Rooted at the Edge: Ranching Where the Old West and New West Collide

by Donna L. Erickson

Using multigenerational stories of three ranches in the North Hills region of Missoula, Montana, Donna L. Erickson weaves personal stories and professional expertise to describe the difficulty of ranching in a threatened landscape steeped in history, conflict, and beauty.
 

248 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[KI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved LOVED this book! It was a beautiful, descriptive read. Devoured it. Then did a slow, savoring read.

[Patia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful, sensitive exploration of rural life on a Montana ranch just outside a rapidly growing city — and the many rewards, challenges, and opportunities it presents. The author combines a daughter’s heartfelt memories with the expertise of a professional landscape architect as she looks at Skyline Ranch and the generations who have lived there and on neighboring ranches in the North Hills of Missoula. This fragile landscape could easily be lost forever; Donna explains how the economic realities of eking out a living from the land — combined with the often-competing pressures of development, recreation, wildlife management, scenic preservation, and estate taxes — put enormous pressure on landowners in the West. Beyond that, she courageously envisions ways to move forward into a future that honors the past and meets the needs of the present.

A gorgeous memoir and important scholarly contribution to the literature of land management in the United States.

[Brentt Ramharter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this wonderful book by Donna Erickson from the perspective of someone who has lived in Missoula for over 20 years as an adult. but not raised there as a child. The book provided amazing insight into aspects of Missoula that were foreign to me as a latecomer to the town. The author's humor and casualness were refreshing and inviting. I was given a balanced understanding of the issues facing the landowners living next to a growing western Montana city, especially in light of their history and experiences. This is truly an expression of the author's love for the land where she was raised and her hopes for the future of this special place in Missoula.

[Lars Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling memoir on the hills north of Missoula that the town has always seen but never known. This book lovingly describes a deeply personal relationship with the land and discusses how family dynamics, business, and its own history are going to determine the imminent fate of the Skyline ranch.

The people of Missoula ought to read and know the history of these ranches that make the skyline above the skyline of Missoula.

[Judy Molland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erickson's book tells a compelling personal story of growing up on a ranch near Missoula, Montana. Her narration is full of engrossing personal details, both of her own family and of two neighboring families. She also examines the important question of what happens when ranch life collides with the encroaching life of a nearby city. An excellent read.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

A close look at land use from someone who's lived, studied, and researched it for a lifetime.

This should be required reading for anyone who's gone to a city planning meeting to applaud or protest new development anywhere, but especially in the American West.

[Marina Richie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book--authentic narrator, compelling subject that is relevant to the growing West and what the old ways have to teach us, along with the significance of preserving our last open spaces.