Yellowstone
The New West: Mountain Journal aims to connect the dots of Greater Yellowstone
Published
7 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Todd Wilkinson EBS Environmental Columnist
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has, heretofore, never had a single journalistic presence devoted entirely to making sense of our vast region.
Now it does.
Mountain Journal (mountainjournal.org) was just launched this week as an online, non-profit entity devoted to the mission of public-interest journalism.
Not only was “MoJo” founded in response to the absence of a regular journalistic forum aimed at consistently, aggressively, methodically trying to piece together the differing parts of Greater Yellowstone into an understandable narrative. It will be a free, easy-to-access venue where people with a shared love for the region—no matter where they live—can gather.
My involvement with Mountain Journal and the mission of its board of directors springs from dozens of conversations held over the last couple of years with people in every corner of Greater Yellowstone.
Together, they voiced this reality: Without a better dialogue, without better public understanding of what’s at stake, and without a strategy that involves major players in the region (federal and state land management agencies, elected officials, 20 different counties, local governments and myriad private special interests), Greater Yellowstone faces a certain fate.
In the face of climate change, inward population migration, development patterns, and other forces occurring on the landscape, the character of Greater Yellowstone has little chance of persevering against impacts that have diminished the natural environment of almost every other place on Earth.
It is the founders’ hope that Mountain Journal foremost will be a celebration of Greater Yellowstone while identifying landscape-level issues that, for a variety of reasons, cannot be covered well by local media.
Here is a realization I’ve had after 32 years of writing about Greater Yellowstone, traveling elsewhere to other wild regions for magazine assignments, and doing research for various book projects: For as much as we share mutual mega-passions for Greater Yellowstone, it’s striking, when you think about it, how little people in differing corners of the ecosystem actually talk to each other.
Through a stellar line-up of MoJo columnists, part of that gap will be closed.
On one hand, it’s perfectly understandable why folks from Whitehall (located in Greater Yellowstone’s far northwestern corner) would not know many souls in Atlantic City at the far southeastern tip of the Wind River Range in Wyoming.
Relatively speaking, that’s a vast geographical distance from here to there covering hundreds of miles. Yet between them the same interconnected landscape unfolds.
There is nothing that stands out obviously indicating why one national forest, national park, wildlife refuge, BLM land or Native American reservation would begin in one spot and end in another.
Certainly not if you are an elk or grizzly bear.
Nor is the reasoning behind boundary lines for Greater Yellowstone’s 20 counties—the fastest growing rural landscape in America— conspicuous; nor the rationale behind the original siting for the three state lines of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho that converge upon the ecosystem. Nor the city limits for the differing municipalities.
So, back to the point: There’s a strong affinity all of us feel for Greater Yellowstone, whether we live in Bozeman or Jackson Hole, Big Sky or Cody, Lima or Meeteetse.
At our gut level, we get why the region, apart from its scenery, is special. We take pride from living in a province where there is an extraordinary abundance of wild animals and geothermal wonders that still survive here because they haven’t been messed up by patterns of destruction that have occurred everywhere else.
Unfortunately, traditional print journalism, in most parts of the country, is suffering from advertising models that can no longer support large staffs. That’s why reader-supported public-interest journalism is the future.
It doesn’t matter if you are presently reading these words from a print or digital version of this great local newspaper. I honor the considerable effort of the editors who toiled to put it in your hands. They deserve your praise and your readership.
Mountain Journal looks forward to sharing content with Explore Big Sky and others in distant corners of Greater Yellowstone. With them MoJo will be collaborating to deliver more in-depth stories that connect the dots of what’s happening in our region at the landscape level. A major focus area will be public land and wildlife issues mixed with illuminating commentary that transcends provincial thinking.
We live in a world-class region; it’s time to truly start thinking as one.
Todd Wilkinson has been writing his award-winning column, The New West, for nearly 30 years. Living in Bozeman, he is author of “Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek” about famous Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear 399 featuring 150 photographs by Tom Mangelsen, available only at mangelsen.com/grizzly. His profile of Montana politician Max Baucus appears in the summer 2017 issue of Mountain Outlaw and is now on newsstands. Again, you can find Mountain Journal at: mountainjournal.org.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
march, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
more
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
Time
15 (Friday) 7:00 pm - 30 (Saturday) 8:30 pm
Location
Verge Theater
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
29mar3:00 pm4:00 pmGood Friday Mass: St. Joseph Catholic Mission3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Event City:Big Sky
Event Details
Friday of the Passion of the Lord St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Event Details
Friday of the Passion of the Lord
St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Time
(Friday) 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm