Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Coalbed methane reclamation activities in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming: social and policy dimensions of environmental legacy management(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Walsh, Kathryn Bills; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Julia Hobson Haggerty; Julia H. Haggerty was a co-author of the article, 'Governing unconventional legacies: lessons from the coalbed methane boom in Wyoming' in 'Governing Shale Gas: Development, Citizen Participation and Decision Making in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe' which is contained within this dissertation.; Julia H. Haggerty was a co-author of the article, 'Social license to operate during Wyoming's coalbed methane boom: implications of private participation' in the journal 'Energy policy' which is contained within this dissertation.; Julia H. Haggerty was a co-author of the article, 'The 'learn as you go' approach: a cautionary tale of environmental legacy management in Wyoming's coalbed methane fields' which is contained within this dissertation.The United States is producing more oil and natural gas than ever before. Sites of production are contributing to the known land-use phenomenon of energy sprawl, though little is known about how these sites will be reclaimed and how legacy effects will be governed and managed. Reclamation returns degraded energy landscapes to some productive capacity in order to avoid permanent environmental harm. Thus far, the technical aspects of reclamation have been the topic of most research while the human dimensions are under-studied. This research draws attention to the social and political dimensions of environmental legacy management. A period of coalbed methane development in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming (1999-2009) provides an instructive case study to investigate the legacy effects of energy resource development. After a decade of coalbed methane production, about 5,700 orphaned wells remained without viable industry operators to fund and manage well-plugging and reclamation. This dissertation uses a qualitative case study approach including document analysis, policy analysis, and forty semi-structured interviews with local surface owners, attorneys, state and federal regulators, local government officials, and industry personnel. Contextual research revealed that management of post-production oil and gas is a highly complex governance challenge made more complicated by the split estate property regime that characterizes the American West. Empirical research found that environmental legacy issues are exacerbated by 'private participation'. Applying a framework tied to the concept of social license to operate, investigation of surface owner-industry relations revealed that individuals played a critical role in decision-making processes. Surface owner's private participation resulted in decisions to forgo reclamation and integrate CBM-related infrastructure into ranching operations, therefore contributing to the scale and extent of environmental legacies. This dissertation also found that an adaptive, or 'learn as you go', policy approach in Wyoming enabled cost-shifting mechanisms to gain foothold, creating serious long-term environmental costs. Three specific cost-shifting mechanisms for CBM were identified: regulatory misalignment, overadaptation to the oil and gas industry, and industry bankruptcy. Together this dissertation highlights the importance of studying the social and political dimensions of post-production oil and gas activities for more effective environmental legacy management.Item The Fairway Farms : an experiment in a new agricultural age(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1969) Kenney, Ronald Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael P. MaloneItem Trends in size, land tenure, income, organization, and management of selected cattle ranches in southeastern Montana, 1924-48(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1949) Saunders, A. DaleItem Relation of farm tenancy to size of farm, farm practices and soil grades(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1939) Brunk, Homer E.Item The evolution of a foothill amenity zone : landscape change near Bozeman, Montana, 1954-1994(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1997) Copeland, Jeffrey AllanItem The Sokaogon Chippewa and their lost treaty : 'We have always been here'(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 1993) McGeshick, Joseph R.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mary Murphy.The Sokaogon Chippewa struggled for years in northern Wisconsin to retain their traditional land which provided all the necessities of life. Researching Sokaogon history from 1826 to the early 1850s reveals that the Sokaogon enjoyed separate recognition from the federal government, as an autonomous group of Lake Superior Chippewa. However, the federal government, with the eager support of the Euroamerican population in the state, attempted to consolidate as many of the different Lake Superior Chippewa groups as possible to make room fro the influx of settlers, miners and timbermen. According to Sokaogon oral tradition, and supported by contemporary Chippewa historians and scholars, the Sokaogon negotiated and signed a treaty sometime between 1854 and 1855. Unfortunately, the treaty, and an accompanying map outlining a reservation of some twelve square miles, was lost before being ratified by Congress. Some eighty years passed before the government recognized the Sokaogon as a separate group of Lake Superior Chippewa.Item Questioning Indian land workshop : a ceremony based approach to learning(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2012) Marian, John Baptist, III; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Matthew Herman.Tafoya suggests, "Stories go in circles." This thesis is the story of learning to implement an indigenous research paradigm in a college classroom then designing the workshop because of the relationships formed together. First the thesis describes preparing for the research ceremony then focusing those relationships through the lens of Research is Ceremony. Followed by summarizing how the workshop functioned as a ceremony. Then characterizing how the four directions guided the evolution of the relational workshop. The research paradigm exemplified by indigenous scholar Shawn Wilson in Research is Ceremony overlaps nicely with adult educational theories that suggest making personal connections to new information is how learning occurs. Indigenous research is a relationship embodied in the elements of ontology, epistemology, methodology and axiology. Ontology and Epistemology together form each individual's worldview. Ontology questions the nature of reality. Epistemology examines how we think about what is real. Methodology and axiology describe how we remain accountable to the relationships forming our reality. Methodology is how we strengthen our relationship to reality. Axiology defines what's worth knowing more about. Through ceremony, researchers respectfully seek knowledge from the Cosmos. The workshop was a ceremony for asking personal questions about Indian land. A reality-based inquiry design rooted in scholarly practice directed by students was planned and implemented in the pilot workshop. In this workshop, the teacher learns alongside the students - acting as a guide for the self-regulated discovery of new knowledge. Respecting the knowledge and process is the ceremony. The relational workshop wheel graphically depicts the five dimensions of the cycle and their interconnectedness. By asking respectful questions of the unknown, the cycle begins. As a researcher and teacher living a congruent lifestyle and preparing the space for the ceremony, academic information and practical experience collide to devise the methodology and axiology for the journey. Bringing together the ingredients opens the space for the ceremony, where students' questions about the land guide the workshop's search. Reflecting on the knowledge gained while leading the ceremony then evolves the workshop into something accessible to responsive educators. The ceremony creates personal accountability to modify the course, and the wheel turns again.