Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “Success is a journey, not a destination.” Given that my journey landed me here in Bozeman working with the Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment (FREE), I consider both my journey and destination to be wildly successful. During the upcoming months it will be my pleasure to work with FREE conducting the summer conference series, two for religious leaders and a final program for federal judges. These programs foster critical thinking about the intersection of people, place, and profit—a matter of great relevance to us all. In my long and winding journey to the Missouri headwaters, I have found that people are inseparable from place and that both are inseparable from profit.

For almost two decades, I have worked to advance land stewardship initiatives across large ecological regions. In doing so, I now understand that cultural and ecological context are central to efforts of these sorts; place always exists—but how people understand it is constantly shifting. This shifting of understanding is appropriate; just as our human understandings are dynamic, so are ecological systems. Therefore how we profit from our relationship to place must also be dynamic.

And let me be clear about my use of the word profit here. I am increasingly concerned that some of our fellow countrymen are creating dangerous distinctions in their understanding of people (society, culture, liberty), place (nature, environment, ecosystems), and profit (economy, stewardship). We assign value and understanding to people, the land, and making a living based on our experiences, training, and religious philosophy, along with a variety of sociopolitical influences. The verb ‘profit’ appears to be increasingly positioned as antithetical to the stewardship of natural resources. Nothing could be further from the truth. The term “stewardship” derives from “steward,” one who looks after property, specifically land and finances. Profitability from asset stewardship may be re-invested to generate continued fruitfulness over time. This is the business of the land.

If we are to work constructively with others across diverse social, geographical, and economic environments to cultivate wholesome lifestyles, we must do the often difficult work to understand one another’s context. This work requires empathy, modesty, and honesty. This work also requires local historical knowledge and awareness of national macro economic and demographic trends. After seventeen years of professional work in collaborative decision-making processes I know the importance of understanding the motivation and vision of all those involved if we are to foster honest working relationships. This understanding provides us with the best chance for accomplishing shared goals and avoids wasting resources embattling one another.

My experience with nonprofit conservation organizations (Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Trinity Waters), public resource management agencies, and private landowners has taught me the importance of trusted working relationships and the value of working back from the motivating vision. This work along with formal training in communications, natural resources, and business management helps me to understand the integrity of people, place, and profit. Looking back I can see that this journey of understanding began the first day of my first long distance hike thousands of miles ago. Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu knew long before I did that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

As it turns out, my hard-won experiences along these miles traveled through Robert Frost’s “yellowed woods” and beyond John Wesley Powell’s “one hundredth meridian,” led me and my family to Gallatin County, Montana at the headwaters of the Missouri River. Bozeman is teeming with enterprises including the American Prairie Foundation creating the largest and newest wildlife reserve in the lower forty-eight states; the Western Sustainability Exchange fostering a healthy environment, culture, and economy; and the Gallatin Valley Land Trust conserving southwest Montana’s heritage of open landscapes. Meanwhile Eagle Mount and Warriors & Quiet Waters provide access to our lands and waters to people with limited opportunities or various constraints on mobility.

I believe we are at the cusp of a new era in environmental understanding, one that advances a triple bottom line of people, place, and profit. I’ll be making my investments here at the headwaters.