We launched our work in the Yellowstone River Valley in 2006 when we began the first of a series of cultural research projects there. The initial work, conducted over six months, involved interviews with over 300 people in the valley, and our goal was to have each interviewee explain why the Yellowstone River was important. On average, we spent an hour with each person, and we generated over 6,000 pages of transcribed interview data. Later, in 2012 and 2018, we conducted follow-up interviews, often with many of the same people and sometimes with newly recruited individuals.
We also helped with the Yellowstone River Basin Water Planning project sponsored by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, 2013 to 2015. Those efforts involved meetings with hundreds of people over 18 months to determine the water management goals of the basin. We generated over 150 hours of video-recorded proceedings involving members of the public and resource specialists, such as biologists, hydrologists, and water rights administrators, to name a few.
In addition, Susan Gilbertz served for 10 years on the Technical Advisory Committee for the Yellowstone River Cumulative Effects Analysis project. That committee oversaw multiple studies examining the forms and functions of Yellowstone River, as well as the socioeconomic profiles of the people of the valley. She has also investigated the impacts of the oil and gas industry on the water resources and communities of eastern Montana.
Damon Hall was engaged in the 2006 field work as a doctoral student. His interest in data analysis and the role stakeholders can have in water resources planning and environmental policy stem from this project and continue to drive his research today. A postdoctoral research fellowship in Sustainability Science at the University of Maine revealed the power of this approach for transitioning societies toward sustainability. Since then, he has listened to the expertise of community members, then synthesized patterns of comments for decision making, and applied them to wind energy development, urban insect pollinator conservation, bicycle infrastructure planning, and community-science hydrological modeling.
Over the years, the research efforts of Gilbertz and Hall have resulted in more than 20 peer-reviewed articles reporting their findings in the valley. As presented here, this case study is based on but a few of the many intersecting economic, environmental, and social issues we have documented as important to understanding this valley, its resources, its people, and its future.
The case content includes direct quotes from the people of the valley. While the presentation maintains the confidentiality of the interviewees, we acknowledge and appreciate these inputs. Hopefully, readers will find these comments helpful as illustrations of how people grasp sustainability concepts, even when they do not talk about sustainability, per se. We appreciate the many, many people who have spoken with us over the years.
We note, with gratitude, the support received over the years from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council. Without their support, we would never have been able to conduct the 500-plus interviews, nor would we be so familiar with the Yellowstone River Valley. We are also grateful to the National Science Foundation, which provided funding to pilot a similar version of this text in several college classrooms. In conjunction with Dr. Chris Craig, Murray State University, we can say with confidence that the majority of the content found in this case study has been empirically tested for its ability to provide a solid foundational understanding of sustainability issues and their connections to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-based analyses. Indeed, the idea of this case study came from Dr. Craig.
We acknowledge the local, state, and federal leadership provided during the years while the Cumulative Effects Analysis was conducted and while the State Water Plan was developed. The dedication to the Yellowstone River Valley shown by the following individuals has been profound: Greg Johnson, Eric Laux, Tiffany Vandosdall, John Kilpatrick, Sara Meloy, Paul Azevedo, Jim Robinson, Ken Fraser, Mike Ruggles, Tony Thatcher, Don Youngbauer, Paul Gilbert, Craig Wagner, Walter Rolf, Nicole McClain, Dan Rostad, and Carol Watts.
The topics discussed in this case study are many, and any mistakes in facts or theory are ours. We were, however, able to make some important corrections based on critical feedback from the following experts, all of whom are familiar with research conducted in the Yellowstone River Valley: Warren Kellogg and Burt Williams (Cumulative Effects Analysis), Mike Backes (Pallid Sturgeon), Kathy Chase (hydrology), Chuck Dalby (hydrology and water budgets), Mark Dixon and Jonathan Friedman (cottonwood forests), Mark Elison (water rights), and Shane Doyle (American Indian rights to water in Montana). Inputs from these individuals were helpful and much appreciated.
We dedicate this case study to Warren Kellogg, Burt Williams, and Karen Boyd. Their encyclopedic and synthetic understandings of the Yellowstone River have changed the ways many people think of the valley and its future. Their influences have been forward looking and far reaching, including having formative impacts on these authors.