life? Even the most suc- cessful and wealthy among us cannot avoid the linger- ing hankering for something — anything — further. Or so I hear.
Floating the calm labyrinth of the river, my mind wan- dered to John Craighead. A few weeks ago, Craighead passed away at his home in Missoula. He was 100. I never met John, though he spent much of his life only a short drive from where I grew up. I’ve only recently begun to grasp his legacy.
Craighead, along with his twin brother, Frank, was a conservationist who conducted seminal research on wildlife and habitat across Montana, particularly griz- zly bears and keystone river systems. The boys grew up in Washington, D.C. and developed a passion for the natural world, shing and canoeing the Potomac and studying plants and wildlife.
After World War II, John accepted a teaching position at the University of Montana, and during the late 1950s and 1960s he and his brother began a pioneering study of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park eco- system. Their research, conducted over a 12-year span, revealed that the population was approaching extinc- tion, which led the U.S. government to eventually pro- tect the animal under the Endangered Species Act.
Around this same time, during an era when dams were popping up across the country, John became an outspoken advocate for protecting vital river systems, such as the Flathead. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was proposing to build a small dam on the Middle Fork, known as the Spruce Park Project, which would have backed the river up 11 miles. The brothers, who frequently rafted the pristine stretch of river near Glacier National Park, believed the dam would have destroyed a critical migratory route for native bull trout and caused other negative ecological e ects throughout the watershed.
The Craigheads spearheaded the movement that crystalized into the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, a law preserving “certain rivers with outstanding nat- ural, cultural and recreational values in a free- ow- ing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.”
Forty years ago — on Oct. 12, 1976 — President Gerald Ford signed a bill into law that protected 219 miles of the North, South and Middle forks of the Flathead River.
We oated under the soft light of evening sky. The eagle had disappeared into the forest to tuck in for the night. As the current carried us, we paid a few nal moments of reverence to this Sunday service. It was time to return to shore where everything awaited, including the answers to what comes next. The sh now rose to the surface of the cold water, whispering in the silence as we paddled toward home listening to the river.
DON’T THINK I’M ALONE IN BEING SOMEONE who grew up in Montana only to dream of one day
leaving it. Once I did, I found myself in the mid- dle of New York City realizing I had made the biggest mistake of my life. Fortunately, life has a sneaky way of turning those giant mistakes into terri c learning experiences. As I meandered my way through the last ve years away from home I have at last found my way back, only to nd many things were not the way I left them. Curiously, I have found myself caught in tra c jams (in Montana?!), talking to more people from out of state in local watering holes than locals, and feeling a rising unease at the amount of land being developed into what looks increasingly like sprawling suburbs.
Elizabeth Quist lives in Bigfork.
AMERICAN RURAL DIANE SMITH HEADWINDS IN 2017
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small town America? Clearly, in the past year there’s been a collective cry of dissatisfaction across America that’s come from all corners and grown louder with each passing day. Much of that primal scream has come from rural and small town Americans. The Economist sums it up pretty well:
“The rst presidential debate exposed, with unhappy clarity, how the candidates are speaking to two di erent Americas. The Trump and Clinton coali- tions do not just disagree about tax rates or health pol- icy. Their worlds hardly overlap....To Mr. Trump and his backers, politicians like Mrs. Clinton have allowed jobs to be stolen, let murderous immigrants and terror- ists stream across open borders, and spent American blood and treasure on naive attempts at nation-build- ing in far- ung corners of an ungrateful world. And by failing to secure America, such self-dealing, rotten elites have lost the right to be heard on any other sub- ject. Meanwhile, in pressing the case that Mr. Trump is guilty of racism and sexism, Mrs. Clinton is appealing to slices of the electorate that she needs in her corner— black voters, Hispanics, young people and college-edu- cated whites—and whose moral code says that an unre- pentant bigot can hardly claim to be a good person.”
So what happens next year? Rural and small towns face unique challenges in education, healthcare, aging
populations, infrastructure and so forth. But these days our most often reported problem is the opioid epidemic. While opioid addiction is certainly worth our attention, we also have lots of other challenges ... and opportunities.
That’s one of our biggest headwinds heading into 2017. Those of us in rural and small town America are going to have to explain to one of these two candidates (and their thousands of employees) what we want from our government in 2017 and beyond. America, if we are to thrive as a nation, will have to collectively address policies regarding immigration, wealth inequality, national debt, etc. Within each “big” national policy deliberation, however, there are nuances that will have a direct e ect on the vitality and futures of our backyards.
If we presume that folks inside the beltway will gure out these nuances for us, we will be sadly dis- appointed yet again. If rural and small town Ameri- cans are dissatis ed with our government, maybe one reason is that we let important policy decisions get made by folks with little knowledge of our lives “o the beaten path”. That’s going to have to change and it’s going to be hard work. It requires a sophisticated understanding of the policy process and the resources to participate in seemingly interminable negotiations. In other words, if we want a government that works better for us, we’re going to have to roll up our sleeves as well.
ET’S LOOK AHEAD TO 2017. AFTER THE DUST from this election season clears and a new pres-
ident is sworn in, what happens to rural and
Diane Smith is the founder and CEO of American Rural where she works to create greater awareness of the growing opportunities for those who choose to live, work and prosper in rural and small town America. Learn more about Diane by following her column here or visit American Rural at AmericanRural.org.
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OCTOBER 5, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM