Obituary for Don Bedunah (1952-2012)

Abstract

Donald Joe Bedunah, a member of the editorial board of Nomadic Peoples, Professor of Range Resource Management at the University of Montana, USA, and a rangeland ecologist who worked for many years with nomadic communities throughout Central Asia, died suddenly on 28 January 2012 at his home in Lolo, Montana. He was 59. His wife, Mo Gary, and his son, Andrew, were with him when he died. Don Bedunah's career as a rangeland scientist began in 1981 as an Assistant Professor at the University of Montana, Missoula. Don's research interests related to rangeland ecosystems were broad, like the grassland and steppe environments he enjoyed working in. He authored or co-authored over forty-five scientific papers about rangelands in the western United States and Central Asia, was the editor or co-editor of a number of scientific books and publications, including Rangelands of Central Asia: Transformations, Issues and Future Challenges, and an editor of the Journal of Range Management. Don was an important contributor to the journal, Nomadic Peoples, co-authoring a paper about Kazak nomads in Western China in 2005, co-editing, with Carol Kerven, Volume 12, Number :2 in 2008, and was a reviewer of manuscripts submitted to Nomadic Peoples for publication. Don had agreed to review a manuscript for Nomadic Peoples only a week before his untimely death. He was also on the Editorial Board of the journal Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice. His passing will be greatly missed among those who work on range resource management and nomadic pastoralism in the United States and Central Asia. I first met Don in September 1981 as a graduate student in a class he was teaching on rangeland inventory and analysis. Being the same age and with many similar interests, we quickly established a close friendship. Although Don had never worked overseas before, he was very interested in stories I told him about my time in Himalayan and Tibetan plateau rangelands and working with Tibetan-speaking nomads. This undoubtedly made the defence of my Masters thesis much easier! In 1991, Don quickly jumped at the opportunity to accompany me on a research project in the Wild Yak Valley in the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Camping out at an elevation of 4,000 m for two months in the remote Tibetan wilderness and cooking over a yak-dung fire is not everyone's cup of tea, but Don was in his element. He greatly enjoyed being outdoors, and the Tibetan Plateau was new territory for him. Riding tough little Mongolia horses on wild yak trails across steep scree slopes was not for the fainthearted, but Don quickly adapted to the exigencies of exploring the wilds of northern Tibet. With an observant, rangeland ecologist's eye, he saw patterns to the vegetation on the landscape and, as we rode along, we talked about why certain plants were found where they were and why wild yaks and Tibetan gazelle were seen in certain habitats and not others. We had what could probably be termed intellectual discussions about the Tibetan rangeland ecosystem. Don's easy-going nature also allowed him to make friends quickly with our Chinese colleagues and the Kazak nomad, Mohan, who was our guide. I believe it was this seminal trip twenty years ago to Tibet that really instilled in Don an interest in Central Asian rangelands and nomads. In 1992, I got Don his first assignment on a pastoral development project in Mongolia. I had been asked to go to Mongolia as a consultant on a livestock project formulation mission for the Asian Development Bank, but I was unable to commit myself for the required two month's of fieldwork. Eager to see Mongolia, I managed to convince the consulting finn that they should hire both Don and me. We would overlap for an initial two weeks, I would brief Don on what consulting work was all about, and then he would continue with the mission after I left. Being a good rangeland scientist does not necessarily make you a good consultant on livestock development projects, but Don was successfully able to make the transition. …