Environmental Studies Commons^™

40 Years On The International Flathead: An Assessment Of Transboundary River Governance, Jedd Sankar-Gorton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Global population growth, climate change, and industrialization, are putting extreme pressures on worldwide freshwater supplies (Cosens 2010). Of the global freshwater supplies, transboundary water sources play a crucial role in sustaining populations. Over 40% of humans on Earth rely on a transboundary river or lake for access to water, and 90% of the world’s population lives in countries that share bodies of water with at least one other country (UN 2008). Taken together, the motivations for improving governance of transboundary water systems have never been stronger. To meet the challenges associated with transboundary water governance, researchers working at multiple scales …

Volunteering For Vegetables: Community Agriculture And The Prospects For Building A More Democratic Food System, Kali Orton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Scholars and activists hold varied ideas about what a more just and equitable food system might look like. Food democracy, one of these alternative food system theories, centers around the idea that all people should have equal opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the shaping of their food systems. Community farms, due to their socially-oriented qualities, present one possibility for people to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to function as food citizens and build food democracy.

This research explores and seeks to inform food democracy theory through case studies of two urban community farms – one in Missoula, Montana, and …

Growing Youth Programming At Garden City Harvest Through Participatory Action Research, Hannah B. Oblock

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This professional paper presents a program evaluation and strategic plan for the youth development farming programs at Garden City Harvest (GCH), a non-profit in Missoula, Montana, which coordinates community-centered agriculture projects and facilitates sustainable agriculture education. The youth programs, Youth Harvest (YH) and Youth Farm (YF), hire adolescents of 15-18 years of age to work on their urban farms to learn about sustainable agriculture, job readiness skills, and social-emotional well-being. As the organization continues to expand, especially with the addition of a new facility, GCH administration and staff are interested in learning how the programs impact the youth employees and …

Watered Down: The Challenges Of Managing Water Resources In Montana, Beau E. Baker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Like much of the American West, Montana sits in the cross hairs of climate change. State drought resiliency projects and cooperative watershed management are on the rise in the face of decreased snowpack, early runoff, precipitation variability and lower seasonal stream flows. Population growth, land use practices, recreation and tourism all contribute to pressures on state water supplies.

Montana is faced with the arrival of invasive species that threaten the ecological health of its lakes, rivers and streams. State budget constraints and depressed agency capacity are hurting our ability to fend off these threats. There’s a lack of public education …

A Decade Of Governing The Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (Bcca): Community Involvement And Landscape Connectivity Through Public Private Partnerships, Alexander A. Barton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In recent decades, non-governmental organizations have acquired and established community forests and conservation areas in the U.S. However, there have been few empirical studies on their governance. This study focuses on the Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (BCCA) in the Blackfoot watershed of Montana, created in 2005. The BCCA is a 41,000 acre mosaic of private, state, and federal lands, including 5,600 acres known as the “Core” located near Ovando mountain and owned by the Blackfoot Challenge, a local watershed organization and leader in grassroots conservation. This research examined the definitions, activities and lessons learned over the past decade with regard …

Zoning And Complementary Incentives To Protect Farmland: A Case For Missoula County, Kaitlin Mccafferty

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Urban sprawl reflects an inefficient use of land that diminishes both rural landscapes and quality of life turning farms, ranches and open space into siloed suburban communities. This results in less walkable cities with more traffic and air pollution, among other negative consequences. Farmland constitutes a particularly important resource that often faces degradation or loss due to sprawl. Higher quality agricultural soils are particularly desirable for development because they are flat and well-drained. Farmland is also important for urban communities concerning food security, environmental health, and economic well being. As American cities continue to grow, farmland around urban areas has …

Lessons Learned In The Superfund Process: A Guide For Community Advisory Groups, Terri Nichols

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Superfund Community Advisory Groups (CAGs) and Technical Advisory Groups, also known as Technical Assistance Groups, (TAGs) can influence the clean-up of hazardous wastes in their communities by providing a forum for diverse community interests and concerns in the federal Superfund clean-up process. These volunteer groups may increase local input and engagement in remediation of hazardous wastes, as well as in the ultimate future of their community, through collaboration with community members, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff, and parties responsible for contamination. Yet most CAGs and TAGs struggle within the complex, multi-phase Superfund process. Forming a Superfund advisory group is a …

Transitioning Montana To A Renewable Energy Future: The Social And Economic Impacts, Jacqueline O. Sussman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Montana is home to the second-largest coal-fired power plant in the West, the Colstrip Generating Station. The value and demand for coal both domestically and globally is quickly diminishing, while the renewable energy industries of wind and solar are booming. As utilities in the Northwest transition their investments from coal to renewable energy, Montana faces a critical decision on the future of its energy system that will impact the lives of generations of Montanans to come.

This five-part report aims to aid in the discussion and decision-making process by reviewing the most up-to-date economic data on renewable energy; discussing the …

A Comparison Of Three Agricultural Startups, John Dindia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Wilderness Solitude In The 21st Century, Thomas C. Lang

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recent advances in mobile communication technology have led to a decrease in opportunities for individuals to experience alone-time within daily life. As a result, the solitude offered by wilderness landscapes has become all the more valuable. Past research on wilderness solitude has been divided into two distinct frameworks: the Social-Spatial Perspective and the Humanistic Perspective. This distinction has severely limited the development of a comprehensive research model that incorporates all the possible conditions relating to wilderness solitude. This study synthesized past research and theory to create a quantitative model of wilderness solitude which includes elements from both research perspectives, while …