Summary

Montana is a modern representation of a small society with a fragile environment likes those in the past which include Polynesian, Anasazi, Maya, Greenland Norse among others. By understanding what communities in Montana are dealing with more understanding can be gleaned about societies in the past which suffered from environmental damage. Montana’s suffering from environmental damage is far less than that experienced in large urban areas.

Environmental disadvantages limit Montana from growing crops and raising livestock. Hunting and fishing is a recreational pursuit in modern Montana. The fur trade that once thrived is gone; mining and logging and agriculture is on the decline. Tourism, recreation, retirement living and health care represent the industries that are in the rise in Montana. Although mining is an important industry, the toxic runoffs from the metals that include copper, palladium, platinum, zinc...