In the wide-open regions of southwest Montana, land, water, and sky are not abstract concepts; they shape daily life. At the University of Montana Western, that sense of place is central to how students learn. Through an immersive, hands-on educational approach, Montana Western is preparing students, many from rural and historically underrepresented backgrounds, for careers in land stewardship and climate-related fields that directly serve their communities.
Montana Western serves a student population for whom access and relevance matter deeply. Institutional data from Fall 2022 show that 73 percent of students identify as low income, first-generation, and/or having a documented disability. For these students, learning that is applied, career-connected, and often paid is not a bonus; it is essential. Montana Western’s model assures that students do not just study environmental issues; they work on them.
This philosophy is now being implemented through the Land, Water & Sky (LWS) Center, the institution’s first academic center, launching Summer 2026. Developed through faculty sabbaticals, the LWS Center builds on what Montana Western already does best: engaging students in authentic professional practice. The Center brings together environmental science, geospatial technologies, mathematical modeling, dark-sky protection, and community partnerships into a single interdisciplinary home focused on building resilience in our communities and environment through community-based natural resources stewardship, and experiential education.
Montana Western students assist Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks with aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling as part of a Beaverhead River monitoring project.
As part of the Weather and Climate class, students build remotely powered weather stations for ongoing data collection.
Montana Western students learning how ranchers are implementing regenerative agricultural practices to enhance their soil, water, and cattle production.
Across classrooms and field sites, students tackle real-world projects with real results. Multi-class research efforts have examined environmental conditions at the Butte Superfund Site, with students sharing conclusions through publicly accessible StoryMaps. Other projects explore carnivore conflict reduction, geohazard mapping, and water quality testing, work that reflects the tools and standards of professional practice. In the Math Department, long-running interdisciplinary animal behavior modeling further expands the Center’s scope, showing how quantitative skills support environmental problem-solving.
Students are not simply learning; they are also generating new knowledge. Montana Western students regularly present research at professional conferences, earn awards, and co-author peer-reviewed publications with faculty, including studies on glacier retreat in the Pioneer Mountains. These experiences position students as emerging professionals well before graduation.
Individual student journeys bring this impact to life. Ted Montalvo, a senior majoring in Environmental Sustainability and Montana Western’s first Baucus Climate Scholar, grew up in a town of 500 people. Through an internship with the Henry’s Fork Foundation, Ted blended his artistic talents with water-quality research to illustrate science concepts for a public audience. Fellow graduate Abbey McClaflin, who recently completed two degrees, one in Environmental Sciences and one in Farm and Ranch Operations, is advancing regenerative agriculture through soil health research in partnership with local farmers and ranchers. She will carry on this work in a master’s program in Rangeland Ecology and Management.
Alumni outcomes support the strength of this approach. Graduates, many of them first-generation college students, now work as hydrologists, environmental scientists, engineers, park rangers, and land stewards across federal agencies, state departments, conservation organizations, and consulting firms nationwide.
At Montana Western, learning by doing is more than a slogan. It is a pathway, one that invests in students, strengthens rural communities, and prepares the next generation to care for the land, water, and sky on which we all depend.
Measuring streamflow often means getting wet in our Hydrology class. Here, Montana Western students are gearing up to measure a stream cross-section and calculate streamflow.
A Montana Western student is identifying and counting benthic macroinvertebrates from the Clark Fork River. The density and type of aquatic organisms in the water help us understand water quality and river health.
Montana Western students collect western harvester ant, Pogonomrymex occidentalis, data that they will use for statistical modeling in MATLAB in their Introductory Probability class. Students submit research results to our student-run Hogsback Journal. To date, 536 students, 34 classes, and 12 professors have been involved in this research project.
