Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: An Exploration Of Wastewater Issues And Possible Solutions In And Out Of Montana, Keely I. Larson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Larson, Keely, M.A., Spring 2023

Major:Environmental and Natural Resources Journalism

Out of sight, out of mind: An exploration of wastewater issues and possible solutions in and out of Montana

Chairperson: Dennis Swibold

Co-Chairpersons: Nadia White, Sarah Halvorson

This is a master’s project, featuring three stories, linked in theme. The first starts with a nationally scoped story about septic systems in resort towns and what happens when too many people want to visit areas like Cape Cod, the Florida Keys or, more locally, Seeley Lake, and overwhelm waste disposal methods. Often in these areas that are more remote, septic systems …

Conserving And Sharing Freshwater In The West, Kelsea Harris-Capuano

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There are infinite stories to be told about water in the West. As an essential and finite resource, countries, states, tribal nations and neighbors must figure out how to manage this shared resource, whether for ecosystem sustainability, agricultural, household, or recreational use.

The Flathead Lake Biological Station in Polson, MT is one of the oldest active biological research stations in the United States. One of its former faculty, Dr. Mark Lorang, has been working on Flathead Lake’s erosion problem for over 30 years. As a result of seasonal lake level fluctuations controlled by the dam, erosion over the years has …

Saving A Species: A Look Into Novel Techniques Being Used To Conserve Wildlife, Sierra R. Cistone

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildlife is held in public trust, and the public plays an important role in management and conservation as voters, advocates and beneficiaries of the many services and enjoyment that wildlife provides. But understanding wildlife issues, conservation and management decisions can be challenging given the often complex science around wildlife ecology and diverse public perspectives. That is why careful and accurate reporting around wildlife and environmental topics is imperative and a requirement of a well-informed electorate. This master’s portfolio is a collection of extensively reported stories around wildlife issues that are designed to be accessible to general readers to fulfill that …

Is Growing Food Wasting Water? Stories From A Surge Of Groundwater Regulations In California, Abigail Jean Lauten-Scrivner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This long-form feature story examines how the nascence of California’s new era of groundwater regulation is playing out for the farmers, families and agencies who must adapt to a sweeping new law against the backdrop of climate change.

California became the last state in the west to adopt a statewide management plan for the invaluable natural resource when it first embarked on a path toward groundwater sustainability in 2020. Known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the 20-year plan requires California’s most depleted groundwater basins to become sustainable by 2040.

When SGMA matured in 2020, California’s next drought began …

Bridging The Gap: Where Indigenous Knowledge And Western Science Come Together To Shape Environmental Stewardship, Bowman Leigh

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the era of climate change, humans are grappling with how to ensure that natural resources exist into the future. For millennia, Indigenous people have actively managed the environment, drawing upon deep connections to the land passed down through generations. The Western worldview, on the other hand, sees humans as separate from nature — an attitude that has led to many of the environmental crises we see today.

This portfolio examines places and programs where Western science and Indigenous knowledge (IK) or traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) come together to shape environmental stewardship. Western science and IK/TEK are inherently different ways …

A Midwest Migration With Endangered Whooping Cranes, Katherine Anne Hill

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

In 1941, the world’s last migratory flock of whooping cranes was just 15 birds strong. Today, that flock has grown to over 500 birds and is increasing exponentially every year. But even as the flock continues to recover, their migratory corridor continues to shrink, due to the destruction of habitat by industrial agriculture, energy development, and other industries.

But throughout the most sparsely populated stretches of the Central Flyway, whooping cranes have some unlikely allies, too.

In Nebraska and Kansas, where wetlands and native prairie grasses have historically been drained, burned, and converted to cropland, some farmers are reversing that …

The Heated Fight Over One Of America's Newest National Scenic Trails, Kylie Foster Mohr

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

The Wild That Remains: A Once In A Generation Forest Plan Reignites The Wilderness Debate In Montana’S Gallatin Range, Anthony Stephen Pavkovich

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The movement to preserve Montana’s Gallatin Mountains, which stretch north from Yellowstone National Park, has been ongoing since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. Largely undeveloped, the range’s sinuous, rocky crest, fertile meadows and thick lodgepole forests are vital to one of the earth’s last intact temperate ecosystems. The landscape provides refuge to rare populations of grizzly bears, elk, bighorn sheep, wolves and wolverines. Yet, the Gallatins remain the last major mountain range bordering the nation’s first and most iconic national park without congressionally designated wilderness. The closest the Gallatins came to being protected as wilderness was in …

Nostalgic Restoration: Recovering Washington's Coastal Resources, Carly Vester

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

We have a penchant for assigning value to our resources. In many cases this value makes the recovery of degraded and damaged resources justifiable. But when this value cannot be quantified, when our resources have emotional rather than economic value, the story changes. “Nostalgic Restoration: Recovering Washington’s Coastal Resources” focuses on two editorial pieces and one short film of coastal resource recovery, solely for the relationship between people and resources.

Washington’s only native oyster, the Olympia oyster (ostrea lurida), once covered more than 20,000 acres across the Puget Sound. Due to pollution and overharvesting, only 5% of the …

Finding Home After Fallout: The Future Of Fukushima's Forests, Katy N. Spence

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This long-form journalistic piece is about radioactive forests in Yamakiya, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, and how locals are dealing with it. Residents of Yamakiya were forced to evacuate their village in April 2011 following an explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

One Yamakiyan, Hidekatsu Ouchi, stepped into the role of community leader and is the focus of this story. He hopes Yamakiya can use the radiation, rather than condemning it. Ouchi’s devotion to his community is connected to the Japanese concept of furusato, which refers to an individual’s obligation and nostalgia for family, community and place. The story asserts …

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 …

The Last Best Hope: Are Voluntary Conservation Agreements Effective Tools For Protecting Imperiled Species?, Sophie B. Tsairis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances, or CCAAs, are little known, voluntary conservation agreements that protect imperiled wildlife on private lands. These agreements have emerged over the past decade and have had mixed results in providing adequate protections for candidate species.

Landowners, private industries, state and federal agencies, and environmental nonprofits, are using CCAAs as tools to eliminate the need for an endangered species listing. An Endangered Species Act listing can lead to land-use uncertainty for private landowners and this threat is the main incentive to enroll in a CCAA. When landowners enroll in CCAAs they are agreeing to provide specific …

The Burn Issue, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Montana: Scoring the Dolezal Debrief -- Billing the Bereaved -- Digging Deeper by the Week -- The Language of Gender and Sexuality -- Records Go Online -- Mugshots and the Right to Know -- Montana Brings Shield Laws Online

The West: Good Cop, Bad Press -- Bucking Censorship of Student Speech -- East Coast Story Shakes Local Press -- The Reluctant YouTube Sensation -- New App Prospects for Tourists -- Using Analytics to Negotiate Contracts

Cover Story: Journalists on the Wildfire Beat -- Extra: Crowdsourcing Fire Science -- Extra: Fire, Weather and Climate -- Extra: Burnt Budgets -- Extra: Politicians …

Crossing The Line: Navigating A Polluted Transboundary Watershed, Celia T. Tobin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Montana’s Lake Koocanusa sits at the end of a river system that drains Canada’s most productive coal country. Today, the waters of the massive lake contain a mineral called selenium, a poorly understood byproduct of mine waste. This summer, the U.S. federal government will be in a position to declare that the selenium in the lake puts Canada in violation of its international treaty with the U.S. The Montana government, however, is preparing to argue otherwise through its own water analysis. The disagreement has U.S. ecologists frustrated with the state’s position, saying they won’t practice science that is slave to …

Sink Or Shift: How Local Television Measures Up To The Digital Challenge, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Neighborhood Watch: No-fly Zone -- Happy Media -- Energy Beat Booms -- Dairy Blackout -- The Deflated Journalist

State of the State: Before Ferguson -- Shooting Solo -- Last Best Place Pays Reporters the Worst -- The Dude Provides -- Scanner Shutoff -- Shutter Luck -- Losing Home Advantage

TV Guide: Transients of the Digital Age -- Television Source Check -- Boiling Point

Features: Under a Closer Scope -- About Face -- I, Journalist -- Digital to Darkroom -- Shifting Perspectives -- Three on a Match -- Ron's Reasons -- A Ride on the Front Page

The Year Ahead: My …

Against The Grain: Railroad Ramifications As Oil Crosses Wheat Country, Laura Scheer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Over the past two years, grain growers along Montana’s Hi-Line have experienced significant shipping delays because of heavy traffic on the railroads in the northern plains. The delays caused declines in wheat prices and many farmers had to build extra storage to house the crops they couldn’t get on the rails. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, the main railroad serving the Hi-Line, blames the congestion on harsh winter weather, a larger than average crop harvest and an increase in shipping demands across all sectors. Farmers say the railroad has favored increasing shipments of crude oil from the Bakken shale formation …

The Hunt For Privacy Under The Big Sky, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Watchdog: Kiss and Tell -- Making the Cut -- Capturing the Moment -- Digging on Deadline -- University Confidential -- Concealed Weapons -- The Birthday Loophole

Secrets: Behind the Times -- No Place to Hide -- Privacy Betrayed -- Under the Needle -- Editorial Cartoon -- The Grind -- One Frame Every Day

Made in Montana: Spying on Wildlife -- The Secret to YouTube Success -- Preaching to the Choir -- Gaps on the Map -- Native Secrets -- Secret Montana Fantasies -- Towner's Gold -- Facebook Confessionals

The Year Ahead: The Hit List -- J-School Confidential -- After Jaffe …

Breaking Scandal: Inside The Sexual Assault Coverage, The Jezebel Reporter's Defense, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Year in Review -- The New Ball and Chain -- Two Nations, One Voice -- Running On Empty -- Lightweight Heroes -- Cover Story: The Blame Game -- You've Been Served -- How a Night Can Go Wrong -- Out of the Abyss -- Looking Down the Barrel -- Falling Far From Here -- Watchdog -- Made in Montana

What's In Boom, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Agriculture: Far from food: Farming community shops across county line -- "Timber!" is now a quiet echo

Inhabitants: New views from old angles -- The great Montana wolf hunt -- Fighting over a doughnut -- Bare necessities: How to survive in bear country -- Freestyled -- Culling in the capital -- The Last Wranglers -- Montana Million

Sidney: Strangers in Sidney: When a small-town reporter strikes big news

Land: Beneath the prairie -- Explosive real estate -- The energy footrace -- All hands on coal -- Keystone looming in November

Watchdog: The effect of blogs and citizen journalism -- From …

How Do We Keep A Distance From Our Subjects, While Creating In-Depth Stories?, Heather Kay Ericson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Goma Rai was sold into prostitution in Bombay when she was thirteen years old. She was raped and brutalized and endured situations many of us only see in our nightmares. She escaped this life, but not without repercussions. Rai has AIDS, was shunned from her country and society, and now has to cope with these struggles. She formed an organization, Shakti Milan Samaj, to empower HIV/AIDS affected women by involving themselves in society through training and to change the negative attitude against HIV. The organization also pays for medications and medical treatment. I went to Nepal this summer for six …

Beyond Our Borders: The Future Of Foreign Reporting, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Freelancing: the bottom line -- In Cairo -- Mehrdad Kia on foreign reporting -- Advantages of being a female foreign correspondent -- The risks of being a female foreign correspondent -- Embedded reporting: asset or liability? -- A drowning rice bowl -- The world of Al-Jazeera English -- Anonymous in Burma -- Risky business -- From quarterbacks to quakes -- Against the wall: reporting on China -- Lessons on foreign reporting: Marcus Brauchli -- Pack your bags and go -- Beyond conflict: reporting in occupied Palestine -- The Pearl Project -- Practicing journalism in a smaller, riskier world -- Revolutions …

Thriving And Surviving In A Multimedia World, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

The Unreachables -- Playing catch-up -- Small-town multimedia -- Tips and tricks -- Ethics of blogging -- New curricula -- Sports journalism -- Broadcast journalism -- Website comments -- Future tech is here -- Citizen journalism -- Freelance -- Oops! -- Twitter in the courtroom -- The mp3 sound of music -- Hyperlocal strategy -- Teen magazines online -- Editor's note -- Staff bios

Tailings Tale: Mike Horse Looms Dark Over The Blackfoot, Elizabeth L. Harrison

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

In the spring of 1975, a heavy rain blew out an earthen dam holding back toxic metal waste from the now defunct Mike Horse mine at the headwaters of the scenic Big Blackfoot River. Federal agencies, a corporate mining giant, and the small town community of Lincoln, Montana, grapple with the repercussions and future of the watershed.

Environmental Journalism Issue, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Reservations -- Eco-Tourism -- Green Publications -- Environmental Journalism -- Science vs. Sensationalism -- Is It Too Late? -- Newsrooms -- Crowdsourcing -- Non-Profits -- Wildlife Film Ethics -- Ignorance in the West -- Advocacy in Journalism -- Great Turtle Race -- Blasts from the Past -- Book Reviews -- Environmental Photojournalism -- Food for Thought -- Reporting The Grace Case

Presses To Podcasts: New Skills, Old Values, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Nathaniel Blumberg Remembers -- Old School Journalism -- Networking with Facebook -- Dear Diary -- How to Get Rid of E-waste -- Then and Now -- Wired Politics -- Missed the Broadcast? Listen to the Podcast -- Photo Plus -- Don't Know How? Teach Yourself -- Free Speech in Cyberspace -- News Poll: Where We Get Our News -- Roundup, Mont. -- Searching the Smart Way -- On the Cutting Edge of Multimedia Journalism -- Getting Schooled -- Capital Changes -- Anybody Trust the Media? -- Learning to Embrace Change -- Punk Rock Journalism -- King 5: Broadcasting Plus Webcasting …

From Kyrgyzstan To The Rockies: Overcoming The Challenges Of Rural Journalism, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Jailhouse Journalism -- Tke World from the Hill -- Gringo Gazettes -- The Role of Manhood in Media -- The Ugly American -- The Art of Criticism -- So Long, Friend -- Feedback -- News Never Sleeps -- The Truth and Other Howlers -- Cowflops and Cowtowns -- Peaks and Valleys -- Kids, Cattle, Grain, Minerals and Journalism -- The Nonprofit Newspaper Hybrid -- Creating a News Network -- I’ve Read Every Sheet

Montana Journalism Review, 2006, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Youth Newspaper Readership -- Do Journalism Degrees Count? -- Challenging the Power Structure -- Ethical Journalism v. Advocacy -- Copper Curse -- From Eastern to Western -- Reflections From Chile -- A Journey on Top of the World -- Searching for a Miracle -- Red Lake: One Year Later -- Journalism and Trauma -- It's Risky Business -- The Slippery Truth -- The Media and Eating Disorders -- MJR Book Reviews -- Silly Journalists!

Montana Journalism Review, 2005, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Letter From the Editor -- RSS: News in the Present Tense -- Independent Thinkers -- Q&A with a Middle Eastern Scholar -- A Grand Failure -- The Outdoor Writer's Handshake -- Journalism or Junk? -- Censorship in Nepal -- Tromping on Wild Places -- Sleepy Inn -- The Digital Darkroom -- Story Telling -- Pulling the Veil Off Indecency -- Small Town News -- Minority Report -- Landing the Perfect Job -- Darkest Before Dawn -- History Censored -- Book Reviews -- Let the News Hounds Loose

Montana Journalism Review, 2004, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Newsroom Diversity -- A One-Man Band in Iraq -- Iraq’s long road to a free press -- Waking the Sleeping Giant -- The good, the bad, the blog -- Reflections on Libby -- Scenic Writing -- Photo Story: Montana Family Ranches -- The Accidental Editor -- End of the Bulldog Edition -- Connecting the Dots -- Politics’ Funny Side -- Eye for the Extraordinary -- Lying to the Press -- Stringing Readers Along -- Sex for Sale -- Injustice Ignored

Montana Journalism Review, 2003, University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Montana Journalism Review

Big Sky News the Io-way -- Pot Shots in Cut Bank -- The Next Generation -- Blacklists, Dirty Laundry -- Access-cutting bills collapse -- Not Guilty of Lying -- To Baghdad and back -- Antietam to Afghanistan -- Rebuilding a free press -- Tales of Endurance -- Humble Humorist -- Tears behind the laughter -- Iraq war or Final Four? -- Gay wedding announcements -- The ultimate in irony -- New Recruits -- Journalism in Germany -- Growth of the alt-weakly