Donna Erickson, a Missoula native, is the author of Rooted at the Edge: Ranching Where the Old West and New West Collide (2025). She is a consultant on open lands conservation in the Rocky Mountain West and was an associate professor of landscape architecture and planning at the University of Michigan for 16 years. Erickson has published extensively in design, planning and conservation journals and is the author MetroGreen: Connecting Open Space in NorthAmerican Cities.