Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 10.7.15

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
GUEST COLUMN MACK & CONNIE LONG
IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION
KELLYN BROWN
A SHORT AREADING LIST
FALL IS COMING TO MONTANA. SWELTERING August afternoons on the trail have been replaced with crisp autumn mornings, frost heavy on the changing foliage as we brew morning cof- fee at camp. As the faces of our clients change from day to day or week to week, the constant beauty of Mon- tana and inevitable change of season is the ballast to our work lives here in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Another constant we’ve experienced in Montana is working together, shoulder to shoulder, with our neighbors and friends. Working collaboratively is vital in a state with mountains as tall and valleys as wide as what we hold here in Montana. Whether it’s repairing a stock barn or discussing land use management plans, our best work is done when we work side by side.
We’ve been outfitters for some time now, and have been lucky enough to live amongst a community of folks who all have a stake in the lands where we work and play. We’ve seen our neighbors and friends in the timber, ranching, outfitting, and conservation com- munities come together to do what is best for Montana in places like the North Fork of the Flathead and the Rocky Mountain Front. Just within the past year, Con- gress passed legislation in these two regions to safe- guard wildlife habitat, recreational access, ranching operations and outfitting opportunities. These proj- ects are the result of neighbors developing solutions that provide a “win” for everyone.
Right in our backyard we’ve seen the benefits and
power of collaboration first hand. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project is a perfect example of Montanans with diverse interests developing solu- tions that benefit everyone, from more logs on trucks to increased snowmobile access to designating addi- tional Wilderness areas. The BCSP is a true collabora- tion where stakeholders have all been willing to give a little in order to gain a lot.
As our Montana delegation heads back to Wash- ington, D.C. from summer recess, it is our hope that they take that Montana spirit of collaboration back with them and work together. In January of this year, over 40 businesses and organizations (Montana Wood Products Association, Pyramid Lumber, Montana Wilderness Association, Bob Marshall Wilderness Outfitters and many more) signed a letter addressed to Congressman Ryan Zinke, Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester encouraging them to give bipartisan sup- port and collaborative solutions to issues such as forest management. We’ve been working together as Mon- tanans for decades. We are asking our Montana dele- gation to, as well.
Zinke, Daines and Tester: We are counting on you to work together to stand up for Montana. We aren’t looking for legislation that creates winners and losers. Through collaboration, we can all be champions of the Treasure State.
Mack and Connie Long live in Charlo.
FTER A WEEK OF BIZARRE AND OFTEN TRAGIC news, I wanted to use this space for something other than current events. Instead, I wanted to
piece together a list I often ask of others and am always eager for theirs to overlap with mine: a reading list.
“What are you reading?” is a common question of mine, especially among my colleagues. Convincing some- one of the value of a good book is a small reward. And dis- cussing a book you have both read is even better.
I annually browse used titles at the Friends of the Library book sale, which ran for three days last month at the Kalispell Center Mall. Thousands of books are lined up on dozens of tables and browsing takes patience. It’s always worth it, though, and the cost is minimal, paid in bulk at a rate of $1.50 per inch.
Here’s what I picked up this year:
• “The Billionaire’s Vinegar” by Benjamin Wallace (I know very little about wine, but the mystery of the “world’s most expensive bottle” must be a good read.)
• “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen (I’m way late to this novel, which was recommended by coworkers, by the author of “The Corrections.”)
• “Collapse” by Jared Diamond (A Pulitzer Prize win- ner for his book “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” the scientist author explains why societies fail or succeed.)
• “Don’t Know Much About History” by Kenneth C. Davis (I’m about halfway through this bestseller on American history, which has helped remedy some of my ignorance on the founding and growth of this country.)
The therapeutic act of searching for new and used books has lost some of its appeal. As the popularity of downloading books on tablets has increased, many pre- dicted the demise of bookstores. It hasn’t happened.
Sure, the largest booksellers in the country have either closed, such as Borders, or are struggling to hang on, such as Barnes & Noble, which has failed to keep pace with the likes of Amazon and Apple. But the meteoric rise of e-books, at least those bought from traditional pub- lishers, has ebbed, and many traditional bookstores are regaining their respective footing.
According to a recent New York Times story, “Inde- pendent bookstores ... are showing strong signs of resur- gence. The American Booksellers Association counted 1,712 member stores in 2,227 locations in 2015, up from 1,410 in 1,660 locations five years ago.”
I refuse to read a book on anything other than printed pages. I write in the margins, bookmark important sec- tions, and place them in a specific order on the bookshelf. Even after they’re read, the good ones stick around like an old friend you plan on revisiting some day.
Here are a few good books to start this fall, a season with less daylight but more time read.
• “The Brothers K” by David James Duncan (Perhaps my favorite novel of my youth about the importance of family and love, intertwined with baseball.)
• “Flash Boys” by Michael Lewis (Another great book by the author of “Moneyball,” this time on how high-fre- quency traders have rigged the financial markets.)
• “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand (This true story of survival and perseverance during World II surpassed even my lofty expectations.)
Here are a couple books I have on my wish list.
• “Creativity Inc.” by Ed Catmull (Recommended by a friend, this is a business management book by the pres- ident of Pixar.)
• “Daily Rituals” (I’ve always been fascinated with rou- tine, and this book maps out typical days of bright minds such as Benjamin Franklin and Beethoven.)
Most of those routines, I suspect, included a lot of reading.
AMERICAN RURAL DIANE SMITH
WHEN T-BALL MET TWITTER
When T-Ball met Twitter their love match looked bright So charming and easy, but something’s not right
T-ball says “Expert or not, you all get to speak”
Twitter says, “Great, I’ll sum up in a tweet”
Twitter and T-Ball are on quite a ride
A real power couple. Just like Bonnie and Clyde
Remember when big decisions were made by con- vening teams of experts (remember that word – experts). These experts would vigorously debate a seri- ous problem and arrive at a conclusion. Sometimes this was a unanimous conclusion; sometimes a “minority opinion” was included. Either way, the experts guided those of us who had neither the time nor intellectual bandwidth in a particular topic to render much in the way of useful input.
Then along came T-Ball.
T-Ball taught us that everyone should have a turn. Not a bad thing in grade school, maybe not such a great thing in really important decision-making. Indeed, T-Ball has, I fear, led to a blurring of the lines between opinions (which everyone has) and expertise (which, by definition, only a handful of folks can have). When exasperated I’ve been known to refer to this as T-Ball Nation.
Then we added Twitter.
“Ban GMOs!” someone Tweets. “Stop poisoning our food!” another chimes in. But, according to the experts, GMOs are complicated. Used to limit small farmers or corrupt food = GMOs bad. Trying to feed a fast growing world or to improve the health of millions
of children worldwide who suffer from Vitamin A defi- ciencies = GMOs good. But such a two-sided, nuanced discussion won’t fit on Twitter. It’s also not very sexy so it probably wouldn’t get much play on Reddit or late night talk shows.
The old way wasn’t perfect. We’ve certainly been manipulated by experts enough to make us skittish. But, judging from the current state of things, the new way isn’t working out so well either.
Out here in rural and small town America, we have long struggled to gain access to “experts.” Perhaps for that reason, we understand more than most the price- less value of authentic expertise and the enormous penalty we pay without it. And we understand stew- ardship. Rural and small town Americans have been longstanding stewards of land and water, our unique lifestyles, families, and communities – it had to be that way; there wasn’t anyone else.
Let’s not lose that in this new century, even with all its great technology and opportunity. Let’s demand good answers to complicated questions; allow for answers that might not fit neatly onto a 3x5 card; and task our policymakers to discuss beyond sound- bites the positions they’re taking on various issues. Most importantly, let’s acknowledge our own limita- tions and tackle tough questions with humility and openness.
T-Ball and Twitter are great, but today’s challenges require so much more. Now, I’m no expert, but I’ll bet even Bonnie and Clyde would agree.
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OCTOBER 7, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM