Think tanks challenge conventional wisdom and generate alternatives. Gallatin Writers and FREE seek innovative solutions to difficult environmental and economic problems. For example, we promote community-based conservation projects and environmental entrepreneurship. Our seminars facilitate policy discussions among federal judges, law professors, environmental professionals, and business leaders. We hope to foster creative alternatives to contentious natural resource issues. Our latest effort was the Wallace Stegner Essay Contest. Its goal was to explore the demographic, cultural, and economic changes on the Northern Plains.

Congratulations to Emily Goodling, a graduate student at the University of Montana, for her first-place finish. Aaron Thompson from the University of Wyoming won second place; and Isaac Kantor from the University of Montana took third. They received cash prizes and Yellowstone Public Radio will host a program highlighting their ideas. Their essays can be viewed at www.gallatin.org/activities.html. Judges for the contest were Dr. Philip Brick at Whitman College; Dr. Ramona Marotz-Baden, Gallatin Writers' program coordinator and MSU professor; The Honorable Lawrence Piersol, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of South Dakota; Professor Donald Snow at Whitman College; and Dr. Karl Stauber, President of the Northwest Area Foundation.

While Stegner is best known for his fiction, we focus on his political and economic commentary. A westerner for most of the 20th century, Stegner had a great vantage point from which to write Wolf Willow, one of the most insightful contemplations of our region. The book chronicles the unbounded enthusiasm of 19th- and early 20th-century settlement along the border of Montana and Saskatchewan. Stegner critically examines the pioneers' false hopes. He helps us differentiate optimistic delusions for the region's future from realistic expectations.

Stegner notes that too many "Boomers" and not enough "Stickers" have plagued our region. Boomers come to the Rockies, exploit the natural resources, and flee. Stickers stay. The question becomes, "What conditions foster Stickers?"

Twentieth-century federal policy on the Northern Plains sought to replicate Midwestern agricultural successes. Unfortunately, nature did not oblige. For example, eastern Montana receives about one-third the rain of Iowa. As Stegner observed, "the large lesson that he [the Plains settler] would have found most useful -- the marginal nature of agriculture on the arid Plains -- was precisely the one that as a pioneer he found unacceptable, because it denied his hope."

Dr. Karl Stauber has identified several goals for rural development. They include conservation of the natural environment and culture; increasing human capital through education; and finding and supporting more profitable economic sectors, rather than protecting older, noncompetitive industries. Implementing these goals should produce the social benefits of reducing concentrated poverty and expanding the middle class.

The winning essays illustrated Dr. Stauber's goals. Ms. Goodling noted that farmers and ranchers wishing to supplement their income might want to examine the possibilities of dude ranching. The Undaunted Stewardship Initiative is a cooperative program of the Montana Stockgrower's Association, Montana State Extension Services, and the BLM. It offers assistance to those wishing to engage in such "agricultural tourism" in exchange for sustainable land-management practices. Goodling also pointed out that the Corporation for the Northern Rockies promotes high-value alternative crops. For example, Professor David Sands at MSU has developed an Indian rice grass, Montina, for the millions who suffer from gluten intolerance. He is also developing grains for diabetics.

Mr. Kantor encouraged processing agricultural products closer to their production sites in order to create local jobs and keep profits in the region. Perhaps ranchers could emulate the success of firms such as Wheat Montana. He also noted that wind power could be harnessed as an energy source. This can be done on large "wind farms," or by individual farmers to supplement their income.

The expanding economies of some Western areas testify to the wisdom of Dr. Stauber's suggestions. Hopefully, the ideas offered by our essay winners will assist others. Perhaps they will encourage Stickers. But the difficult question remains: What to do with the slowly declining regions of the Northern Plains? An unpredictable, evolving economy confounds easy solutions. Stegner longed for a West whose culture and economy matched its scenery. This requires renunciation and adaptation. The winning essays reflect Stegner's recommendation of "human and institutional flexibility."