This episode is a special recording from a Mountain & Prairie live podcast in Bozeman, Montana. On August 30th more than 300 folks gathered at the historic Ellen Theatre in downtown Bozeman to watch, listen, and participate in a wide-ranging conversation with four amazing women of the West—hat-maker and farmer Cate Havstad; silversmith and all-around artist Jillian Lukiwski; adventure photographer and writer Becca Skinner; and rancher and county commissioner Juanita Vero. We also held a raffle that benefited the Montana Land Reliance and the critical conservation work it is doing throughout the state of Montana.

The show started out with a hilarious, high-energy welcome from the amazing Becca Frucht, who is one of the funniest and most unique human beings I’ve ever met. Then I spent about an hour and fifteen minutes asking the women questions about their lives, work, and shared love of western landscapes. After that, we had some excellent questions from the audience, followed by a few words from the Jessie Weisse from the Montana Land Reliance. As you’ll hear, a good bit of our conversation centered around the land, conservation, and agriculture, so it was very fitting that the Montana Land Reliance was such an important part of the evening. My only complaint about the event is that I wish it could’ve been much longer—as you’d expect, we only scratched the surface of all the fascinating topics we could’ve discussed.

A heartfelt thank you to Cate, Jillian, Becca, and Juanita for being so open, thoughtful, and funny with all of their answers—the evening would not have been even a fraction of the success it was without their participation. Thanks to Becca Frucht for her energizing welcome and for figuring out a way to work Road House into her remarks. Thank you to the Montana Land Reliance for all of their important work throughout the state and for being part of the evening. A huge thanks to our sponsors—Chris Dombrowski Fly Fishing, Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, Onda Wellness, Modern Huntsman, Beargrass Writing Retreat, Heyday, Head West Bozeman, and Big Agnes. And last but definitely not least, thanks to everyone who attended the event—I know we had people travel to Bozeman from many other states and even Canada for the show, so I can’t thank you all enough for being such important members of this podcast community.

It was truly a night to remember, and I’m excited to do more live shows in 2020, so stay tuned for that. But in the meantime, enjoy this audio version of the Mountain & Prairie Podcast, live in Bozeman!

Notes and photos: https://mountainandprairie.com/bozeman-live/

MLR: http://mtlandreliance.org

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• 3:30 - Welcome from the great Becca Frucht
• 8:30 - A few words from Ed
• 11:30 - Quick intros
• 13:00 - Update on Cate’s involvement in farming
• 15:30- Juanita’s entrance into county politics
• 20:00 - Jillian’s evolving connection to her place
• 21:00 - Becca’s immersion in private land conservation
• 27:30 - Juanita’s thoughts on private land conservation
• 32:00 - Jillian discusses the importance of hard work and adventure in wild places
• 35:30 - Cate discusses the business realities of farming
• 44:00 - Jillian and Becca talk about “putting herself out there”
• 47:30 - Using social media productively
• 50:00 - Other places the ladies would choose to live
• 55:30 - Best books read in the past year
• 1:01:30 - How their husbands/partners bolster them as individuals
• 1:06:30 - Jillian’s “Big Enough Theory”
• 1:12:00 - Q&A - Mentors and mentoring
• 1:17:00 - Q&A - Roots to the past in the women’s trades
• 1:20:30 - Q&A - Role of horses in the ladies lives
• 1:28:00 - Q&A - Balancing development and conservation in Montana
• 1:35:30 - Q&A - How do we connect people with their food
• 1:40:15 - A few words from the Montana Land Reliance