Lowbagger Incorporated

By Mike Roselle

Yesterday Josh and I took the big leap. After long discussions with friends and family, looking seriously at the pros and cons, the dangers and the benefits, we filled out the paperwork and went down to the county court house and tied the knot. We have entered into a civil union, merging our separate destinies into a seamless unit and building a new life together here in the Rockies.

Our friends said things like, “No, not again!

Or, “Isn’t this, like, you’re fifth or sixth time.”

Or, “It’s just a piece of paper, do you really need it to show your commitment?”

Or worse, “Isn’t he a little young for this?”

But I don’t care what others think. We want the same blessing from the state that others have. We want to hold our heads up high and be proud of who we are. Besides, we will get a nice tax deduction.

No, Josh and I did not go to see Brokeback Mountain. We filed our papers with the state of Montana to become a bona fide non-profit, a brand new 501(c)3. Lowbagger is now on it’s way to becoming incorporated as a non-profit, public-benefit organization.

Behold the Lowbagger Foundation!

Actually, this was our plan from the beginning.  A few years ago I was hired to launch a forest campaign for a large international organization. One of the first things we did was search the web to see what sort of environmental coverage was out there.

There isn’t much.

Every environmental group has their own website. But they are either fundraising instruments or totally focused on in-house campaigns. Some cover the issues, but not with any depth. There's a dearth of good writing, the sites are mostly just talking points. What is lacking is writing and reporting. Most of the text up on these environmental sites reads like a committee wrote it. There’s no sense of who the people are, what they are like. There’s little passion and the limited humor attempts are thin, even pathetic.

Given the importance of new media, this seems to me to be an important weakness in the strategy of building and broadening the conservation movement in America. And if groups like MOVE ON can raise money over the web, we should be able to get a little help out here where it will do the most good.

Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Rachel Carson and Ed Abbey were all popular authors who mounted effective campaigns that helped to build the conservation movement we work in it today. They employed the power of what was then “New Media.” For Thoreau it was the printing press. For Muir, the monthly Literary Magazines. And for Carson and Abbey it was paperback books. Similarly, the Earth First! Journal was made possible by modern offset printing technologies that made production and printing of tabloid newspapers affordable for a small organization.

When the EF! Journal began publication in 1979; there were only a handful of tabloid publications that published environmental news on a regular basis. Within the next few years there would be thousands of new ones. But no matter what the media, it was the writing of passionate, knowledgeable and engaged people that made the difference. The Internet will be no different. After the buzz about blogs and on-line organizing has died down, it will still be the experiences and opinions of real people that will matter, not just the party line, or talking points of some faceless organization. We are committed to providing a platform for those people out there on the front lines, and a portal for people to explore the world of the Lowbagger and to get involved in the movement to save the planet from environmental destruction. We also want to raise money for grassroots activists and have a little fun.

In order to do business in Montana it’s required we have a bank account. In the old days, you could do that by just opening a private account in you own name and you were literally in business. Not anymore. They want you to be incorporated, and so now we are. And so we can get down to the serious business of raising money. So, you may ask, why do we need to raise money? Good question!

We will be raising money for Lowbaggers. By that we mean that we will be trying to get resources to the legions of underpaid activists that are both our readers and our principle contributors, and who seem to us to be doing most of the work. We would like to be able to send a small check to someone who is doing research and writing on important environmental issues to help cover travel and other expenses. This is what we did at the Earth First! Journal for many years, and it was key to building and strengthening our legendary network of grassroots activists.

The other important thing for you, the reader, to think about is merchandise. That’s right, merchandise. In order for our plan to work, our readers will have to buy mugs and T-shirts in order for us to survive, and support our contributors. We know some of you won’t send us money unless we give you something cool. Having a mug or a T will be a statement about who you are. People will sit up and take notice. And you will be happy knowing that because of your contribution somewhere else a Lowbagger will be eating breakfast.

Here at Lowbagger, we don’t think environmentalism is dead. We are everywhere. Get used to it.

Mike Roselle says sign up today for August’s Lowbagger Float Trip on the wild and scenic Salmon River in central Idaho, Aug. 25-31.