The DVD and resource booklet that make up Path To Eden are designed to inform landowners of the opportunities, responsibilities, and challenges that accompany owning property in rural Montana. Pertinent topics such as community relations, wildlife management, noxious weeds, water rights, historic preservation, and responsible construction are all addressed by Path To Eden.
We are not attempting to identify every topic and issue that relates to land ownership, but we are hoping to encourage conversation and consultation with neighbors and stimulate further research of critical points by offering contact information for helpful resource organizations. Path To Eden seeks to make land ownership in rural Montana a positive experience for new as well as existing landowners and ensure that our culture and landscape are preserved for future generations to enjoy.
In 2004, inspired by their passion for rural sustainability, Bill Bryan and Bill Cook formed the Cook Center for Sustainable Agriculture in the American West. It was a small organization with the goal of being a proactive, collaborative force in agriculture. As time went on, the organization’s interests expanded and evolved and it was decided that a new name was needed to reflect this change.
In January 2007, the Cook Center was renamed The Rural Landscape Institute – A Catalyst for Food and Agricultural Integrity in the American West (RLI). The organization, located in Bozeman, Montana, focuses on issues that affect sustainable agriculture and food security throughout the West. RLI continues to work on projects started under the Cook Center such as Owning Eden, 21st Century Ranch Manager Training, Open Gates and the Farm & Ranch Recreation Resource Center. It has expanded its areas of interest to include projects that will help create a "new mainstream" of agriculture; inventory and assess the sustainable food movement in the Rockies; encourage new business models for agriculture in Indian communities; and help educate the next generation of agriculturists in the West.
Click here to learn more about The Rural Landscape Institute
