Donna L. Erickson

I was raised riding horses, putting up hay, and herding cattle at Skyline Ranch. My family’s 1000-acre ranch lies in the North Hills at the edge of Missoula, Montana. As a young adult I ranched there and on other leased ranches in western Montana. Many decades later, my life as both a rancher and landscape planner gives me a unique perspective on ranching at the edge of a growing western town. I wrote this Rooted at the Edge to share stories about a century of change in this iconic landscape and the threats it faces going forward.

Part of the third generation at Skyline Ranch, I never found a niche for myself and my young family there. I left ranching in 1986, not able to afford a place of my own. My love of both the land and design led me to a career in landscape architecture. While pursuing a graduate degree at a Dutch university, I developed expertise in planning for rural environments and in conservation planning. Those interests stemmed directly from my early life in ranching. On the one hand, the land is part of me; I am rooted in the North Hills. On the other, I’ve lived most of my adulthood away from them. This perspective helps me understand the outlooks of both ranchers and their urban neighbors

I was a professor of landscape architecture and planning at the University of Michigan for 16 years, conducting research and teaching mainly graduate students. This period deepened my understanding of the interaction between ecological processes and landscape change. I am the author of a book on open-space conservation, (MetroGreen: Connecting Open Space in North American Cities, 2006, Island Press) completed as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. One Amazon reviewer wrote: "Erickson's rigorous scholarship and engaging style will inform and inspire a broad audience of readers—students, professionals, and decision makers alike." I’ve published dozens of scholarly journal articles and popular pieces for Montana Magazine. Leaving academia 25 years after moving from Missoula, I am one of many Montana ‘rebounders.’

I started the Missoula firm Erickson Consulting Inc in 2005. Until 2017 I consulted with dozens of nonprofit land trusts. My business specialized in open-space planning, organizational development, and land conservation with a primary goal of protecting intact rural landscapes and strong communities. The demand for my work traveled by word-of-mouth across the west and led to projects across ten western states.

Thirty-five years as a landscape planner and designer has led me back to the North Hills. This is where my heart sings. It is the source of my unique voice about ranching on the edge. I offer a vision for how urban areas and ranching communities might better grapple with the challenges and opportunities of urban growth.