A Common Thread 670 Miles Long
MSU Billings professor quantifies the cultural values of users of the Yellowstone River
Civic leaders, agriculture producers, county commissioners, homeowners, environmentalists, sportsmen and American Indians have as many diverse viewpoints and interests as any groups in Montana.
But there is one common thread for all those groups that stretches nearly 700 miles: The Yellowstone River.
According to some new research led by a Montana State University Billings faculty member, the cultural values of those who work, live and play along the Yellowstone River from the Paradise Valley south of Livingston to its confluence with the Missouri River on the plains just west of Richland County are both intricately complex and widely similar.
And while not all the values are the same, the Yellowstone River — like the tug of a youngster on a father’s coat — pulls at people in with equal strength.
“Their values dictate why they live where they live,” said Dr. Susan Gilbertz, director of environmental studies at MSU Billings and lead researcher of “The Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory – 2006.”
Contacts: Dr. Susan Gilbertz, Director, Environmental Studies Program, 406-657-2183 Dan Carter, University Relations, 406-657-2269
Full Story: http://www.msubillings.edu/urelations/releases/2007/2007Dec17Thread.htm