"Brining Sustainability to the Ground Level: Competing Demands in the Yellowstone River Valley." By Susan J. Gilbertz and Damon M. Hall. Foreword by Andrew J. HoffmanSusan Gilbertz

The Spring of 2021 was a sabbatical semester, and I had planned to spend it at the University of Portsmouth (England) as a guest professor in their Geography Department. Alas, COVID-19 ruined any chance at an overseas adventure. As a result, I stayed in my home basement, writing, and writing, and writing. My research focuses on cultural aspects of the Yellowstone River Valley, sustainability issues, and sustainability education. There were four primary efforts underway, each leading to publications in 2021: 

1) Completion of technical reports that had been sidelined in hopes of "someday" finding time to finish them. All three are now found at the State of Montana Library's website titled Yellowstone River Clearinghouse:

  • Hall, DM, Kidd, KR, Emerson, MR, Gilbertz, SJ, (2021). Comparative Analysis of Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory 2006–2018: Co-Sponsored by the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council, with funding from the US Army Corps of Engineers. 468663 Planning Assistance Study MT. 162 pages. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.29438.72001 Also found: https://geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/data/yellowstone_river/Socioeconomics 
  • Gilbertz, SJ, Emerson, MR, Kidd, K, Hall, DM. (2021). Yellowstone River Cultural Inventory-2018: Summary Report of all Segments. Co-Sponsored by the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council, with funding from the US Army Corps of Engineers. 468663 Planning Assistance Study MT. 111 pages. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18860.80005 Also found: https://geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/data/yellowstone_river/Socioeconomics 

2) Efforts were made to complete peer-reviewed articles based on the theoretical aspects of the technical reports:

  • Hall, D.M., Gilbertz, S.J., Anderson, M.A., Avellaneda, P., Ficklin, D., Knouft, J., and C.J. Lowry. (2021). “Mechanisms for engaging social systems in freshwater science research.” Freshwater Science, 40(1), March.  
  • Emerson Madeline R., Hall, Damon M, and Susan J. Gilbertz. (2021). “Pipeline Pipedreams: Oil Spills, Pipeline Accidents, and the Local Truths Embedding Fossil Fuels in the Yellowstone River Valley, United States.” Energy Research & Social Science, 72, February. Available online 12/3/2020 at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101859 

3) Efforts were made to find outlets for research into successful delivery of sustainability educational modules, especially to use STEM-based education in geography and business classes:

  • Craig, C., Petrun Sayers, E., Gilbertz, S., Karam, R. and S. Feng. (2021). "The role of STEM-based sustainability in business and management curricula: Exploring cognitive and affective outcomes in university students,” Journal of Management Education, November.
  • Petrun, Elizabeth L. Sayers, Christopher A. Craig, Emily Skonicki, Grace Gahlon, Susan Gilbertz and Song Feng. (2021). “Evaluating STEM-Based Sustainability Understanding: A Cognitive Mapping Approach,” Sustainability 13(14), 8074, July. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13148074 

4) The preliminary text for a case study in sustainability based on the Yellowstone River Valley was reworked and submitted to the publisher. This manuscript is the one in which I take the most pride: 

  • Gilbertz, S.J. and D. M. Hall. (2022, forthcoming, in production). Bringing Sustainability to the Ground Level: Competing Demands in the Yellowstone River Valley. Foreword by Hoffman, AJ. New York: Business Expert Press. 

I'm afraid I do not have any cool photos (unless you want me to take one of my basement work-table)! Instead...how about the cover of the book that is currently being printed?

https://www.businessexpertpress.com/books/bringing-sustainability-to-the-ground-level-competing-demands-in-the-yellowstone-river-valley/