W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation @forestryandconservation - Tumblr Blog

FCFC and Wildlife Biology Benefit from Campaign Montana Donations

Photo: Wildlife Biology students at graduation

The University of Montana has concluded the most ambitious and successful higher education fundraising campaign in state history.

Over seven years, the comprehensive “Campaign Montana – Think Big. Be Bold.” inspired $450.9 million in giving from more than 34,000 donors to elevate every UM student, college, school and program. The campaign exceeded every goal, including the initial $320 million goal set during the quiet phase that began in July 2013, the $400 million goal announced when the campaign launched publicly in October 2018 and the aspirational goal of 110% ($440 million) established during the campaign’s final year.

The philanthropic support Campaign Montana inspired is vital to achieving the UM mission. Private gifts from individuals, families, businesses and foundations augment state support, student tuition and fees, research grants and other operating revenue. Donor giving translates into scholarships and investments in learning environments and academic programs, providing resources that enhance access to higher education, deliver critical applied learning and career preparation experiences, and transform lives. From its inception, Campaign Montana focused on inspiring support for student success.

In addition to University-wide leadership fundraising priorities and goals, each UM college and school, as well as Grizzly Athletics, the Flathead Lake Biological Station, the Montana Museum of Art and Culture and other programs, established fundraising objectives for the campaign. Together, each donor and every gift – no matter the size – made a difference in the campaign.

Donations made to the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and to the Wildlife Biology Program during Campaign Montana helped provide scholarships for students, hired new faculty members, expanded our Native American Natural Resource Program and supported many other initiatives.

Donations to the Wildlife Biology Program supported:

Student Recruitment Scholarships – During Campaign Montana, philanthropic support allowed us to recruit top students with financial need from all over the U.S. while also helping our recruitment efforts to diversify our student body. For example, the Susan and Roy O’Connor Student Recruitment Scholarships provide four-year awards that give financial certainty to families that would otherwise struggle to send their students to UM. Scholarships were especially impactful in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted families and created considerable uncertainty.  

Graduate Fund for the John J. Craighead Chair – The Agnes Kirkpatrick Godchaux Graduate Fellowship Fund for the John J. Craighead Chair helps to conserve biodiversity for generations to come. This transformational gift will greatly benefit global conservation efforts by allowing the John J. Craighead Chair to support graduate students and conduct innovative research on diverse wildlife species. Through his research and engagement with governmental leaders, Craighead Chair Dr. Jedediah Brodie is helping conserve one of the last remnants of intact and ancient rainforests in southeast Asia.

Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum Renovation – The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum is the largest zoological collection in Montana, home to over 22,500 specimens of primarily birds and mammals from the northern Rocky Mountains and around the world. The museum provides important resources for undergraduate teaching, K-12 education and outreach, and research at UM and worldwide. Support from alumni and friends during Campaign Montana funded major renovations to the Museum, including the construction of a Research Collections Room. This renovation doubles storage capacity, allows easier access to the collections, and improves security and climate control to preserve the specimens, ensuring many more decades of collection and growth.

Donations to the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation supported:

Elevating Excellence within the College - During Campaign Montana, UM received its single largest gift, $24 million from Bill and Carolyn Franke and their family. Their generosity continues to support the college, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, research and innovation. Support from friends and alumni like the Frankes during Campaign Montana provides students with more scholarships, funds graduate fellowships and significantly expands opportunities to study sustainability issues abroad. Philanthropic giving to support freshwater conservation, forestry, watershed hydrology, internships and innovation will have a lasting effect on our students, faculty and conservation community.

Parks, Tourism and Recreation Management Program – Philanthropic support during Campaign Montana ensures the Parks, Tourism and Recreation Management Program at UM maintains its current standard of excellence and builds upon its legacy. Joel and Patti Meier’s generosity, for example, established a professorship and will establish an endowed chair to increase the program’s capacity for research and provide a holistic undergraduate experience. This program impacts not only the state’s tourism economy, but also communities across the world that are striving to protect their wild areas with parks and recreation uses.

Student Support – Donor gifts of all sizes contributed to scholarship support for Franke College of Forestry and Conservation students during Campaign Montana. Private giving now allows us to provide nearly $300,000 in student scholarships each year. These awards help us recruit a more diverse student body and allow students to complete internships and research in addition to affording the cost of attending UM.

Native American Natural Resource Program – NANRP provides a range of services while focusing on cohort building with Native students within the FCFC, cultivating connections to the Montana Native community and college faculty and staff. NANRP also provides additional support with academic services, facilitating internships, scholarships and job placement. Donor support during Campaign Montana helps expand the program’s capacity and established a student internship fund.

Visit www.campaignmontana.org or contact the UM Foundation at 406-243-2593 to learn more about the impact of Campaign Montana and to find an ongoing fundraising priority that aligns with the impact you would like to make in the world. Read more about Campaign Montana.

Thank you for your continued support!

Remembering Herman William “Bill” Gabriel III

Photo: Bill Gabriel

By Dan Pletscher

Bill Gabriel came to the University of Montana’s School of Forestry in 1967 seeking a master’s degree but was talked into pursing a PhD instead by Professor Dick Taber. Along with Professors Les Pengelly and P.L. Wright and Dean Arnold Bolle, Taber provided a graduate assistantship for Bill’s study on the impacts of fire on elk in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Bill taught Pengelly’s classes when Les went on sabbatical to Alaska. Because of the popularity of Bill’s teaching, he was asked to teach additional classes after Pengelly returned.

After a long career with federal agencies working in natural resources, Dr. Gabriel retired to Florence, Montana, where he continued his passion for wild places, wild things and the University of Montana. He was active in the Five Valleys Chapter of the Audubon Society; he was the long-time chair of their committee that provided small research grants for UM students in conservation. During the past 25 years, Bill created the Herman William Gabriel Scholarship in Wildlife Biology and generously provided financial support for the P.L. Wright Museum renovation, the Richard Taber Memorial Scholarship, the Mansfield Library, the Wildlife Biology Program and the Avian Science Center.

Bill passed away in early April 2020. His will provided much additional support for the entities that enriched his life, including the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. His perpetual endowments will support UM students in recognition of the support he received more than a half century ago.

Wildlife Biology Senior Studies Wetlands for Wintering Waterfowl

Photo: Miles Scheuering holds a young rhinoceros auklet while working as a seabird field technician on the Farallon Islands, California, during summer 2019.

How do changes in wetlands in Mexico impact wintering waterfowl? Miles Scheuering aims to find out as part of his senior thesis project.

“My project seeks to understand wetland trends in Northern and Central Mexico. This is an important area for wintering waterfowl and other waterbirds, particularly from the Pacific and Central flyways,” Miles said. “Despite the importance of this area as wintering habitat, there is little understanding of long-term wetland trends. I will determine this using a spectral mixture analysis in Google Earth Engine to classify surface water in Landsat imagery from 1984 to present.”

Miles is a senior wildlife biology major. He is also working toward certificates in GIS Science and Technologies and in Water Science and Society, and he is a student in the Davidson Honors College.

Miles has also worked as a research technician in UM’s Avian Science Center as an undergraduate student. His research project will be conducted in partnership with the Avian Science Center, biologists in Mexico, and the Intermountain West Joint Venture, a Missoula-based collaborative empowering bird habitat conservation through public-private partnerships.

“Miles is an outstanding student and individual who has taken the initiative and time to develop an undergraduate research project that he is passionate about conducting,” says Vicky Dreitz, UM professor and director of the Avian Science Center. “His project blends numerous skills in which his UM courses have provided a solid foundation for him to advance a step further. It is an honor to work with Miles and watch his progress in delivering conservation outcomes to our partner, IWJV, along with international conservation practitioners.”

Miles received funding for the project through the Irene Evers’ Competitive Undergraduate Research Scholarship and the Phillip L. Wright Memorial Research Award, which support undergraduate research projects designed in conjunction with a faculty mentor.

“One of the things that most excites me about this project is the impact,” Miles says. “There is a real scientific knowledge gap regarding the state of these wetlands as wintering habitat, so this work has the potential to both clarify the importance of wintering habitat on waterfowl populations and aid conservation by identifying how wetlands in this important region have changed over time.”

Kate Sutcliffe Studies the Intersection of Instagram and Wilderness

Meet Kate Sutcliffe, a student in the Wilderness Management Distance Education Program. She published a new study titled “Representations of the Pacific Crest Trail on Instagram: Implications of Social Media for Wilderness Management” in the April 2020 edition of the International Journal of Wilderness. The paper explores how PCT thru-hikers portray their wilderness experiences on Instagram. The research seeks to understand the implications of social media use in the wilderness on wilderness management and wilderness values by examining the thru-hikers’ posts, including photos, captions, hashtags and comments from viewers.

“As written in the 1964 Wilderness Act, a key principle of wilderness is to provide ‘outstanding opportunities for solitude,’” Sutcliffe said. “Social media is inherently about connection and sharing experiences with others. This seeming contradiction is something worthy of reflection from those who use and love wilderness.”

The article originated from a paper Sutcliffe wrote for class. Students and professionals in the WMDEP program earn a graduate certificate in wilderness management, gaining training and expertise all while working remotely. Kate is currently working on the COVID-19 response in Massachusetts while finishing her final course to earn a graduate certificate in wilderness management.

The study is available online at: https://ijw.org/representations-pacific-crest-trail-instagram/ .

Dean’s Message - May 2020

Just today I was out running up Mount Sentinel, taking a less-traveled route to avoid the crowds and soaking in the beauty of the Missoula valley. It made me think about how lucky we are to live in such an amazing place. The recent events with COVID-19 have also highlighted another desirable aspect of Montana: easy social-distancing while out recreating! All of this reflection brought me back to the fact that I am leaving at the end of this month and moving to Oregon.

As I started to descend toward town, it struck me how much Missoula and the University of Montana are in my blood and in my heart. I first moved to Missoula in 1994 to work as a professor of forest soils at UM. I left in 2006 and then returned to begin my tenure as dean of the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation in 2016. This is truly one of the most special places in the world. Why would I leave?

A recent letter sent to me from a College friend helped put it all in perspective. She wrote to thank me for my time here and to simply wish me the best in my journeys. In one particularly impactful part of her letter, she paraphrased a single line from a poem by Theodore Roethke: “We learn by going where we have to go.”

I have spent over 15 years of my career at UM and have grown and learned dramatically from those years. Were I to stay, I certainly would continue to learn and grow, but I found down deep that I needed to go, to learn.

I would guess that many of our graduating students are struggling with some of these same feelings – wanting to stay in this place that has given us so much but knowing that we will learn by going where we need to go. Taking that next step can be so daunting, leaving behind friends and place to go somewhere new or to go somewhere old. But now is the time to go because you must learn and apply the knowledge, tools and relationships you gathered while at UM.

To our graduating students, I wish you all the very best and urge you to go forward with the seeds of knowledge and your conservation ethic and to continue to learn, grow and prosper. Try and keep a positive attitude. It will keep you afloat in challenging times. As you head into this next stage of your life seek truth, love, knowledge and happiness. With those objectives you will do well.

I will close by reminding you (and myself) that Missoula isn’t going anywhere. The College, the University, the city and these welcoming mountains will be here when you come back, and they will live with you no matter where you are. Good luck and learn by going where you have to go.

Sincerely,

Tom DeLuca Dean & Professor

Student Spotlight: Kari Eneas

By Jennifer Harrington, Native American Natural Resources Program Director

Thesis title: “Influence of livestock and electrified fences on livestock depredation and habitat selection by grizzly bears in the Mission Valley, Montana”

As both human and grizzly bear populations continue to increase and expand, the need to address increasing management conflicts and concerns has developed. Wildlife biology master’s student Kari Eneas has worked for the Salish Kootenai Confederated Tribal Wildlife Management Program since 2008 and has worked with bears intermittently throughout that time. Kari’s graduate research was designed to quantify the effectiveness of electric fencing in preventing conflicts between grizzly bears and small-scale poultry and livestock producers. Her aim is to study the regional ecology of bear movements through the landscape in both the absence and presence of electric fences and observe whether fences are adequate at preventing depredation conflicts within the Mission Valley on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

In a previous field season, Kari was part of a biologist crew that trapped and collared grizzly bears for these analyses. She also interviewed landowners, farmers and ranchers throughout the valley about grizzlies, electric fencing and small livestock. Based on these discussions, multiple sites were selected, and electric fences were installed around pig, chicken, goat and llama paddocks and enclosures. Each site was set up with two research cameras that are being used to monitor bear behavior near electric fences by recording interactions of the bears with fences.

Kari will earn her master’s in wildlife biology from the University of Montana this spring. I recently spoke with Kari to talk about her time at UM and what her plans are after graduation.

What did you think that graduate school would be like when you first began here at UM?

I thought that graduate school would be hard work, tough – the general framework to designing and conducting research. What I found surprising was that the Wildlife Biology Program is signing up for a job. The classes frame what I am here to do, and I have also been taught skills to do the job. It has made it exciting. I am passionate about my job!

Going into graduate school, I had a project with a specific advisor, and I had committee members in place and the classes needed to develop tools to complete the project. That all helped me streamline my education.

What were some of the challenges that you were able to work through in graduate school?

My biggest obstacles were my priorities when I first began school. I was focused heavily on getting good grades, so much so that I lost sight of what the courses were providing me. After guidance and conversations with my advisor and committee, I realized that the classes are assisting me with my overall research project. I stopped putting so much emphasis on my grades and instead put my focus on learning the tools to complete the project.

Other challenges have been learning how to come out of my shell. I commute three times a week so that made it challenging to make connections and relationships here on campus. There was a shift in my mind when I realized that I had become part of the UM community! It has been a good journey here, very rewarding!

Did you find that graduate school opened you up to new ways of understanding the world?

I have appreciated being able to take management issues and concerns and turn them into ecological concepts and research questions. I think about work from a different lens now.

How important was it to include the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in your research? How did that influence your research process and your research outcomes?

It has been important to include the Tribes in my research! I grew up here. This is my home! My career with the CSKT Wildlife Management Program has spanned 11 years, and it was important that the research I did would benefit the Wildlife Management Program and my Tribe! It took four to five years to flush out a research project that would address management concerns and would link to an available advisor. It was important to take that extra time to find the right project that would benefit both the Wildlife Management Program and the Tribes. My project has direct effects on the reservation in terms of learning how to coexist with grizzly bears.

What student groups have you belonged to?

I have two advisors with labs that meet regularly. And I am a Sloan Fellow, and we meet on campus once a month. It is community time. It really helps to have another level of community, to hear other stories, trials and obstacles, all in different departments on campus. Having familiar faces on campus really helps me feel connected! During this time when we are working remotely, it has been important to meet with the Sloan group and my labs because seeing their faces and hearing their stories helped with feelings of isolation.

What are your plans after you graduate?

I defend on Friday, April 17, 2020! I am already working on field season preparation for work. We will be conducting bird surveys. I will continue to work with grizzly bear management and conflict. My graduate education has prepared me for my next chapter at work. Last summer I hosted a series of community meetings on grizzly and large mammal management. We are working to network with other non-profit organizations to engage with the community. We had participants practice spraying bear spray so that it is incorporated into their muscle memory, and we talked a lot about grizzlies. The goal is to educate, to engage and to help create a coexistence with bears.

We wish you the very best, Kari!! Thank you for being a valuable member of the University of Montana Franke College of Forestry and Conservation team!

Student Spotlight: Jordan Jimmie

Photo caption: Jordan Jimmie working in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta to collect hydrologic field data

By Jennifer Harrington, Native American Natural Resources Program Director

Jordan Jimmie is a master’s student in the Forestry program in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. Jordan is currently working with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) to model the impact of water delivery on the Flathead Reservation if the CSKT Water Compact is passed or not passed by the United States Senate. His graduate work is titled, "Modeling Hydrologic Impacts of Water Rights Quantification and Settlement on the Flathead Indian Irrigation Project."

Jordan is a Sloan Fellow and a fellow in the UM BRIDGES NSF Research Traineeship Program, which supports graduate student research at the food-energy-water nexus. Jordan is a proud member of the Navajo Nation (Diné) from Flagstaff, Arizona, and holds a B.S. in environmental hydrology and water resources from the University of Arizona. As an undergrad, Jordan held a variety of impressive research positions including studying cancer emergence from groundwater contamination exposure at UA and studying soil isotopes at the University of Texas Austin. In 2016, Jordan was selected for the prestigious Udall Native American Congressional internship program, through which he served the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources as they debated issues surrounding Native American water rights settlements. Jordan worked over two summers participating in a research expedition in the heart of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta to collect hydrologic field data regarding physical changes in tundra lakes and ponds – data that was later analyzed at the Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Jordan has a passion for science – particularly hydrology – and education. Through his career, he hopes to use his education to give back to Indian Country and specifically to teach hydrology and STEM education at a tribal college or university.

I first met Jordan over the phone as he was deciding where to apply for graduate school. We talked about the programs offered in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and about the faculty, particularly Brian Chaffin, assistant professor of water policy and governance, who would become Jordan’s advisor. Jordan and I were both fortunate to participate in the Pacific North West (PNW) Cosmos Indigenous Mentoring Program float trip on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. The program gathered Native American scholars entering a graduate program in one of the participating institutions (including the University of Montana, Montana State University and the University of Idaho) and their respective advisors on a four-day trip. Activities included learning about teepee design and set up with a Nez Perce tribal member and environmental scientist. There were many talking circles, and on the second day the group started a three-day, two-night float on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Students and advisors got to know each other and were able to learn about the importance of culture and identity for Native American students and tools for mentoring.

I was able to speak with Jordan over the phone recently to talk about his time at UM and what his plans are after graduation.

What did you think that graduate school would be like when you first began here at UM?

I thought there would be no life outside of graduate school. I thought that it would be difficult to find balance – to eat healthy, to exercise and to go to church. I saw relatives go to grad school and saw things become imbalanced.

What were some of the challenges that you were able to work through in graduate school?

The level of my presentations and how I conduct myself in professional settings. Learning how to distinguish how I speak to friends and how I speak professionally and learning not to mix them, which required practice. I learned to take ownership of my research and to create top-notch research that others could build upon. One of the expectations that I had of graduate school was that all research needed to be life changing. I’ve realized that the research needs to be meaningful but does not need to save the world or be Nobel-worthy to be impactful.

I experienced challenges with faculty that I did not see eye-to-eye with that I eventually learned to coexist with and to work together in a professional setting. I have had to learn to advocate for myself. Coming to Montana from out-of-state, you better do your best to make sure that everything is covered like housing and financial aid. I experienced issues like being over-awarded and scholarships were sent back and there was misfiled paperwork and a deadline was missed. I tried to advocate for myself and other Native students to make sure that things were getting done.

Did you find that graduate school opened you up to new ways of understanding the world?

On a personal level, I thought about who I decide to spend my time with and how I spend my time. I learned to let go and not worry so much. I learned to say, “This is out of my hands.”

I am an introvert, and I am picky about how I spend my time. If you are going to do something, make it meaningful! I have learned not to limit myself; the sky is the limit. I count my blessings! I am privileged; I have resources as a graduate student that others do not have.

How important was it to include the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in your research?

Foundational. It was my first thought before entering UM. Working with tribes, it drives you! It reaffirms my commitment to serving Indigenous peoples. I am an Indigenous hydrologist!

It is so important to have representation on all levels, in academia and in the private sector.

How did working with the Tribes influence your research process and your research outcomes?

It is a process. Sovereignty is a real thing! You must build relationships, or you will have a hard time doing your research. Transparency is key! The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have cultivated the research idea. There were pivotal meetings with Casey Ryan (FCFC graduate in hydrology – 2015 and current CSKT hydrologist) and Seth Makepeace (CSKT hydrologist). The research chosen is a priority, it is relevant, and it is timely for the Tribes. I am fortunate because of the relevance of the 2015 Compact.

The outcomes of this research include learning how to effectively communicate the importance of this project to the Flathead and beyond. I am learning how to be confident about the results. I am interested in presenting it to the Salish Kootenai College, to share my findings with relevant people.

How was the PNW-Cosmos float? Do you feel it helped you connect with your advisor and other students?

The float trip was awesome! I love water in general. A couple of days camping on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River was incredible!

The trip and the activities did make me and Brian, my advisor, closer. It was a little forced in how structured it was, but it allowed me to see him in a new setting, chilling, makes him more personable.

Going through that experience builds camaraderie and strengthens bonds. It was awesome to be around Native peoples and allies to learn together. We were able to share our viewpoint of science, the Indigenous way. It was a good experience!

What student groups have you belonged to?

I am the president of the UM American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). I was a co-chair of the Native American Student Advisory Council (NASAC). I am currently a student senator for the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM). And I am a member of the Missoula community Run Wild Missoula group.

How have the groups influenced your graduate education here at UM? What was a project with student groups that really had an impact on you?

Being active in student groups has had a positive influence on my education. AISES is a struggle. ASUM has been rewarding, seeing the government side of how things are run. It is important to have representation. There is only me and one other Native American student on Senate. I am learning how to be most effective, and I am learning how to advocate for students. There are things that some students have to worry about that I do not. How can I make it meaningful!

What are you plans after you graduate?

I will graduate in a month and defend. I will be starting a PhD program at Oregon State University (OSU) in Water Resources Engineering in the Fall. I have been awarded a Diversity Advancement Fellowship which starts this summer. I will be working with John Selker at OSU.

We wish you all the best, Jordan! It has been wonderful having you here at the University of Montana in the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation!

Spencer Kim Creates a Wildlife-Inspired Trading Card Game

Wildlife biology major Spencer Kim created a new trading card game that teaches middle school students about wildlife. In Duel Species, each player draws a deck of cards representing a variety of animal species. Other cards represent barriers to survival – from wildfire to hunting pressure – that players must react to with the aim of keeping their animals alive for as long as possible.

“I love trading card games and noticed there wasn’t one for animals, so as a hobby I started making a set of cards for each species of the Canidae (dog) family,” Spencer says. “Eventually I made more of other animals and then started thinking about making game rules with them. One thing led to another, and then I started loving it more and more and decided to share it with the world.”

Spencer hopes to eventually publish the game so that other people can enjoy it, and he says his favorite part of the project is seeing how much closer he’s getting to achieving his dream of making Duel Species a reality. Spencer is a senior in the Wildlife Biology Program, focusing on terrestrial wildlife. After graduation, he hopes to become a wildlife photographer.

Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society Attends State Conference

By Jonathan Karlen

Members of the University of Montana’s Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society made a splash at The Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society’s 2020 conference. Doctoral student Brian Tornabene won a Montana Chapter of The Wildlife Society small grants award for research. Doctoral students Jenny Helm and Kaity Reinstma won an education and public outreach small grants award that will help fund the production of a coffee table book, a thank-you to the numerous private landowners who contribute to their research.Chis Hansen, also a doctoral student, won best student poster presentation. And Jonathan Karlen, the author of the piece below, received the Wynn Freeman Award, which recognizes academic achievement, activity in the Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society and the potential for contribution to wildlife science. Karlen is a junior in the Wildlife Biology Program and president of the UM Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

Photo: Members of the University of Montana Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society gather at the Montana Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s 2020 Conference in Butte.

In early February, thirty members of the UM Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society (TWS) attended the Montana Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s 2020 Conference in Butte, Montana.

We are proud that all of our members who were interested in attending the conference - freshmen through seniors - were able to do so completely free of charge through a collaboration with the Wildlife Biology Program.

For wildlife biology students, the annual conference provides one of the best ways to network with wildlife professionals from across Montana, learn about career paths and engage with cutting-edge research taking place at UM and throughout the state.

At the conference, students formed meaningful connections with leaders in the wildlife field while strengthening the relationship between the student chapter and Montana’s state agencies, federal agencies and NGOs. These relationships are an important component contributing to the success of our members with finding exciting summer internships, exceptional research positions and rewarding jobs after graduation.

In addition to receiving professional development opportunities, officers of the student chapter were invited to attend and provide input at the MT TWS annual business meeting. We had informative discussions with the board about how the state chapter can best serve members of our student chapter.

The entire conference experience, from collaborating with the Wildlife Biology Program to mitigate student attendance barriers to discussing student interests with the MT TWS board, was a reminder of the strong, broad support our student chapter is so grateful to have.

Chief Dull Knife College Visits Lubrecht Experimental Forest

by Jennifer Harrington, FCFC Native American Natural Resource Program coordinator

(Photo: Josiah Clairmont and G’naiya Small look on as Suntaya Spang takes a tree core sample.)

In June, the college hosted friends from Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer. Students from CDKC spent a day at Lubrecht Experimental Forest, where they met with professors Carl Sielstad and Kelsey Jensco.

Sielstad, the fire/fuels program manager at the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis, shared information about the work he and his team have been doing using drones to study fire behavior. Then he took everyone out into the forest to four treatment locations to show and talk about the effects of varying fuel treatments.

(Photo: CeCe Longknife, Shawntay Alden and G’Naiya Small test soil moisture content.)

The group walked over to a location where staff member Tim Wallace and current doctoral student Matt Cunningham showed a drone in flight. The group discussed research with drones, along with their many capabilities in assessing current conditions.

After lunch, the group met with Kelsey Jencso, Montana state climatologist, and several of his colleagues from the Montana Climate Office. Jencso gave a brief introduction about taking soil moisture measurements and gave the students gauges to use to take measurements in the surrounding area.

(Photo: Robert Magpie, Dillon Hazel, CeCe Longknife, Veronica TwoMoons, Andrea Littlewhiteman and Suntaya Spang watch as a staff member from the Montana Climate Office demonstrates how to check moisture flow in trees.)

Then students met with two doctoral students to discuss their research on atmospheric moisture.

Much to the groups surprise, it turns out the CDKC faculty mentor, Gary Ramsey, already knew one of the graduate students, Kenzie Bailey from the University of Arizona. Bailey was a former high school student of Ramsey’s from when he previously taught at Colstrip High School.

“It was an amazing coincidence to see her there,” Ramsey said. “She was an outstanding student and I'm not surprised she has done as well as she has. I had no idea she was working on her doctorate in Arizona, and the fact that we were both there on the same day was pretty incredible.”

(Photo: Robert Magpie and Josiah Clairmont test soil moisture content.)

Ramsey added, “Sometimes when you grow up in a somewhat remote area you don't realize the opportunities that are available. One of the primary reasons for our trip to U of M was to show students what opportunities are out there, so running into someone from home taking advantage of those opportunities was tremendous!”

“Every Day Is Different”: Ann Schwaller Stewards the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

(Ann Schwaller paddles a canoe in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.)

Encompassing over 1 million acres of glaciated lakes, streams and forestland in northeastern Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is one of the most-visited wilderness areas in the country. Alumnus Ann Schwaller is involved in nearly every aspect of its management.

The BWCAW was designated with the passing of the 1964 Wilderness Act, with added acreage and management changes in subsequent legislation of the 1978 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act. Located on the Superior National Forest, it’s surrounded by Lake Superior, Voyageurs National Park, Grand Portage National Monument and 150 miles of international boundary with Canada, bordering Quetico and La Verendrye provincial parks. The BWCAW is renowned for canoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, dog sledding and fishing and boasts 1,200 miles of canoe routes, 12 hiking trails and 2,000 designated campsites. Unlike most designated wilderness areas, it also allows for motorboat use in certain lakes.

As the U.S. Forest Service BWCAW program manager, Schwaller’s job entails anything and everything pertaining to the wilderness: litigation, visitor use, mandatory quota permits and the reservation system, research, guest lectures, law enforcement, interdisciplinary collaboration, congressional briefs, media questions, fire, partnerships, volunteers, environmental analyses, publications, cross-border projects with other agencies, international joint projects and more. Her work is varied, difficult and dynamic – precisely what she likes best about it.

“Every day is different,” she says. “I’ve been there for almost 15 years, and it hasn’t become boring yet. It’s still always challenging.”

Her role serves as a touchstone for the BWCAW. She works with all of the wilderness area’s varied employees and stakeholders from the forest supervisor to the wilderness rangers in the field, plus community members, county, state and other federal agencies, advocacy groups and more. Much of her work entails gathering knowledge about projects and issues affecting the wilderness, applying law and policy, sharing it with others and hopefully enacting meaningful change to protect wilderness character.

“For wilderness management, we end up becoming a jack of all trades,” she says. “We have to know a little bit about what each discipline is doing in the wilderness to help determine need and appropriate action, so we absorb a lot of information in a lot of different sciences – both physical and social.”

(Ann Schwaller)

Schwaller didn’t plan to end up in Minnesota – or even working in wilderness. Originally from southeast Florida, she graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in photojournalism and a minor in forest resources and conservation. Her plan was to write about environmental issues affecting public lands.

Following a stint as an intern covering hard news and sports at the Miami Herald, she decided to branch out and experience a different part of the country. Schwaller joined the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and landed a summer natural resource internship in Washington working as a USFS photographer. She spent the season taking photos of wilderness areas for new maps – with trail maintenance thrown in for good measure. The experience kicked off six years of seasonal work: summers as a USFS wilderness ranger in Washington, winters as a newsprint freelance photographer in Florida, a SCA stint photographing Hurricane Andrew devastation in Everglades National Park, and a winter at Grand Canyon National Park.

Eager to further her career, she attended graduate school and earned a master’s degree from the then School of Forestry at the University of Montana, where she focused on recreation management. After graduation, she spent five more years in the West on various National Forests in Montana, Idaho and Colorado working in wilderness and recreation management before starting her wilderness program manager role for the BWCAW.

Schwaller’s advice to current students is, at its root, relatively simple: put in the work. Make sure you have the appropriate classes necessary to apply for specific job series for the agency and location of interest, and get related natural resource management work experience. Take a seasonal job or internship in the field to fully understand the inner workings of certain programs.

Schwaller’s own years of fieldwork still serve her well.

“It’s a point of pride with me. I’ve had every job below mine and detailed into a couple above. When someone calls me with a management issue, I know exactly where they’re coming from to hopefully properly guide and, in some cases, empathize,” Schwaller says. “I love calls from wilderness rangers, because it brings me back to the ground and reality.”

Osprey, Terns and Turtles: A Summer as an ESA/USGS Intern

by Allison Hendryx

Allison Hendryx holds two least tern juveniles

Allison Hendryx graduated from the University of Montana in 2019 with a degree in wildlife biology and a minor in ecological restoration, with an emphasis in fire ecology. After graduation, she participated in the Ecological Society of America and US Geological Survey’s Cooperative Summer Internship Program, which provides a pathway for students with training in biological field methods to experience internships with the USGS for up to five months.

Osprey (P. haliaetus carolinensis)--North American subspecies

This past summer, I spent my morning commute on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay as an intern with the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, as part of the Ecological Society of America/US Geological Service Cooperative Summer Internship Program. To enter the program, you need to be nominated by either faculty or by a director of a field-training course or experience. Once nominated, ESA and USGS match your skills and interests to available summer internships all across the country. I was nominated by Dr. Philip Higuera, faculty in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. I worked in his Paleoecology and Fire Ecology lab as both a lab assistant and field technician throughout my undergraduate experience. Given my background in wildlife biology, ecological restoration and fire ecology, I had the opportunity to interview for several diverse positions. Of these great internship opportunities, I opted to take a position in Maryland, working as a wildlife biologist on a project focused on waterbird research on a restoration island in the Chesapeake Bay.

My position was a dynamic learning experience located in an incredibly unique setting. Poplar Island itself was almost overtaken by erosion and sea-level rise until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS and the Maryland Environmental Service began working collaboratively to recreate the island by filling it with clean dredge materials from the Chesapeake Bay. Today, the island has been restored beyond its original footprint and serves as vital remote island habitat for countless waterbirds, pollinators and other wildlife. Working in collaboration with USFWS, our team focused on monitoring the populations of common tern (Sterna hirundo) and the Maryland state-listed least tern (Sternula antillarum) that utilize Poplar Island as a nesting site.

Banding a least tern chick

Relocating an Eastern king snake (Lampropeltis getula)

Every day was different, but the majority of our time was spent conducting nest-searching surveys throughout the colonies, looking for and recording nests, eggs, chicks and banded terns. Once the majority of the colony hatched, we banded hundreds of tern chicks in order to effectively monitor reproductive success as well as the population. In addition to working with the terns, we conducted surveys in wading bird rookeries on the island, containing ibis, egret and heron species. Our team also assisted with other scientific studies taking place on the island including osprey banding, pollinator surveys, wildlife rehabilitation, and snake and turtle relocations. Beyond the fieldwork, I also managed and analyzed the raw data collected, created colony maps in GIS, and developed a more efficient nest searching method utilizing Avenza Maps.

Through my work on Poplar Island, I was able to grow both professionally and personally in a collaborative setting that gave me a unique opportunity to study wildlife populations, ecological restoration and the human dimensions that influence both. I’m grateful to Dr. Higuera for nominating me for a program that has prepared me for a professional career in conservation and encourage other faculty and students to look into the ESA/USGS program for undergraduates and recent graduates.

Allison Hendryx holds an osprey

The Potential for Transboundary Conservation in Patagonia

By Sanober Mirza

Sanober Mirza is a master’s student in the University of Montana’s Resource Conservation, International Conservation and Development program. Her research focuses on transboundary and large-landscape conservation, with a case study in Patagonia. Mirza is the recipient of the Alaback and Brewer Melipal Fellowship, which provides for extended research study in Latin America for students with an interest in conservation biology, sustainable development and public education and outreach for these topics.

Thanks to the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation’s Melipal Fellowship, I have been lucky enough to spend the past month in Chilean Patagonia doing research for my master’s thesis project. I have been in Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, conducting interviews with people who work in conservation, protected area management and tourism to learn about the potential for transboundary conservation in this area of Patagonia. Through my interviews, I have learned about many different conservation issues within the region, spanning areas of management, funding, tourism and local representation. I am constantly reflecting on the dissonance between the idyllic place Patagonia is imagined as in the U.S. and Europe with the reality of these issues. Like many other beautiful landscapes, Patagonia has challenges that are threatening local livelihoods and ecosystems.

Most of my time here has been spent on work, but every couple of weeks I take a break to have the full tourist experience. This past week, I visited the famous Parque Nacional Torres del Paine (PNTP). Although the park is insanely beautiful, I found the experience to be bittersweet. Many of the tourists I have met in Chile are focused solely on Torres del Paine (and Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina). However, Patagonia has much more to offer, and only thinking of experiencing Patagonia as visiting PNTP has contributed to some of the conflicts I have learned about in my fieldwork. I am not sure who built this reputation, whether it was branding from Chile to encourage tourism or adventurers from the U.S. and Europe. Either way, it is important that we reflect on our visions of Patagonia and why we have those specific associations. We can gain insight into how we conceptualize landscapes and protected areas, countries outside of our own, relationships with local communities and more.

I will be continuing my journey in Chile by departing for Caleta Tortel next week. This will be a long journey for me as I must take a two-day ferry through Parque Nacional Bernardo O’Higgins (PNBO) to arrive there. It will be very different for me to compare the communities around Torres del Paine, one of the most visited parks in Chile, to those of the isolated and remote PNBO. After my journey to Tortel, I will continue to Argentina to learn perspectives from the other side on transboundary conservation in this famous region of Patagonia. I am excited to continue this learning experience and am grateful for the support from the college.

Photo: A tourist gets his photo taken at the Mirador Base Torres in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

Alumni Spotlight: Brian Glaspell Named Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System in Alaska

In July, FCFC alumnus Brian Glaspell left his role as refuge manager at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming for a new gig: chief of the National Wildlife Refuge system in Alaska. He’s responsible for overseeing 77 million acres of federal public land – plus about 350 employees.

“It’s all focused on sort of holding the line in what people think of as the last best place – the one remaining wild place, retaining some truly wild landscapes,” Glaspell says.

After attending the University of Woming and the University of Alaska – Fairbanks for his undergraduate and master’s degrees, Glaspell graduated from UM with his PhD in forestry in 2002. He went on to work as a postdoc at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute on the UM campus, then as the Alaska regional social scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He’s also held several other USFWS positions, including a stint as the manager of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Glaspell grew up in Alaska, so the role is also a return home. “All of the things that were influential in my life growing up all had to do with fish and wildlife and natural resources. I’m not sure I ever really imagined a career outside of that,” he says.

To current students, he passes along a piece of wisdom given to him as a recent graduate:

“When I graduated, a mentor gave me a book and wrote in it: ‘The only thing you need is patience, and everything will come from there,’” he says. “Time flies, and I’ve been chomping at the bit since the moment I was born, I think. But now, looking back, I’m 20 years into my federal career and I still feel like a young person who just stepped out of school. That’s not the case, but I probably made some less-than-optimal decisions or pushed the envelope a little too much because of a lack of patience. I think it’s super good advice. If you want a career in conservation, you’re making plans for a 100- or 200- or 1,000-year timescale, and you should approach it with patience.”

Dean’s Message: Introducing the CLTree

By Tom DeLuca, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation Dean

Dean’s Message — Spring 2019

In case you haven’t made the walk between the Charles. H. Clapp Building and the Forestry Building recently, there has been a notable change. Right before Foresters’ Ball, we installed a single large panel of cross laminated timber (CLT) cut into three pieces to resemble a tree.

CLT is a mass timber material created from gluing together perpendicular layers of dimensional lumber to create a large, structural panel. The CLTree is a kiosk to promote “mass timber” construction — large-scale timber products created from small timber resources — and the idea of a new building for the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. The sheer size of the kiosk is impressive; at 40 feet tall, it definitely cuts an imposing figure and helps demonstrate the size, scale and versatility of CLT.

The CLTree was installed in conjunction with Foresters’ Ball weekend for two reasons. First, it added to the festivities and provided an additional feature for students, alumni and the broader community to enjoy at the Ball. Second, these two entities, Foresters’ Ball and the CLTree, help tell a story of the past and future of forestry, natural resources and conservation. The Ball reflects the traditions that moor us to our roots in forestry and celebrates the community that is the College, its students and alumni. The CLTree represents the future of forest products, green building, sustainable forestry in Montana and a new age that unifies our historical conservation roots with modern efforts toward sustainability, like green buildings.

Most large-scale commercial construction has been dominated by steel and concrete, including LEED Gold and Platinum buildings. Steel and concrete are highly effective building materials, but construction using these materials accounts for 8 percent of total anthropogenic carbon emissions worldwide. In Montana, steel and concrete construction is the third largest source of carbon emissions, after coal combustion and transportation.

Mass timber construction dramatically reduces the dependence on steel and concrete, limiting their use to foundations, some flooring and connectors. This greatly reduces carbon emissions as building with mass timber or CLT is, at a minimum, carbon neutral. Since CLT is a product of laminating individual layers of small dimensional lumber (e.g. 2x4s or 2x6s), structural panels can be made from relatively low-grade wood, creating a value add to small diameter timber that might otherwise be pulped or burned. This means that mass timber could also potentially play a role in helping reduce fuel loading and the potential for stand replacing fires in low- and mixed-severity forest types.

Over the past 100 years (since the first Foresters’ Ball!) consumption of non-food, non-fuel resources per person in the U.S. has increased from 2 tons per year to 20 tons per year. During this same period, the amount of non-renewable building materials used in commercial construction has increased from 60 percent to 92 percent. Mass timber, and specifically CLT, are renewable, potentially reusable and carbon-sequestering, helping reverse these two degrading trends.

Mass timber construction, combined with sustainable forest management on public and private lands, can make Montana a leader in achieving a more sustainable future. Forestry done right, like what we teach in FCFC, can allow us to simultaneously achieve habitat and biodiversity goals while meeting demands for sustainable, low-impact building.

Additionally, mass timber buildings create high-skill jobs at the mill site, shifting skilled labor into rural communities. Since wood is a Montana product, sustainably produced timber can potentially be harvested, milled and laminated in Montana, creating a beautiful example of a circular and strong economy.

The faculty and staff of the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation are currently spread across seven buildings on campus including Forestry, Stone, Clapp, ISB, University Hall and Bioscience. We’ve begun the process of exploring how to best centralize and integrate our team more fully and planning for our facility needs to support these efforts. Our aim is to create optimal teaching, research and learning spaces that are worthy of the education students receive in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. The CLTree helps represent that future.

If you haven’t seen the CLTree, now is a time for a trip to UM to check out this beautiful display of the potential of mass timber and a glimpse of the future of building with Montana leading the way.

Alumna Sarah Castle Studies Microbes and Empowers Girls to Get Outside

As a doctoral student at the University of Montana, Sarah Castle studied how microbial communities develop as glaciers retreat. Funded by a National Science Foundation grant made to her PhD advisor, Cory Cleveland, and collaborators from the University of Colorado and the University of Alaska Southeast, Castle conducted research at glaciers in Washington, Alaska and Peru.

“It was a special thing to be able to go out to these really beautiful places and do science,” Castle said. “I love that it’s my job, to help develop our understanding of the natural world.”

Castle earned a PhD in systems ecology in 2015. Now she is a USDA research associate on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. As a soil biogeochemist and microbiologist, she studies how different agricultural practices influence soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling and also conducts research on the impacts of global change on soil communities in prairie systems.

If that’s not enough to keep her busy, Castle is also the co-founder of The Cairn Project, a nonprofit startup with the mission to expand outdoor opportunities for young women by providing grants to locally-based community organizations that work to get girls outside. The Cairn Project raises money by equipping outdoor enthusiasts with tools to take their outdoor adventures to the next level - by creating opportunities that give back. With the funds raised they award small grants to local partners empowering young women through transformative outdoor experiences. Rooted in a community of women who love the outdoors, The Cairn Project is made up of its founders Sarah Castle and Alison Wright, an advisory board and a large cohort of ambassadors.

“I started The Cairn Project with a friend of mine from college, Alison Wright. Over the years, our friendship has taken us on a lot of outdoor adventures. The idea came to us when were on a hiking trip in Capital Reef National Park in Utah, planning a thru-hike of the John Muir Trail in California,” Castle said.

They joked about turning the JMT trek in a walk-a-thon-style fundraiser, with proceeds donated to an organization focused on getting young women outside. But which one? They set to researching and discovered numerous organizations doing good work – and all in need of funding.

The idea crystallized over the following months, and The Cairn Project launched in 2016. Since then, they’ve provided over $100,000 in grants to community-based organizations getting girls outside across the country – from mountain biking in Montana to surfing in California.

“What we recognized was that we could connect our local partner organizations with a community of supporters that extended far beyond their hometowns,” Castle said. “We’re identifying the needs of locally-based organizations and helping to equip them with more resources to develop new programs, provide logistical support and more. Lots of our grants also provide scholarships for girls who would not be able to attend these programs otherwise. We’re grateful to have a broad base of supporters that see the value of what we’re working toward. This wouldn’t be possible without the generous donations of a lot of folks.”

Through their ambassador program, The Cairn Project also works to create community among women in the outdoors and provides a platform for storytelling.

“I really love that what we’ve done is not only expand opportunities for young women to get outside in communities across the country, but we’re also building a community of women who are interested in giving back to something that they feel passionate about. Our 2018 ambassadors are such a super rad, inspiring and dedicated group of women,” Castle said. (The Cairn Project is recruiting for the 2019 Ambassador program. For more information, email [email protected].)

Castle’s favorite outdoor activity is biking – mountain, road, gravel, you name it.

“I grew up in Georgetown, Colorado, a tiny little town in the Rockies. Growing up, I spent a lot of time outside. I was really lucky to have beautiful mountains right in my backyard. Since my adolescent years, I’ve had a really strong connection with the outdoors and got a lot of personal satisfaction from outdoor activities. From personal experience, I’ve gotten to understand the transformative power of the outdoors. I’m thrilled to be able to pass that along to more young women.”

Prior to her time in Montana, Castle earned a bachelor’s in environmental studies and a master’s degree in geological sciences from The University of Colorado - Boulder.

Her advice to current undergrads: Give yourself permission to be curious, and don’t be afraid to let your curiosity take you in a new direction.

Castle started out as a fine arts major, intent on pursing printmaking or ceramic sculpture. She came to realize she was more interested in natural sciences during her first year and switched programs, a chance she is thankful she let herself take.

“Allowing yourself to evolve, change your mind and grow can be really important. You might go in to college with one idea of what you want to do with your life and end up in a really different place,” she said. “That’s really something I’ve learned from my work with The Cairn Project. After earning an undergraduate degree and two graduate degrees toward my career as a scientist, the opportunity to start a nonprofit organization came unexpectedly. But somewhere along the way, I realized my personal mission statement had expanded. This new path that I’ve taken is a bit outside the box, but it’s one that’s been incredibly fulfilling.”

Martin Viereckl Makes Maps for Tiger Conservation

Martin Viereckl, a forestry alumnus and recent geography master’s graduate, just completed 24 topographic mapsheets for tiger conservation in Malaysia. Martin led a team of eight student cartographers as they created maps that will be used by rangers patrolling Kenyir Taman Negara National Park. The work is part of a long-term grant from Panthera, the large cat conservation organization, and is directed by FCFC faculty member Kevin McManigal.

“Kenyir is the fourth tiger reserve that we have mapped since 2014, and in that time we have seen encouraging increases in tiger populations,” McManigal said. “These students are helping to change the family tree for tigers, literally walking them back from the brink of extinction.”

The maps were mailed overseas and are in the field now helping rangers stop poachers. Kevin and his team are excited to start mapping the next park in the spring.

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