Environmental Studies Commons^™

Keeping What You Sow: Intellectual Property Rights For Plant Breeders And Seed Growers, Paulina B. Jenney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Over the last 150 years, the food system in the present-day United States has undergone a transformational restructuring, from a diversified, decentralized, network of farmers and seed growers, to one in which the majority of crop production is controlled by a few industrial corporations. The consolidation of power has been under-girded by the application of intellectual property rights (IPR)—especially utility patents—to plant varieties and genetic traits, which are leveraged to exclude small-scale seed growers from accessing quality germplasm. Patents and restrictive licensing agreements recapitulate colonial structures by appropriating common and traditionally community-held resources for profit, and by creating reliance on …

Collaborating In Cattle Country: Developing A Collaborative Process To Protect The Ecological, Economic, And Cultural Integrity Of Ranching In The Northern Rockies, Emily Jochem

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper explores the creation of a collaborative group that is being convened by Future West, a nonprofit organization based out of Bozeman, MT, to address issues surrounding the loss of ranchlands to alternative land uses in the Northern Rockies. Using literature and theory on collaboration this paper outlines a framework for the development of a collaborative group that includes seven ranchers as advisors to Future West in the development of their program. This framework includes the following elements:

1. A survey that was administered to each participant to assesses their ability to represent their community, and to gauge their initial …

Traversing Paradigms: An Environmental Journey To Body And Mind, Martin Ceja Mejia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Traumatic life experiences altered the way I perceive the world. As a result, I embark on a journey to reshape my relationship to self, the built and natural world; to environment. In this thesis I ask: How do I want to relate to the environment? Considering I am a doubly colonized agent, I also aim to decolonize my relationship to environment along the process. Therefore, this work aims to formulate a new, personal, relationship to environment through academic literature, history, psychology, Indigenous knowledge and science, and literary studies, among other fields of knowledge. This work is interdisciplinary in nature; life …

A Thinking Person's Guide To Immigration And Environmental Racism At The Us - Mexico Border, Emma H. Kiefer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border thanks in part to the strict immigration restrictions from the Trump administration, such as the family separation policy. Immigration remains a widely misunderstood issue and arguments against increased immigration are often laced with racist stereotypes and perceptions that find their roots in centuries of US policy, court cases, and administrative rules. Similarly, the concept of environmental racism can be difficult for the American public to understand when modern-day racism alone has become more insidious. Intersectionality, a concept coined by sociologist Kimberlé Crenshaw, asks us …

Tales From A Placeholder: A Relational Journey With Land, Place, People And Self, Kalle O. Fox

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The proposed thesis is a collection of place-based, long- and-short-form creative nonfiction essays. The places of interest are where the author spent different amounts of time in during her twenties, including Iceland, Miami and Seaside, Florida, Butte and Missoula, Montana, and a series of National Parks on the western side of the Continental Divide. This thesis is informed what cultural geographer Yi Fu Tuan coined as topophilia: the affective bond between people and place. “Place” and “sense of place,” while each having their own array of definitions in environmental scholarship, are considered interchangeable in the context of my work. A …

Lightman, Cynthia Ann Marbut

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

My thesis is a work of fiction wherein I imagine some of the potential transformations climate change will bring to the planet. Lightman is set in the near future with a touch of science fiction. The novel explores the power of community and the importance of multiple perspectives and knowledge systems. The plot revolves around the struggles of a group of characters living in a post-apocalyptic moment created by climate change. In this time, all modern infrastructure collapses, leaving my characters to learn how to survive without benefit of technology while traveling through a wilderness. They will encounter risks to …

Missouri River Open Lands Preservation: A Great Falls Case Study, Leonard Patrick Ormseth

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

South of Great Falls, Montana, adjacent to the city lies a 72-acre undeveloped parcel of state school trust land. For decades, this land has been used by the community for recreation including mountain biking, dog walking, fishing, and wildlife viewing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these recreational values were especially pertinent as city attractions such as bars, restaurants, and other entertainment were shuttered or suffered from greatly reduced capacity. The community, while aware of this treasure, became especially attached as it served as a refuge from the throes of the modern world. When the Fox Farm neighborhood learned of the State’s …

Decoupling Neoliberal Ideologies With American Governance And Civics, Henry J. Deluca

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Lasting neoliberal ideologies that emerged from the Reagan era have set a precedent for how American society is to understand itself in relation to American governance and economics. At its core, neoliberalism is rooted in the belief of free markets, laissez-faire economics, and federal deregulation. Using moral egoism as its grounding normative ethic and federal deregulation as its means of achieving its goal, this economic approach fails to account for our governments ability to protect the well being and needs of citizens. Furthermore, neoliberalism completely disregards the need for ecological health and stagnates our ability to mitigate the effects of …

A Study And Application Of Nature And Empathy Based Environmental Education, Lia Volpa

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

As climate change persists and new generations are inducted into positions responsible for adaptation, it is vital that children are educated about the environment in a way that will create long-lasting motivation to address these environmental issues. This paper analyzes the methods most effective in environmental education, answering the question: what components of elementary-level education inspire children to be stewards of the earth rather than invoke fear for the future? To answer this question a series of literature was reviewed through which three themes emerged as important components of environmental education: age, exposure to nature, and cultivation of empathy. Developmental …

Disrupting Settler Stories: Learning To Live With Respect, Intimacy, And Reciprocity On Colonized Land, Anna S. Favour

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

These essays and illustrations are informed by the question of how to form meaningful connection to place and care for a place when that land is colonized; when the creation of this place is rooted in harm. The purpose is to explore questions that have arisen during four years of Environmental Studies education. I want to learn what it means to be an environmentalist – to have a deep respect for the land and its inhabitants in a manner that extends beyond conservation – a relationship centered around respect, intimacy, and reciprocity. I want to understand if it’s possible to …

Building Bridges: How Collaboration Is Addressing Wildlife-Vehicle Conflicts In Montana's Upper Yellowstone Watershed, Daniel Phelps Anderson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In my first semester of graduate studies at the University of Montana – Fall, 2019 – I was given an assignment from one of my professors to research a “landscape-scale” conflict of my choosing and compose a professional memo that could be sent to key influencers or stakeholders tied to the issue. Naturally, I directed my attention to a community I know and love, the Upper Yellowstone, and a conflict that is ubiquitous across the West: Wildlife-Vehicle Conflicts (WVCs).

In the pages that follow I describe how Yellowstone Safe Passages came to be, who is involved, and the steps we …

Managed: Examining The Relationship Between Montana's State Government And Its Natural Resources, Peter Dempsey Zimmerman

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The three stories in this portfolio examine the relationship between Montana's government and its natural resources. Chapter one is a narrative outlining the stories, my reporting and publication. Chapter two: New Governor Greg Gianforte makes his picks for the heads of state environmental regulatory agencies, surprising everyone in the process. Chapter three: The state legislature proposes bills to protect the future of Colstrip as the coal industry declines. Chapter four: Data raises questions over the true impact of a new wolf management program.

Transboundary Marine Management In The Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape, Lindsey G. Ellett

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Transboundary conservation aims to facilitate environmental conservation and management at the ecosystem level by operating across political boundaries, through the cooperation of two or more countries. Though there is increased interest and advocation for transboundary conservation initiatives around the world, there remains a limited understanding of how they function on-the-ground. Within this study, I address these gaps in knowledge through two phases of research, both focusing on the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape as a case study site. Phase I involved a policy analysis of Indonesian, Malaysia, and Philippine policies related to fisheries, coastal zones and protected areas, and environmental quality. Through this …

Policy And Collaborative Governance: Case Studies Of Three Wildlife Crossings, Nicholas Maya

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Over the last several decades, the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions in North America has significantly increased, driving substantial loss of human life and wildlife and economic costs. The most effective wildlife-vehicle collision mitigation is wildlife crossing structures (undercrossings and overcrossings), with some studies suggesting they can reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by 97% when paired with wildlife exclusion fencing. However, cost, funding, jurisdiction, land ownership, and local support are limiting factors in constructing these crossing structures. This paper presents case studies of three crossing projects in Snoqualmie, Washington, Teton County, Wyoming, and Summit County, Colorado, to illustrate the similarities and differences in …

Evaluating The Social Impact Of The Roundtable On The Crown Of The Continent, Travis D. Anklam

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

For over a decade the Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent – a landscape-scale collaborative conservation network– has convened and connected people together to enhance conservation, culture, and community in the Crown of the Continent region. After years of conferences, workshops, and projects, participants have expressed a need to take stock of the difference that the network has made. This paper shares the results of an evaluation that used both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the social impacts the Roundtable has generated for active participants. Study results reveal that the Roundtable has generated measurable and meaningful impacts for …

Collaborative Conservation And Backcountry Weed Control: A Case Study Of The Great Burn Proposed Wilderness, Christopher James Prange

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Noxious weeds have become a management priority on public lands in the United States. Managing invasive weed populations in natural areas with complex ecosystems presents issues that need a systems-wide approach over long temporal and spatial scales. This broad-scale problem increasingly demands collaborative efforts. While collaborative conservation has become a tool in natural resource management during the 21^st century, it is less commonly applied in weed control in backcountry wilderness areas. Programs that have been initiated are understudied. Accordingly, this research was conducted through semi-structured interviews to gather perspectives of weed professionals involved in a collaborative backcountry weed program …

Mountains To The Sea: How Climate Change Influences People, Cultures And Communities, Stephanie L. Maltarich

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Change Is The Only Constant: A Snowpack Retention Analysis And Climate Vulnerability Road Map For The Skalkaho Creek Sub-Basin, Zachary Freeman Goodwin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Climate change is impacting the whole of North America, although the impacts differ depending on regional geography. In the Intermountain West, climate change is contributing to lower overall snowpack totals and diminished late season streamflows. These changes will likely contribute to vulnerabilities in how much water is available to irrigators, municipalities, and fisheries dependent upon a consistent yearly flow of meltwater. This paper explores how snowpack retention has changed via the NASA dataset Daymet, which provides gridded estimates of weather parameters including Snow Water Equivalent in the Bitterroot River Basin of western Montana. This analysis showed that snowpack retention from …

An Exploration Of The Adaptive Capacity Of Community-Based Organizations In Northern Botswana In Response To A Hunting Ban, Katherine Kellam Coe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Trophy hunting serves as a large economic sector in several African countries and has been considered important for wildlife conservation and local rural development. In many parts of Africa, local communities’ attitudes and decisions can affect the fate of conservation efforts outside of protected areas and it is thought that benefits from trophy hunting tourism can influence pro-conservation behavior at local scales. In Botswana, recent mandates, such as a 2014 nation-wide hunting ban and a 2019 lifting of the ban, have disrupted the relationships between wildlife conservation and rural livelihoods, resulting in adverse economic, social, and ecological impacts at various …

A Conservation Marketing Toolkit: Systematic Literature Mapping, Microtargeting Conservation Easements, And Conservation Corridor Prioritization, Hannah Josie Leonard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In a changing world with limited resources for conservation efforts, conservationists, wildlife managers, and land managers must look for creative ways to realize conservation goals. A new wave of conservationists is investigating how other disciplines, namely psychology and marketing, might improve our ability to understand and change conservation-related human behavior. In this thesis, I review existing applications of “conservation marketing” and apply a subset to advance two specific conservation challenges. In Chapter 1, I present a systematic mapping of the conservation marketing literature to understand the lay of the land in how conservationists have already applied marketing techniques to conservation, …

"A Pressure Not To Be Resisted Or Evaded": Military Occupation, Reform, And The Incorporation Of Northern Montana, 1879-1916, Hayden Nelson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis explores Fort Assinniboine’s role as an extension of the federal government’s military arm in the Northern Plains. It argues that the military occupation of northern Montana served to incorporate the northern borderland region and peoples into the American mainstream as a part of the national reconstruction processes following the Civil War into the twentieth century. In a period of half a century, north-central Montana transformed from a Native American common hunting ground lacking any major white settlement to a rapidly developing agricultural region. Fort Assinniboine played a central role in this transformation, hastening the economic collapse of the …

A Policy Analysis Of Lead Paint Disclosure Implementation In Residential Homes In Missoula Montana, Marissa Lein Lehner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using Weimer and Vining’s (2017) framework and interviews with key actors, this policy analysis evaluates the implementation of federal lead paint disclosure requirements in Missoula Montana. Lead based paint was commonly used in homes built prior to 1978. Disclosure requires landlords and any persons selling a home to disclose known lead-based paint hazards to buyers and renters. The policy was enacted to promote informed decisions to avoid or reduce the risk of lead paint exposure. Lead paint disclosure serves a critical purpose to inform citizens of risk of lead paint in older housing, because any lead exposure is particularly detrimental …

Rhetoric And Perception: A Case Study Of The Proposed Northmet Mine On Minnesota’S Iron Range, Sophia J. Frank

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Northern Minnesota is rich in natural resources, perhaps most uniquely the expansive mineral deposits of the Mesabi and Vermilion Ranges. The steel and taconite mining opportunities along these veins helped facilitate the rapid growth and infrastructure development of the area and is an important part of the identity of the region northwest of Duluth, aptly known as Iron Range. In addition to iron deposits, The Iron Range contains large deposits of copper and nickel. Recently proposed copper-nickel mining projects by PolyMet and Twin Metals have garnered a great deal of public controversy, especially around issues of economic revitalization of the …

The Great Turning: A Call For Systems-Thinkers, Gabriella M. Demarce

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

David Orr, in an article on ecological intelligence reminds us that the modern world was shaped by people who did not understand that our social and economic systems could not coexist with the rest of the biological or natural systems on Earth (Orr, 1994). My research is rooted in Orr’s argument and discovering ways to shift this degrading paradigm. With my belief in the power of education in empowering youth and my background in environmental and climate change studies, I see a future in great need of people who holistically understand the functions of all types of systems and can …

Protecting Biodiversity On National Forests: The Evolution And Implementation Of Forest Planning Regulations, Anna Wearn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2012, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) promulgated new forest planning regulations that significantly altered national forest management. One of the most controversial and important advancements was the inclusion of what were meant to be stronger biodiversity protections. An analysis of USFS’s rationale in revising the biodiversity regulations provides insights into how to interpret the substantively and procedurally new ecosystem and species protections. Examining this regulatory history reveals three key changes to the manner in which national forests are required to manage and monitor biodiversity: 1) a greater reliance on science to inform planning, 2) a new emphasis on ecological …

Down The Deer Path: Reflections On The Future Of Hunting In America, Jackie A. Bussjaeger

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This collection of chapters delves into the dramatically shifting landscape of hunting sports from a personal perspective of a young hunter. As older hunters age out of the sport, hunter-funded conservation initiatives are in danger of losing support. This work examines the nature of relationships between hunters, their prey, and their worldview, as well as the elements of hunting that appeal to new hunters, and the challenges they may face as they become the hunters of the future.

Global And Regional Perspectives On Large-Landscape And Transboundary Conservation, Sanober R. Mirza

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

With the growing pressure of environmental degradation and exploitation to social and ecological landscapes around the world, conservationists are looking for new approaches to address the complex nature of transboundary issues. Large-landscape conservation supports conservation and management of ecosystems, wildlife, and resources in a more holistic approach that extends beyond protected area boundaries. Transboundary conservation, a distinct form of large-landscape conservation, operates across political and spatial scales by involving two or more countries cooperating to protect a border resource or ecosystem. Though the recognition of large-landscape and transboundary conservation is growing, there is limited understanding of trends across these types …

Tending To The Tapestry: An Ecofeminist Interpretation Of Women Farmer-Artists' Stories, Aubrey Pongluelert

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There is a disconnect in Western academia, between classroom conversations concerning the impact of environmental degradation on rural communities, and engagement with those communities whom we are discussing. Those working in environmental studies are confronted with the question of how to effectively communicate the concerns addressed by the field in ways which are accessible to, and engage broader audiences. Creative languages such as the visual arts, storytelling, and music are invaluable tools in this task because they offer accessible and culturally relevant means of conveying ideas, perspectives, and experiences. This project examines the ways in which these creative languages contribute …

Comparing Fence Modeling And Mapping Approaches To Support Wildlife Management And Research In Southwest Montana, Simon Albert Buzzard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fences pose significant challenges to wildlife movement, but their effects are difficult to quantify because fence location and fence type data are lacking on a global scale. We developed a fence location and density model in southwest Montana, USA to provide data to researchers and managers, and test whether previous models could be applied to a new region and retain suitable levels of statistical accuracy. Our model used local expert opinion to inform how road, land cover, and ownership spatial layers interacted to predict fence locations. We validated the model against fence data collected on random 3.2 km road transects …

Ethical Eating: Overcoming Alienation In The Industrial Food System By Aligning Our Practices With Our Principles, André Kushnir

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis arose out of a moment of discord, while an environmental philosopher was eating blackberries in the middle of a blizzard in Missoula, Montana. What follows is an attempt to bridge the gap between our principles and our practices, by asking the questions: What does ethical eating look like? Is it possible within our current industrial food system? and If not, what needs to change? Responding to the publication of the 2019 EAT-Lancet report, this essay moves beyond thinking of ethical eating as “healthy” and “sustainable” and challenges the networks of suffering and labour that we take for …