National Legacy Conservation Center

Sitting on 31 acres just west of the Missoula Airport is the only museum in the country dedicated to the history of the U.S. Forest Service. On July 17, the museum will open the National Conservation Legacy Center, which celebrates our public lands and the many groups and individuals who made them possible. The Legacy Center building is an ode to America’s forests and incorporates more than a dozen species of trees into the design.

This week, the commissioners spoke with Lisa Tate, executive director of the National Museum of Forest Service History, about the project and the grand opening.

 
Thank you to Missoula's Community Media Resource for podcast recording support!

Transcript

Dave Strohmaier: [00:00:10] Well, welcome back to the agenda, everyone with your Missoula County Commissioners. I'm Dave Strohmaier. I am joined today by my fellow commissioners, Juanita Vero and Josh Slotnick. And we are also joined today by Lisa Tate. Delighted to have you, Lisa. Thank you. Lisa is the executive director of the National Museum of Forest Service History, which is about to open the National Conservation Legacy Center later this month, not too much later this month. It is happening within a matter of days. So welcome, Lisa.

Lisa Tate: [00:00:44] Thank you.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:00:45] And this is.

Juanita Vero: [00:00:46] July 16th, right? Yeah.

Lisa Tate: [00:00:48] 16th and 17th 17th will be our ribbon cutting.

Juanita Vero: [00:00:52] Fantastic.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:00:52] Your first time on this podcast.

Josh Slotnick: [00:00:54] Yeah, yeah. Which we're overdue.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:00:57] Long overdue.

Josh Slotnick: [00:00:58] So for people who don't know, could you describe what the National Conservation Legacy Center is? And let's talk things like square footage and like how big this place is.

Juanita Vero: [00:01:09] Yeah.

Josh Slotnick: [00:01:09] And why and what it's all about.

Lisa Tate: [00:01:11] Absolutely. Thank you. Well, [00:01:13] the National Conservation Legacy Center is a project of the National Museum of Forest Service history. Now, we are not the Forest Service. We're an independent, nonprofit organization that was started in 1985 to preserve the history of our public lands and conservation. [00:01:29]

Josh Slotnick: [00:01:29]  [00:01:29]Public lands and conservation. [00:01:30]

Lisa Tate: [00:01:30]  [00:01:30]Mhm. And so for several years, we have been working towards collecting artifacts, documents. We have over 55,000 items in our collection. We're the only museum of our kind in the United States. And while we're not the Forest Service, we do work with them very closely. They're a partner of ours, but we're a completely self-funded nonprofit, and the National Conservation Legacy Center is going to be our largest teaching tool to let the public learn about conservation history. [00:01:59]

Josh Slotnick: [00:01:59] And to be clear, this teaching tool is a building.

Juanita Vero: [00:02:01] This is a new.

Josh Slotnick: [00:02:02] Physical museum site.

Lisa Tate: [00:02:04] Yes, it is a world class museum here in Missoula.

Josh Slotnick: [00:02:07] And just a couple of things just to drive home the world class nature of it. How big is it and how much money does it cost to make?

Lisa Tate: [00:02:13] So this is a 2600 zero square foot museum. And so far we have spent about $22 million to bring this project to fruition.

Josh Slotnick: [00:02:24] And you all raised all that money.

Lisa Tate: [00:02:25] We did, we did. And it's been a long journey.

Juanita Vero: [00:02:28] Since 1985 or well, really, what was the fundraising era?

Lisa Tate: [00:02:33] So really about the last five years.

Juanita Vero: [00:02:35] It's very impressive.

Lisa Tate: [00:02:36] We were very serious about getting the funding. And of course, we started out with a more modest budget, but with the construction costs and through Covid, we had to increase that budget. And so we've just continued to work until we made the dream come true.

Juanita Vero: [00:02:49] And why Missoula?

Lisa Tate: [00:02:51] Well, you know, people ask us that all the time. They say, why not Washington, D.C., or why not a bigger city like Denver or San Diego or Los Angeles? And, you know, a lot of people may not realize that region one is the first region in the United States in the Forest Service.

Josh Slotnick: [00:03:06] Region one, what do you what do you mean? So does this mean the United States is divided into regions for the Forest Service? Yes. And the region we're in past.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:03:14] Tense, unfortunately.

Josh Slotnick: [00:03:15] Yeah. It's getting changed around. Right.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:03:17] But notwithstanding that.

Juanita Vero: [00:03:19] Back in 1905 or what? Yes. When were regions created?

Lisa Tate: [00:03:24] Right after the creation of the US Forest Service. And they've changed a little bit over time. But region one has always been the northern region. It was the first region, and this is where the passion was to start the project. Our museum was actually founded by a state forester who had a passion for history, Gary Brown. He has since passed away, but he was really the catalyst behind getting this museum up and running.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:03:49] And I remember some of those early board meetings I attended in the late 1990s. And honestly, I thought to myself at the time, some of these folks sitting in the room probably served with Gifford Pinchot, and I was not at all confident, given the many years that ticked off in terms of whether this would come to fruition. And here we are. I think it's a testament to not doubting big dreams and big visions and sticking with it. And clearly, under your leadership, it's coming to pass.

Josh Slotnick: [00:04:24] So, Lisa, we were able to visit last summer deeply under construction, but one of the things that was so impressive was the different types of wood products involved in the actual physical construction of the building, and wood products that were not buried beneath sheetrock, but were really featured structurally and also esthetically. And it seemed like you all were attempting to showcase not just the home of fir trees and pines, but but a whole array of trees in the forest. You want to speak to the design?

Lisa Tate: [00:04:54] Yes. Thank you. This is a mass timber design.

Josh Slotnick: [00:04:57] What is mass timber?

Lisa Tate: [00:04:58] Mass timber is kind of an umbrella term for a number of different types of engineered wood products that contribute to forest health. They sequester carbon.

Josh Slotnick: [00:05:08] So are we talking about small diameter trees that are chopped up and glued together in new forms?

Lisa Tate: [00:05:13] Well, small diameter trees that are made into dimensional lumber that is then glued up into forms is one of the products that we have. It's called Cross-laminated timber, and we had a lot of support from the forest products industry to build this showcase, because the museum itself is an exhibit in these innovative wood products. So we had 14 different forest products companies throughout the northwest that provided the lumber for this project. It was all donation. And we have besides Cross-laminated timber, we have what is called mass ply panel, which are like plywood panels that are glued and treated to be very, very strong and create a very strong, massive building material. And then we also have what's called laminated veneer lumber, which is a type of, um, two by six that is made from these smaller diameter tree products. And that is actually in the walls. And then we have just a number of other things that you can see while you're at the building. We have beautiful tree columns that are made.

Josh Slotnick: [00:06:17] What's a tree column?

Lisa Tate: [00:06:18] We wanted to have a really a neat signature feature in the building. And our architect is literally a world class architect. His name is Tom Chung. He is from Boston, Massachusetts, and he specializes in mass timber. He has already won design awards on this building, and we haven't even opened yet. But we have these tree like columns that are actually structural features that, for lack of a better term, have tree trunks and branches that are manufactured using mass timber techniques, and they were all.

Juanita Vero: [00:06:51] Kind of like an inverted flying buttress. Right? Is that.

Josh Slotnick: [00:06:54] Whoa! Nice job.

Juanita Vero: [00:06:55] Well, I don't I don't know. I'm. Is that I mean, like a tree?

Lisa Tate: [00:07:00] Yes. But they're actually, um, dimensional wood, two by sixes and two by eights that form the trunks. And then we have incredible geometry that takes the branches take off and hold up actually the roof of the building.

Josh Slotnick: [00:07:15] So it looks like a tree.

Lisa Tate: [00:07:16] Yes.

Josh Slotnick: [00:07:17] And it's made out of these new high tech lumber products.

Lisa Tate: [00:07:20] No, actually those are made out of just direct species. And those were chosen. We have 14 different species in the center. And each one was chosen from stories that they tell the story of that species. And they're from all over the United States. Most were donated by state foresters, some by private companies.

Juanita Vero: [00:07:40] What are the species?

Lisa Tate: [00:07:42]  [00:07:42]Well, just to name a couple of them, we have longleaf pine, which is a species that it was in heavy decline in the South, and that has now been through a lot of the efforts of the Forest Service and others brought back to a viable state. But we also have American chestnut, which is still a tree that is on the verge of extinction. And we were able to we were in touch with the American Chestnut Foundation, who knew of a stand of chestnut trees that were dying of blight, and we think it was the last stand in the United States. And the owner wanted something special for these trees. [00:08:15]

Juanita Vero: [00:08:15]  [00:08:15]What state were they in? [00:08:17]

Lisa Tate: [00:08:17]  [00:08:17]Wisconsin.

Juanita Vero: [00:08:18]  [00:08:18]Oh, wow. [00:08:18]

Lisa Tate: [00:08:19]  [00:08:19]Yeah. And he really wanted something special. His family did. They didn't want it to just go to anything. So the Chestnut Foundation connected us. They loved the project so that they contributed the chestnut. [00:08:31]

Dave Strohmaier: [00:08:31]  [00:08:31]So it seems like apart from what's in the building, the building itself is an important part of the story of the U.S. Forest Service. Since since the tree species you mentioned are emblematic of just the geographic and continental scope of this federal agency. [00:08:47]

Lisa Tate: [00:08:47]  [00:08:47]Absolutely. And also highlights all of our partners because conservation doesn't happen in a vacuum. [00:08:52]

Josh Slotnick: [00:08:53] That's super important to know.

Lisa Tate: [00:08:54] Yeah. And so that's why the building is called the National Conservation Legacy Center, because it's not just about the Forest Service, it's about all of the different players that contribute to conservation.

Josh Slotnick: [00:09:05] So at least if I remember right, there were some exhibiting techniques that were also kind of cutting edge, like a whole walls that move. Do you want to describe some of these interactive displays?

Lisa Tate: [00:09:14] Yeah, we're very excited and proud to bring to Missoula this literally world class exhibition with the interactive technologies that are leading edge.

Josh Slotnick: [00:09:24] Yeah. Could you describe how some of those work?

Lisa Tate: [00:09:26] Yeah. So we have some columns, for lack of a better word. And they will come to life when you walk towards them. So one, for example is Gifford Pinchot. And he will start, you'll start learning the story of Gifford Pinchot. When you get close enough to the column for the sensors to pick up your movement, that's about six feet away. So they come to life.

Juanita Vero: [00:09:46] Like a hologram.

Lisa Tate: [00:09:47] Kind of.

Juanita Vero: [00:09:47] Yeah. Okay. I didn't get a chance to go see this with you guys last year, so it's amazing. I just saw the bare bones of things being built, but I didn't see the exhibits.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:09:56] So, Lisa, as you're talking about the technology that that Josh referenced, maybe just to back up a second, the visitor walks in the building and just to pique people's interest, what does that look like? And then maybe talk us through what they will experience in some of the exhibits.

Lisa Tate: [00:10:18] Well, first of all, I'll say that we've had a few different groups or people that we've brought in for special tours, and the first thing they say when they walk into the lobby is, wow, it is visually stunning. It is absolutely gorgeous. And so just the architectural piece is stunning. Then we start through the exhibition hall and I just can't tell you how. I mean, I'm getting goosebumps. It is so exciting. It's just fabulous. We have a wall that is the largest screen in the state, 60ft by 20ft tall, and it is one of the walls in the exhibition hall and it is.

Josh Slotnick: [00:10:51] Showing is a screen.

Lisa Tate: [00:10:53] Yes. And it is showing images of our forested lands all across the country. And so it's an aerial footage, as you're kind of you get to see the diversity of all of our forested lands, including Puerto Rico, which a lot of people don't realize. We have a national forest, El Yunque in Puerto Rico. And so as you're walking by that wall, we have different areas. And just to give you an example, one is forests and mountains. The next one is watersheds and habitats. The watersheds and habitats exhibit. There is an old fashioned Forest Service pump that you used to pump when you were a kid at the at the campground. And when you walk towards that, it starts at all of these have interactive stations where on top of those beautiful images, which are the background stories come up and you start to see stories of all of these different types of subjects.

Juanita Vero: [00:11:45] Who created the the exhibits, I guess, or, or who was the engineer or the architect of the exhibits.

Lisa Tate: [00:11:51] Yeah. So we hired a company out of Australia and their name was Art processors, and we chose them as the exhibition designer because they were using leading edge technology. They called it barely there technology. And the company that has brought all of that to Missoula and to life for us is called Trivium. So there's lots of different companies that actually are players in this. We have, um, different companies that come just to make sure all of the electronics are speaking to each other, working together, working correctly. That's a whole nother company, lighting integrators and all of these different folks that make this magical experience.

Josh Slotnick: [00:12:29] So you've got some permanent exhibits. We have rotating exhibits as well.

Lisa Tate: [00:12:32] Yes we.

Josh Slotnick: [00:12:33] Will. What sort of things could we expect to see there?

Lisa Tate: [00:12:35] So we built the exhibition hall specifically in a way so that we could change things. We could also have analytics built into the exhibits so we can tell if people are using them. You know, one of the coolest things I think we have is a giant tree stump called Rings of Change. And it's a digital six foot in diameter tree cookie.

Juanita Vero: [00:12:56] What kind of tree?

Lisa Tate: [00:12:57] Oh, it's just generic. Generic tree. It's digital. And every ring on that tree is ten years of content. So as you move a little puck up the rings and stop on one, a variety of different filters will come up and you can choose to see what was going on in that era.

Josh Slotnick: [00:13:12] Cool.

Lisa Tate: [00:13:13] So several people can play at once.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:13:15] As I recall. You can go up to the second floor and experience a recreated fire lookout.

Lisa Tate: [00:13:24] That's right. That's actually the roof deck. So the roof deck is an area that we created partly for an event space that people can use and rent. But also we wanted to have a lookout that was Ada accessible that anybody could get to. So you can take the elevator to the roof deck and then go across a wooden bridge onto an oversize lookout so you can really get the feel of what it's like. And people of all abilities can experience this.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:13:51] And I also recall as we were touring the still under construction version of the facility, that you had a special wing that, I don't know, is it climate controlled or it's for, uh, the many artifacts and, and donations you have received?

Lisa Tate: [00:14:09] Yes. So we have a repository that is using all of the state of the art technology to keep our artifacts, our photographs, our letters safe. And so we have the move, a movable wall system and a special humidity controlled and temperature controls and air guards as you walk in and out the door just for that particular space.

Juanita Vero: [00:14:30] What are some of your favorite objects?

Lisa Tate: [00:14:33] Oh, you know, there are so many cool things, and I think the things I like the most. We have a lot of original watercolor artwork from Rudy Wendland, who was the artist for the Forest Service that created all of the Smokey Bear posters that you see. Yeah. And we also have a really cool thing that I like to use as an example of why our organization is so important. We have an item called a regression calculator. And there were only.

Juanita Vero: [00:14:57] Sorry, say that again.

Lisa Tate: [00:14:58] A Bitterlich regression calculator. And it's to measure regression curves in timber cruising. And so it's um this.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:08] Maybe explain what a regression curve in timber cruising.

Josh Slotnick: [00:15:11] Yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:11] That could be.

Josh Slotnick: [00:15:11] Perfect. Perfect. What are the.

Lisa Tate: [00:15:14] Forester. And so that's a really good question because I can say it, but I honestly don't.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:19] I mean cruising timber I think of is you're assessing timber.

Josh Slotnick: [00:15:21] Yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:21] You're like but.

Josh Slotnick: [00:15:22] Deciding which.

Lisa Tate: [00:15:23] Trees measuring the kinds of the curves of the size and curve of a specific tree. Okay. But it was a calculator that is in a beautiful wooden box with so many of these artifacts were from back in that era. And it has all of these different white arms that you can move with a string to develop this calculation. Now, only a few were made by the Bitterlich company because shortly after, when they were prototyping, these hand-held calculators became available. So put those out of business. But there are only a few of them left.

Juanita Vero: [00:15:54] Wow.

Lisa Tate: [00:15:55] This was. Someone found it in their father's closet when he passed away. They didn't know what it was, but they knew it related to his career. So they brought it to us. And our curator, Dave Stack, had to do a lot of research to find out what it was. So it's a cool story of, you know, if if he hadn't kept that, because otherwise it would have just been probably discarded.

Josh Slotnick: [00:16:15] So I'm sure people heard at the outset of our conversation, we're talking to you now because of your grand opening is coming up. Do you want to talk about that celebration? When, where, what's going to happen, how people can come?

Lisa Tate: [00:16:27] So it's actually next week on July 17th. The address is 3605 U.S. highway ten West. So that's about a mile past the airport to the west. And we're past the Forest Service compounds just past Butler Creek. And that's where our campuses, we have a 31 acre area that we use with a forest discovery trail and other exhibits. But that day we will be featuring a public ribbon cutting ceremony.

Juanita Vero: [00:16:51] What time? What time?

Lisa Tate: [00:16:53] It will start at 10:00, and we will have a few speakers ending about 11. And then the museum will be open. It will be free that day. We also have a number of other activities going on that day to just help us celebrate this milestone.

Josh Slotnick: [00:17:08] Great. That's fantastic.

Lisa Tate: [00:17:09] Public is invited. We'll have free lunch catered by Silk Road that was sponsored by corporations. So that will be 17th. But if people are a member of the museum, they can come and get a sneak peek on the 16th the day before, and we'll have lunch that day. Sponsored by Dick Anderson Construction, who was the company that built the museum.

Josh Slotnick: [00:17:30] Wow.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:17:30] And if you get there late and the food's all gone, there will be MREs.

Josh Slotnick: [00:17:37] From the Reagan era to.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:17:38] Ease your.

Juanita Vero: [00:17:38] Palate. Yes.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:17:40] Lisa. So I am just thrilled. This is. This is coming to pass. I bet there are some listeners out there who have never heard your name before, and might be wondering, how is it that someone like yourself got connected with what is now a just a tremendous success of a project? So maybe talk to us a little bit about how you got to work for the National Museum of Forest Service history.

Lisa Tate: [00:18:05] Well, I grew up in Missoula and lived here until I was just out of college or that age, and I didn't really want to leave, but I had some job opportunities. So I went and I, you know, thought I'd be gone a few years and 30 years later, I'm like, oh, I better get home. So and my parents were getting older and I wanted to be closer to them. So I made a concerted effort to look for positions here in Missoula, and I've been in the museum industry my entire career. So finding museum director positions isn't always easy in a smaller community. But this position became available and I thought, well, I'm not from the Forest Service, so I don't know if they'll hire me, but they wanted someone that knew how to do fundraising and also knew how to run museums. So I came on board about ten years ago.

Juanita Vero: [00:18:53] Where had you done previous museum work?

Lisa Tate: [00:18:55] Yeah, so I'd done it in Boise, Idaho. And believe it or not, Fargo, North Dakota.

Juanita Vero: [00:19:00] Wow. Fantastic. Wow.

Lisa Tate: [00:19:02] So it was, um, you know, just great opportunities and great places, but it was always my goal to come back to Missoula. And I couldn't be more proud to bring this museum to my hometown because it is truly amazing. And there's nothing like it in the region. The closest thing is probably the Mopop Museum in Seattle. So it's really.

Juanita Vero: [00:19:22] And I don't I'm not familiar with that. What's the Mopop.

Lisa Tate: [00:19:24] Museum of Modern Pop culture.

Juanita Vero: [00:19:27] Oh, I was thinking trying something similar to Seattle or.

Josh Slotnick: [00:19:32] Okay, so what makes a pop culture museum and a museum.

Juanita Vero: [00:19:36] Around.

Josh Slotnick: [00:19:37] National conservation legacy? Like how are those similar?

Lisa Tate: [00:19:40] So there is actually a lot of science that goes into how people learn in museums. And you need to have a combination of things. It can't just be all artifacts in a box. It can't just be graphics and text, and it can't just be all technology and it can't be all for adults. It needs to have this blend of something for everyone, something for conservation enthusiasts, something for the general public who don't know, who may not know anything about our public lands. And so we actually spent five years putting together the plan before we even started really building out the exhibits. And so similar amount of planning went into the Mopop Museum. And the interactives are very similar. And the way that they show artifacts Versus graphics versus technology.

Juanita Vero: [00:20:28] Oh that's fantastic.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:20:29] Ten years ago, you showed up in this position. How much money in the bank was there at that point in time?

Lisa Tate: [00:20:37] There wasn't a lot. I think there was about $250,000. And the museum was run by a fantastic board of directors, but by a volunteer. David Stack, who has been our curator and had been running the museum up until that point.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:20:51] So, so what was the the compelling story that seemed to resonate with folks to get you from 250,000 to 22 million and some change to break ground and complete this facility.

Josh Slotnick: [00:21:04] I'd love to know that, too. Yeah. What was built into your ask.

Lisa Tate: [00:21:07] Of that top.

Juanita Vero: [00:21:08] Secret.

Josh Slotnick: [00:21:10] $22 million? Okay.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:21:11] We're going to have to raise taxes. Josh.

Juanita Vero: [00:21:12] You know, it's.

Lisa Tate: [00:21:14] Passion for the project. And it was just this group of people, you know, our board of directors is national board of directors. They're not just all from the Forest Service. Many are retired from the agency, but many are from other types of businesses. And this passion has been so strong that, you know, a lot of people didn't think this was ever going to happen. When I started working here, I had all kinds of people say, oh, they're still going to do that, because it was talked about back in 2008 and nothing really happened. But what really was the catalyst that broke the logjam was that we had a member of the museum who was a retired forester that left us part of his estate about $3 million, and that was what really got the ball rolling. Wow. That in addition to the fact that we decided to elevate the design of the building and use mass timber because.

Juanita Vero: [00:22:06] When did you make that decision?

Lisa Tate: [00:22:07] We made that decision about six years ago.

Josh Slotnick: [00:22:10] So you described the 14 tree species and the stories told. How about some other stories that are featured? Are there maybe some about people or people or folks who worked in the woods? Are there any of those types of stories?

Lisa Tate: [00:22:22] Yes. I'm so glad you asked, because we have kiosks throughout the exhibition hall called Voices of Conservation, and those are interviews with folks that are currently involved in conservation. And so we have stories from them and they're just phenomenal. I don't know if you guys are aware, but we have a full time oral historian on staff at the museum, thanks to a very generous donor that funds the position. Wow. And so he collected a number of these just best parts of the interview from these folks. He interviewed partners, people from the backcountry horsemen, people from the timber industry, folks from the grazing industry, all sorts of different people as well as retirees to get these great stories. And we also have a kiosk all about the building. So you can see about all the different things that went into the building. And the other really cool thing that we did was we actually hired a very well known Theodore Roosevelt impersonator, and he filmed.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:23:19] From North Dakota?

Lisa Tate: [00:23:20] Yes, yes.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:23:21] I think he was in Medora.

Lisa Tate: [00:23:23] That's where he lives.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:23:23] Yes.

Josh Slotnick: [00:23:25] No surprise.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:26] Yes.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:23:26] It was a big week in Medora.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:28] Yeah.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:23:28] So.

Lisa Tate: [00:23:29] Well, we flew him to Denver and had him do some work for us, creating the introductory film. So there's a short film just a few minutes long when you first come into the exhibition area. And so it's masterfully put together by the folks at Trivium Interactive. And it's really fun and it's very well done. But he talks about the beginning stages of conservation movement there. But then at the end, as you exit, there's another plinth that comes alive with Theodore Roosevelt that is kind of reiterating the overall messaging that we want people to take home with them, which is that our public lands belong to all of us, and conservation takes everybody. There's no one place or one person entity, organization that does it.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:16] That's a great message.

Juanita Vero: [00:24:17] Great message.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:24:18] This is maybe a little unfair since you're so singularly focused on opening this world class facility up, but where do you see this legacy center or the National Museum of Forest Service history five, ten years from now?

Lisa Tate: [00:24:34] We have a master plan that shows both additional building on our museum campus, including a live animal mule barn with packing demonstrations and actually a mule ride loop where people can go on a mule ride like they're a packer in a pack string. But we also have national goals. We have worked for years with the Library of Congress to do teacher training workshops for teachers all over the country. That was stopped during Covid. We haven't picked it back up yet because we were so focused on getting this project finished, but we will be picking that back up. We'll also be continuing our traveling exhibits. We have traveling exhibits that go coast to coast, but we want to take all of the things that we've learned and put into the National Conservation Legacy Center and send those on the road.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:25:19] Fantastic.

Josh Slotnick: [00:25:19] Great. Thanks. This is great stuff.

Lisa Tate: [00:25:21] We never rest.

Josh Slotnick: [00:25:22] Lisa, is there something we should have asked you that we have not yet asked you that you want to say about this museum?

Lisa Tate: [00:25:27] You know, I would just say. I just want to reiterate that we're a nonprofit. Everybody thinks we're the Forest Service, and we think we're funded by the Forest Service, but we're not. So we have built some different revenue generators into this building. We have some really cool rental venues like The lookout. If you want to get married in a lookout, for example. That's pretty cool.

Josh Slotnick: [00:25:46] Yeah.

Lisa Tate: [00:25:47] But we have some beautiful meeting rooms, a research library, and then just the grounds themselves.

Josh Slotnick: [00:25:52] So the best revenue generator. Can you buy coffee and pastry?

Lisa Tate: [00:25:55] Actually not yet, but that will be coming.

Juanita Vero: [00:25:58] Are coming. It's crucial. It's crucial. I mean.

Josh Slotnick: [00:26:02] We went out to Montana Knife Company for their opening and the coffee pastry piece.

Lisa Tate: [00:26:07] Mhm.

Juanita Vero: [00:26:08] And soft.

Josh Slotnick: [00:26:08] And and.

Juanita Vero: [00:26:09] Swag.

Josh Slotnick: [00:26:10] And coffee. Pastry and hats. That's what they were selling.

Lisa Tate: [00:26:13] Well, we have a beautiful museum store with mission driven merchandise.

Juanita Vero: [00:26:17] Excellent.

Lisa Tate: [00:26:18] You can buy beautiful jewelry or you can buy that t shirt.

Josh Slotnick: [00:26:21] Awesome. Well, I hope that you can make the coffee pastry. Beautiful public space to sit because I imagine that will be taken advantage of as well.

Lisa Tate: [00:26:29] I hope.

Juanita Vero: [00:26:29] So. I'm kind of, uh, confused about about the two titles we've been using during this conversation. So what's the difference between the National Museum of Forest Service history and then opening the National Conservation Legacy Center?

Josh Slotnick: [00:26:42] That's a great question.

Lisa Tate: [00:26:43] That is a great question. And everybody asks that question. And I asked that question when I was hired. Why are there two names? Well, the National Museum of Forest Service History is the organization that built and is operating the center. Yes. Okay. In addition to many other things that we do.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:01] So when we're talking with our friends and we were like, hey, let's go to we want to go to the National Conservation Legacy Center. That's where we go. Yes. Okay. Thank you for clarifying that. Well, before we close, can you share with us a good book or a nugget of wisdom you've come across recently?

Lisa Tate: [00:27:20] You know, my grandmother had a saying and she said, don't let the chair get you.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:25] Oh.

Lisa Tate: [00:27:27] I think that's very good. I've ever heard.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:28] Very good.

Josh Slotnick: [00:27:29] Wow.

Lisa Tate: [00:27:30] Don't let the chair get you.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:31] Where was your grandmother from?

Lisa Tate: [00:27:32] She was from Tennessee.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:33] Oh. Can you can you say it in her accent?

Lisa Tate: [00:27:35] Oh, I don't think I could do her justice.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:39] Oh.

Lisa Tate: [00:27:40] Excellent.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:41] What was her name?

Lisa Tate: [00:27:42] Her name was Lou Vernie Tate.

Josh Slotnick: [00:27:44] Oh, that's a great name. It's a great name.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:46] Thank you.

Josh Slotnick: [00:27:47] Thank you so much for coming by and telling us the story.

Lisa Tate: [00:27:50] Yeah. We hope people will come out and enjoy this beautiful new facility here in Missoula.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:27:54] Absolutely.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:55] July 17th everyone.

Lisa Tate: [00:27:56] Mhm. And then we'll be open from 10 to 4 every day after, except for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Josh Slotnick: [00:28:03] Great. Okay.

Juanita Vero: [00:28:04] Thank you. Fantastic. Don't let the chair get you.

Josh Slotnick: [00:28:06] Yeah. Good advice.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:28:08] Good luck next week.

Lisa Tate: [00:28:08] Thanks, everybody. Thanks, you guys.

Josh Slotnick: [00:28:12] Thanks for listening to the agenda. If you enjoy these conversations, it would mean a lot if you would rate and review the show on whichever podcast app you use.

Juanita Vero: [00:28:20] And if you know a friend who would like to keep up with what's happening in local government, be sure to recommend this podcast to them.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:28:26] The agenda with the Missoula County Commissioners is made possible with support from Missoula Community Access Television, better known as MCAT, and our staff in the Missoula County Communications Division.

Josh Slotnick: [00:28:38] If you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, email it to Communications@missoulacounty.us.

Juanita Vero: [00:28:46] To find out other ways to stay up to date with what's happening in Missoula County, go to missoula.com/updates.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:28:53] Thanks for listening.