Scenarios E-Journal

Launch Slideshow

Scenarios is the Foundation’s semi-annual e-journal presenting reports and reflections on innovation in place. Each issue targets a different theme and shares inspiring stories and models for action from the front lines of land use planning.

Current Issue

Spring 2010

Taking Stock in Common Ground

Download Full Issue as PDF
Rick Bass returns to Scenarios with the story of “a quixotic little grassroots group” that fought for game- changing solutions—and revolutionary legislation—resulting in the first designated wilderness in Montana in nearly three decades. Nathan Sayre introduces the Malpai Borderlands “working wilderness” where ranchers and environmentalists achieve common goals at “the radical center.” And Sarah Campbell, Senior Program Director at Everyday Democracy, shares her experience using public dialogue to bridge community divides.

Contents

From the CEO

President and CEO Bill Roper stresses the importance of finding common ground—whether it take the form of unusual partners coming together to build powerful coalitions, community members working to bridge divides, or simply recognizing that yes, we can is more productive than no, we cannot.

Speaking of Place

Rick Bass shares his harrowing yet rewarding journey from Yaak Valley newcomer to avid wilderness advocate to community coalition-forger and bridge-builder. The historic result: the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, which will designate the first wilderness in Montana in nearly 30 years.

On the Ground

Nathan Sayre shares the story of a “working wilderness” straddling the Arizona-New Mexico border, where a non-profit group of ranching families reached across disciplines and old divides to create one of the most successful examples of community- based conservation in the US.

Innovator in Place

Betsy Rosenbluth interviews Sarah Campbell, Senior Program Director at Everyday Democracy, an organization that helps diverse groups of people work together to find common solutions to problems in their communities.

Tech Toolbox

Rebecca Sanborn Stone pays a visit to i-Neighbors.org, a website that aims to meet people where they are today—online, that is—and encourage them, in turn, to meet their neighbors and start forging stronger local connections.

What We're Reading

Bill Roper reviews Blessed Unrest, by environmentalist, entrepreneur and author Paul Hawken. The book touts an “environmental and social justice movement” that has the potential to benefit the entire planet—if only it had a leader and a unifying ideology.

Featured Website

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