The Great Falls region shows what happens when development driven by economic pressures and territorial policies unfolds without environmental awareness. A landscape once rich in wildlife and biodiversity was gradually replaced by dams, fences, houses, and golf courses.

Environment, Wildlife & Biodiversity

Decades of environmental research show a consistent pattern: most people say they care about the environment, but that concern rarely determines their choices. Environmental Concern Scales reliably measure attitudes and worry, but they do not predict actual behavior because environmental concern collapses when it conflicts with stronger life priorities, such as comfort, money, freedom, group identity, work, or safety. This “attitude–behavior gap” is the central finding in the field. People express concern, but other priorities dominate their decisions. So, they never get around to acting in the best interest of people and the environment. What has been missing is a way to measure those competing priorities directly.

When people are caught in day to day struggles or opposition, as both research and Maslow’s observations support, they never reach the higher levels of functioning, so they never get around to acting. This may be why people rarely do what is most important for the environment. Caring about the environment simply doesn’t rise high enough on their list of actions. Even those of us who care deeply often become so consumed by defense, conflict, and trying to prevent further destruction that we don’t act in positive, constructive ways that improve biodiversity, wildlife, and balance. Opposition absorbs our time, money, and energy, leaving very little capacity to build or create a better environment.This requires further research falling under the category of relational science.

A healthy environment supports all life. When we protect ecosystems, wildlife, and natural resources, we create stability, resilience, and well‑being for current and future generations."

Key Focal Points:

Domestic Birds Now Dominate Global Bird Biomass

Research cited by Sir David Attenborough and supported by global biomass analyses shows that around 70–75% of all birds on Earth (by total biomass) are domesticated poultry, primarily chickens. This finding comes from a landmark study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which quantified the mass of all mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish on the planet. The study found that the biomass of domesticated birds vastly outweighs that of all wild birds combined, reflecting the scale of industrial agriculture and the severe decline of wild bird populations worldwide. For reference, see: For reference, see:

• The Lancet – Planetary Health Study
• Our World in Data – Living Planet Index 2024
• Our World in Data – Biomass of Wild vs. Domesticated Animals

Wild Mammals Now Make Up Only 4–5% of All Mammal Biomass

Global biomass research cited by Sir David Attenborough shows that only about 4–5% of all mammals on Earth are wild mammals. The remaining 95% consists of humans and our domesticated animals, primarily cattle and pigs. This finding is based on a comprehensive analysis of global mammal biomass published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and summarized by Our World in Data. According to the dataset, humans account for roughly 36% of mammal biomass, livestock for about 59%, and wild mammals for only 5%. These numbers reveal the extent to which human activity and industrial agriculture now dominate the planet’s mammalian life. Source: Our World in Data – Mammal Biomass Analysis .

Habitat degradation remains the dominant cause of biodiversity loss, with climate change adding accelerating stress as species shift toward poles and higher elevations to survive. These findings are consistent across regions and taxonomic groups and are reinforced by decades of ecological research: human land use, resource extraction, and ecosystem disruption are dismantling the living systems that support biodiversity, wildlife, and ecological balance. The scale and clarity of the data leave no ambiguity, the decline is real, global, and overwhelmingly caused by us.

Tree Loss and Restoration

Tree loss is one of the most visible and consequential forms of habitat degradation. Global assessments show that deforestation and forest fragmentation remain extensive, reducing the capacity of ecosystems to recover. Forests regulate climate, stabilize soils, cool landscapes, and support the majority of terrestrial biodiversity; when they are removed, these systems weaken immediately. Although reforestation and agroforestry efforts are expanding, the persistence and scale of ongoing losses continue to shape ecosystem vulnerability to heat, drought, wildfire, and species decline. This imbalance is recognized as a major driver of climate instability and a central mechanism behind the global biodiversity trends described above. Based on these findings, continued losses would reasonably be expected to leave ecosystems increasingly exposed to intensifying heat and aridity unless mitigated. Source: IPCC- Climat Change and Land, Chapter 2 Land–climate interactions

Choosing the Wiser Path for Environment:

1. Leadership that recognizes the crisis: Both the population and leaders need to have a better understanding of the seriousness of environmental decline and prioritize long-term ecosystem health.
2. slow environmental decline needs to be more visible to people: Use monitoring, stories, and local examples to reveal gradual damage and build stronger relationships with nature.
3. Public recognition and early education: Help people grasp the gravity of the crisis and teach children about ecosystems, interdependence, and biodiversity. Children build healthy relationships with the environment through positive experiences. When they explore nature through play, curiosity, and hands‑on learning activities that strengthen their connection to the natural world, they form emotional and cognitive associations that support lifelong environmental awareness and care. These early experiences should also promote an understanding of restoration and environmental improvement, teaching children that their actions can protect and renew the natural world they depend on.
4. Help people escape the survival grip: Reduce daily survival pressures so people have the stability and bandwidth to reflect and engage with solutions.
5. Strengthen reasoning over emotional reactivity: Encourage reflective thinking, emotional regulation, and mindful problem-solving instead of stress-driven reactions.
6. Teach relational science: Show how relationships between people, systems, and nature shape outcomes and why interdependence matters.
7. Redesign systems for positive environmental relationships: Shift policies, incentives, and norms toward stewardship, regeneration, and long-term resilience.
8. Prioritize restoration and recycling: Restore ecosystems, rebuild biodiversity, reduce waste, and create circular systems that minimize harm.
9. Value long-term thinking over short-term gains: Favor decisions that protect future generations and ecosystem stability instead of quick, destructive benefits.
10. Construction For generations, homes and buildings were designed in ways that made sense for the time, prioritizing convenience, affordability, and immediate human needs. Even those who came to Great Falls because of its natural beauty often built in traditional patterns that unintentionally covered the very landscapes they cherished, diminishing the region’s beauty, native habitat, and biodiversity. Today, we have the opportunity to think differently. We can design in ways that restore the land, strengthen natural ecosystems, and bring back the beauty that first inspired people to come here. Development can support both thriving communities and a thriving environment by enhancing biodiversity, protecting the character of the land, and creating places that benefit people and nature together, reflecting and honoring the natural landscape that makes Great Falls unique.
11. Natural Landscape with Bison
    

    Same Landscape with Houses
    
    Facing the Truth
    • Yellowstone contains the greatest concentration of hydrothermal features in the world, including more than half of the planet’s active geysers.
    • Old Faithful is the most famous predictable geyser on Earth, erupting roughly every 90 minutes.
    • The park spans 2.2 million acres of intact wilderness; forests, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, and mountains rising above 11,000 feet.
    History of the Washburn Expedition
    • During the 1870 Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition, members discussed the fate of Niagara Falls, a natural wonder already heavily commercialized and degraded by development. Their observations helped shape the idea that Yellowstone should be protected “for the benefit of the people,” meaning protected from development so people could experience an intact world.
    • People love Yellowstone because it gives them a direct encounter with a world that still functions ecologically. If we want beautiful land to stay beautiful, we must protect the ecological conditions that create the beauty, something the administrations over the years should be highly commended for preserving.
Ten Reason‑based actions that stabilize the natural world
• Reduce fossil fuel emissions: because climate stability is the foundation of every living system.
• Protect forest canopy: shade creates moisture; moisture creates life.
• Preserve natural moisture cycles: cloud formation, dew, cool soil, and intact hydrology keep landscapes damp and biodiverse.
• Build only in ways that disappear into the land: such as buried or earth‑integrated structures that preserve the entire ecosystem, biodiversity, and forest above.
• Acknowledge that people build where land is beautiful: and that surface development destroys the very canopy, moisture, and biodiversity that create that beauty.
• Prevent fragmentation: keeping wildlife, fungi, soil networks, and understory connected so ecosystems remain whole.
• Maintain intact biodiversity: the resilience engine that stabilizes forests, moisture, and microclimates.
• Keep soils cool, shaded, and undisturbed: because healthy soil regulates temperature, water, and life.
• Avoid development patterns that dry landscapes: drying intensifies fire, smoke, erosion, and ecological collapse.
• Treat beautiful land as living systems, not real estate: ensuring every human action benefits both people and Earth together.
12. Beauty Think about how we can enhance our environment so it becomes more attractive, supports biodiversity, and improves the climate. The more people who participate, the better the results. A single mature tree absorbs roughly 22–48 pounds of CO₂ per year, depending on species and climate. If every person on Earth planted one tree, 8 billion trees that would remove an estimated 160–380 billion pounds of CO₂ each year, equivalent to taking 30–70 million cars off the road. Grow rainforests. Kelp forests go even further, absorbing 2–20 times more CO₂ per acre than most forests. Sea otters help kelp thrive by keeping urchin populations in balance, and healthy kelp forests in turn support large aquatic life and restore entire marine ecosystems. Grow kelp projects and forests.

13. Reasoning in the Best Interest of the Earth-Bison Example When reasoning aligns with the Earth’s long‑term health, resources are used to expand restoration, not to fight opposition. For instance, $200 once went toward growing bison range, a direct investment in biodiversity and land recovery. Now, that same $200 is being spent to oppose removal from BLM land, diverting energy, time, and money away from restoration. This shift shows how emotional opposition can consume the very resources needed for constructive progress. Bison represent ecological reasoning at its best: they restore prairie grasses, improve soil health, retain water, and support countless species. Their presence rebuilds the natural balance that cattle and fences disrupted. When reasoning stays focused on ecological benefit rather than conflict, every dollar and hour strengthens the land instead of defending territory. Native keystone species: Bison evolved and remain a precedent with North American grasslands and actively increase plant diversity; cattle do not. Bison-grazed prairies show 86% higher native plant richness, compared to only 30% under cattle.
    • Native keystone species: Bison evolved with North American grasslands and actively increase plant diversity; cattle do not. Bison-grazed prairies show 86% higher native plant richness, compared to only 30% under cattle.
    • Constant movement prevents overgrazing: Bison graze briefly then move, stimulating regrowth and protecting riparian areas. Cattle linger, overgraze, and degrade streambanks.
    • Selective grazing restores prairies: Bison target dominant grasses, allowing wildflowers, forbs, medicinal plants, and less competitive species to return, creating a mosaic of habitats that boosts biodiversity.
    • Wallowing creates micro wetlands: Only bison create wallows, which become temporary wetlands supporting amphibians, insects, and unique plant communities. Cattle do not wallow.
    • Better soil health: Sharper hooves aerate soil and press seeds in, increasing plant diversity and soil carbon storage. Cattle hooves compact soil.
    • Higher drought resilience: Bison-managed prairies remain more resilient during extreme drought compared to cattle-managed ones.
    • Lower indirect emissions: Bison are almost entirely grass-fed on native rangelands, avoiding the high emissions from feedlot grain production and manure lagoons associated with cattle.
    • Primary rancher objections: Ranchers object to bison because brucellosis is transmitted to cattle, but elk and deer carry brucellosis, which are more prevalent on BLM land.
    • Historical precedence: Bison had precedence for tens of thousands of years, 30-60 million historically, with about 500K now.
    • Health measures: Bison are tested and vaccinated against brucellosis.
    • Habitat presence: They have been on BLM land for roughly 10,000 years predating any introduction of cattle.
    • There are methods to manage and keep bison herds within restricted areas that don't necessarily require fences for saftey reasons
    • Definition: Wild or livestock definitions include production-oriented animals, of which bison could be both.

14. Supporting Biodiversity Through Simple Design Biodiversity is the foundation of ecological stability. Every species, from microbes to pollinators to apex predators, plays a role in nutrient cycling, soil formation, water regulation, and ecosystem resilience. When biodiversity declines, these systems weaken, making landscapes more vulnerable to drought, pests, erosion, and climate stress.

    Global evidence is clear. The WWF Living Planet Report 2024 shows a 73% average decline in monitored wildlife populations since 1970, driven by habitat loss, pollution, overfishing, and land conversion. UNEP and FAO emphasize that restoring even small habitat patches can meaningfully rebuild ecological networks in human‑dominated landscapes.

    Flower strips are one of the simplest and most effective tools for restoring biodiversity. They provide nectar, pollen, shelter, and micro‑habitats for pollinators, beneficial insects, soil organisms, and small wildlife. Research shows that these strips increase species richness, reduce pesticide dependence, improve soil health, and strengthen ecosystem resilience. In landscapes where development has fragmented habitat and reduced wildlife, small patches of restored vegetation act as living corridors that reconnect ecosystems and support the return of biodiversity. A narrow strip of flowers can begin to repair the ecological fabric that development has worn thin. Forest Pathways Report 2023. Living Planet Report 2024.

    Since roughly 80% of global deforestation is driven by agricultural expansion, agroforestry—the integration of trees, shrubs, and crops within the same farming system—is recognized by major scientific and environmental institutions including WWF, FAO, UNEP, and the IPCC as one of the most effective nature‑based solutions for restoring land, increasing food security, and storing carbon. Agroforestry creates a living partnership between agriculture and biodiversity. Across the world, from Kenya to the United States, farmers use combinations of trees, hedges, and shrubs to provide shade, shelter, carbon capture, and food. In Kenya, documented case studies show that agroforestry increases carbon storage and improves smallholder livelihoods, while in the U.S., regenerative systems such as silvopasture and alley cropping are restoring soil health, reducing erosion, and creating wildlife corridors across farmland. Globally, agroforestry is practiced from the tropics to temperate zones in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas—wherever farmers seek to balance productivity with ecological resilience. Trees in these systems clean the air, stabilize soil, fix nitrogen, and create microclimates that protect crops and livestock. By integrating biodiversity directly into agriculture, agroforestry transforms farms into regenerative ecosystems that sustain both people and the planet.

    Agroforestry is shown to be a powerful climate‑smart land‑use system, with a systematic review of 109 studies demonstrating that integrating trees with crops and livestock can sequester 3.5–9.8 Mg CO₂ per hectare per year, increase soil organic carbon by about 15%, and boost on‑farm biodiversity by 25–40%. The review also finds that agroforestry strengthens climate adaptation by improving soil fertility, enhancing water retention, reducing runoff and erosion, and increasing food security — including yield gains of up to 30% and a 25% improvement in household food security in Ethiopia. Despite these benefits, adoption remains limited due to land‑tenure insecurity, weak policy incentives, and lack of technical support, underscoring the need for stronger institutional and financial frameworks to scale agroforestry’s mitigation and adaptation potential.

    Halting Deforestation, an Agroforestry Approach A Systematic Review on the Role of Agroforestry Practices in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Wikipedia- Agroforestry

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Excellent Resources Below

Sources: deforestation:

• Reforestation & Assisted Natural Regeneration – ForestClimateChange.org
• Deforestation & Reforestation: Impacts on Ecosystems – ForestClimateChange.org
• Causes & Consequences of Deforestation – EVS Institute
• Deforestation & Forest Degradation – WWF
• Impacts of Deforestation – EcoVegetation
• Forests & Deforestation – Our World in Data
• FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment
• Global Forest Watch – Forest Monitoring & Alerts

• IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature – The world’s leading authority on species extinction risk, home of the IUCN Red List.
• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. More that 48,000 species face instinction because of human activity. – The most comprehensive global database on species status, trends, and extinction risk.
• UNEP – Species Conservation– United Nations Environment Programme’s hub for global species protection, policy, and agreements.
• UNESCO – Biodiversity Conservation – Global frameworks, biosphere reserves, and species‑focused conservation programs.
• UNDP – Biodiversity Conservation – International projects supporting species recovery, protected areas, and nature‑based solutions.
• Endangered Species Coalition – U.S.‑focused advocacy, education, and action to prevent human‑caused extinction.

• UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme: Biodiversity – Global biodiversity policy, scientific assessments, and international conservation initiatives.
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – The primary international treaty on biodiversity, including the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• IPBES – Intergovernmental Science‑Policy Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services – The world’s leading scientific body on biodiversity loss, drivers, and global assessments.
• IUCN – Biodiversity – Research, conservation programs, and global indicators from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• Our World in Data – Biodiversity – Data‑rich, long‑term charts on species decline, ecosystem change, and biodiversity indicators.

• IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – The world’s definitive scientific assessments on climate change, impacts, and mitigation.
• NOAA Climate – U.S. government climate data, trends, extreme events, and global monitoring.
• NASA Climate Change – Satellite‑based evidence, global temperature records, sea‑level data, and visualizations.
• Our World in Data – CO₂ & Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Deep, transparent datasets on emissions, energy, and long‑term climate trends.
• UNEP – Climate Action – United Nations climate science, adaptation, mitigation, and global policy frameworks.

• CarbonBrief – Is global warming tipping key Atlantic ocean currents towards ‘collapse’?.
• USA Today – 2 studies warn 'Day After Tomorrow' ocean current is in trouble.

• Shukla, I., Gaynor, K., Worm, B., & Darimont, C. (2023). *The Diversity of Animals Identified as Keystone Species*. Ecology & Evolution.
• Wiley Online Library — Full Research Article on Keystone Species (2023).
• National Geographic Education — Keystone Species Overview.
• Science Notes — Keystone Species: Definition, Examples, Importance.
• National Wildlife Federation — Keystone Plants by Ecoregion.
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) — Authoritative Species Taxonomy Database.
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) — Authoritative Species Taxonomy Database.

• The Sixth Extinction – How Humans Evolved to Dominate Earth video
• What is the sixth mass extinction and what can we do about it?

• Jen Gale (2025). *Why are beavers important to the ecosystem? HB 95 Sept 1, 2025: law expands the law to kill beavers for any “protected structure” that could arguably be anything. The reason for the law was primarily due to beaver blocking irrigation systems and cutting of trees near homes and parks (which humans do along the river), especially cottonwoods, aspens, willows, and ornamental trees. This demonstrates that, as of 2024, there was still a lack of knowledge of biodiversity in Montana.
  In Oregon, they are building man-made beaver dams to encourage beavers, as they are a keystone species that protects about 80% of biodiversity. The law did not address ecological restoration, riparian decline, beaver hydrology, beaver habitat needs, riverbank drying, or Russian olive invasion.
• CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN HEALTH IN MONTANA: A Special Report of the Montana Climate Assessment. Adams A, Byron R, Maxwell B, Higgins S, Eggers M, Byron L, Whitlock C. 2021. Climate change and human health in Montana: a special report of the Montana Climate Assessment. Bozeman MT: Montana State University, Institute on Ecosystems, Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity. 216 p. https:// doi.org/10.15788/c2h22021
• Land Acquisition and Access. We buy private land and open it to the public while we simultaneously work to restore biodiversity on each property.
• Animal species of concern.
• MT.Gov Montana Natural Heritage

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