Bozeman Magazine

Last year, Montana was engulfed by wildfires. Burning 1,103,252 acres that cost the federal government $140 Million dollars to fight. That was MT alone. Globally, on average wildfires burn 865 million acres each year. Yet, when the smoke clears, we move on, hardly thinking about the impact of these fires. Why?

On Wednesday, May 23, 6:00 pm at the Verge Theater, I Am Interchange will sift through the ashes to shed new light on wildfires, and how they are managed. Tate Chamberlin will host the Interchange XChange, a humanities project and professionally facilitated talk show that brings polarized ideas onto the same stage to create human connections.

Audiences will have their ideas on wildfires challenged and provoked by questions such as, is commerce the driving doctrine that manages our fight against forest fires? Should there be sympathy for people who build in disaster areas? And have we ignored ancient wisdom on how to manage natural fires from indigenous tribes? 

The evening's facilitated dialogue will offer audiences a deeper understanding of wildfires through diverse perspectives. These voices include Steve Kelly from the Alliance For the Wild Rockies and Jan Stoddard from the Montana Office of Tourism. They will hear from David Adkins a Forester, Paul Chamberlin a 30-year veteran Smoke Jumper, George Reed the Culture Director for the Crow Tribe and logger & forester Gary Peck. 

Doors will open at 6:00 pm, where guests can meet, mingle and sample food & Deans Zesty Booch. The show will begin at 6:30 pm with a performance from The Verge Theatre before speakers take the stage.