Since the historic Held v. State of Montana trial began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clark County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Kathy Seeley presiding, we recorded and archived the audio to preserve the record to inform and allow listeners to hear for themselves what transpired.

In this edition we share the unedited recording of the testimony on June 16, 2023 of Youth Plaintiff, Olivia Vesovich, who is now 20 years old, but was 16 when the case was filed. She lives in Missoula, MT. She shared some of her artwork incorporating climate change as a major theme, including a piece called “Gaia” about the despair climate change makes her feel.

She also described what it was like experiencing asthma and severe allergies during the smoky summer months when she often doesn’t go outside due to debilitating symptoms like swelling and redness. “The state of Montana has an obligation to uphold our right to a clean and healthful environment,” she said. “I know they have the power to do this. I know it.”

For the first time in the United States, youth plaintiffs were able to present their case in a court of law, that their inalienable constitutional rights under Article II Section 3 of the Montana State Constitution “to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways.” ….. were being denied and violated by the policies and actions of their government. Further, that The State was in violation of their responsibilities as required under Article IX, Environment and Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and Improvement that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. Section 2. The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. and Section 3. The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.”