The Guitar Fighting to Save a Forest - Rick Bass on the Yaak Valley’s Last Hope

Rick Bass — petroleum geologist turned Montana Project director — explains how a 315-year-old spruce, felled during a Forest Service clearcut in Montana's Yaak Valley, became the Black Ram Guitar. Jeff Bridges heard it once and commissioned six more. Now it's touring with a busload of MFA students trying to get the Black Ram region of the Yaak designated as America's first Climate Refuge. We talk old-growth forests, grizzly habitat, the politics behind a proposed 800-acre clearcut, and whether a guitar can actually stop a chainsaw.Watch the full interview: ExploreBigSky.com/episodes/rickbassBuy a ticket to the Black Ram Guitar Festival this October 2 in Bozeman, MT at The Ellen Theatre: BlackRamGuitarFest.orgFollow the students’ progress on their journey: GreenCurtainRoadShow.orgCheck out this story about Rick and the Yaak in Mountain Outlaw: https://www.mtoutlaw.com/songs-from-a-climate-refuge/And head to the Big Sky Events Arena for the free Wildlands Family Jam Saturday Aug. 1, from 10am to 12pm! Follow us on instagram: @outlawbeatpodcastOur barn at EBS: https://www.explorebigsky.com/outlaw-podcastsHelp us corral more listeners like yourself by subscribing and then reviewing us wherever you get your podcasts.Still need more links? Okay here's one more. https://www.hoarymarmot.net/