Work hard, ask questions often, try something new

Post by Clemson Prairie Ecology Fellow Marilyn Jackson

Tomorrow will be three weeks that I have been in Montana. And honestly, it feels like I’ve been here for months. Not in an “I wish it was already time to go home” way, although I do miss Clemson so much. It’s more in an “it’s only been three weeks and look how much we’ve already accomplished” sort of feeling.

The first week, we traveled across the United States and saw so many parks, monuments, and wild animals together. The second week, we met the Frost’s and the Segars’, initiated our project locations, and began working. Last week we also spent three days in the Charles M Russell Wildlife Refuge mapping burrowing owls. This week, Neil Cameron, the vice president of development for Clemson University visited the farm and we had the honor of taking his family horseback riding around the ranch. Needless to say, we have done SO much in a so little time.

Last night, Neill and his family arrived at the ranch house and proceeded to treat us to a great dinner in Roundup. It sure was nice to see new groups of people-the three of us do run out of things to talk about sometimes. The two grandsons are thinking about college-one will be attending Clemson in the fall! Mr. Cameron is also very involved in the management of donor money that flows into and out of the university, so he gave us updates on the campus construction, international relations between Clemson and other universities, and other important tidbits that we have been missing out on for the last three weeks. He seemed very proud of us and was excited to see what work we will accomplish before seeing him again in July. He left us with some very insightful advice: “It is acceptable to not know how to do something, but it is never acceptable to not work hard.” I think this is especially important to us because we are part of a project that the university is responsible for, as well as the Segar’s and the Frost’s. This opportunity was decided upon after careful consideration of each of us, and it is our responsibility to represent the school, the farm owners, our professors, and ourselves in a positive and effective way.

We have a new roommate, Elizabeth. She is a veterinary science major who drove out here to shadow extension agents in Yellowstone and work with large animal vets out in the West. So far she has had the ability to trap pocket gophers and sit in on soil regulation meetings. Just being around these people while they work teaches you so much. She will be assisting us with our projects and spending time with us at the house!

In the upcoming weeks, I hope that we can continue to gain ground on our projects as well as get some experience at the CMR refuge, with the Frosts’ cattle operation, and more. Until then, we will continue to do our plant projects, work on things around the ranch, and ride horses!

This weekend we decided to explore the city of Billings, about an hour from the ranch in Roundup. The four of us took the afternoon and went to see an exhibit at the Yellowstone Art Museum in downtown. There was an exhibit for Will James, a western artist from the early 1900’s, and a collection of his books, journals, and letters to Charles M Russell-the man the wildlife refuge is named after! It was really great to be able to participate in the art culture downtown. There were a few bars downtown that were having live music, so we stuck around and listened to some of it on the street. We ended up hanging out at Montana Brewing Company to watch some hockey and eat some great food. The feel of downtown Billings reminds me of a college town with a little bit more history mixed in. There are always plenty of things going on each day downtown and at the MetraPark, which was hosting a horse race this weekend.


The four of us-including Elizabeth-have decided to spend more time exercising the horses more often. If we invest more time teaching them to react well to our commands and directions, their behavior will improve tremendously while out on trail rides. During the next weeks before our family visits, we will try to work on the horses’ behavior!
All of the rest of the projects are progressing very well! As the weather dries out, we will have more days available to spend on the ridgeline. Stay tuned to keep up with our progress!

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You can follow more of Marilyn's escapades on her personal blog:  Marilyn Meets the West