I feel like a more well rounded individual
Guest post by student Tucker Cribb -
The final section of this course was dedicated to the history of the land, fieldwork, and the current state of range land research. I learned a lot through this section. Not all of it was easy and a lot of the lessons I learned came from hard work and sweat. I am glad that I participated in this section. Several activities we participated in had a profound impact on me and changed how I viewed things.
The first stop for this section was a field trip to the Battle of the Little Bighorn battlefield. I was very excited about this field trip. I have always loved learning about American history. The Battle of the Little Bighorn is probably one of the more important battles in American history. The battle served as a massive blow to the morale of the American military in their campaign against the Native Americans. The battle also marked a turning point in the Native American wars and the natives suffered greatly after the US aimed to avenge the battle. The battlefield was a very solum experience. The excitement and amusement park feel of most national parks and monuments was absent. I could feel the death and anguish as if they were stained in the soil of the battlefield. I found myself contemplating how lucky I am to live at this time. Had I lived at the time of this battle I could have easily found myself in a similar situation and suffering a similar fate as the men that perished that day? It has to be acknowledged that the US was actively committing genocide on the Native American tribes. However, at the same time, I think about how most of the men that died that day were young men like myself. They joined the army for a steady meal and paycheck. I have little sympathy for the leaders that organized such atrocities, but I have a lot of sympathy for the young men that died that day.
During this final section, we finalized our fieldwork for the course. Finishing the fieldwork was more bittersweet than I imagined it would be. At times the sampling could be incredibly tedious and exhausting. However, the fieldwork was an excellent way to get out in the prairie and ponderosa pine ecosystems. I learned a lot from the vegetation, forage, and fuel samples. I believe that the techniques I learned could be applied to many different kinds of studies in different environments. I will not miss the repetitive nature of the work, but I will miss getting out on the land for the majority of the day.
On the last day of our trip to Montana, we visited an old fort that had been converted into an agricultural research facility. All of the researchers and employees of the fort were incredibly nice and obviously passionate about their work. The fort was an impressive research facility with a multitude of pastures and study plots. One study plot contained several female cows that were fitted with a cannula. A cannula is basically a hatch that allows access to the rumen of the cow for research purposes. Every student was allowed an opportunity to insert their hand into the rumen of the cow. The experience was one that I will never forget. However, I fundamentally felt that the cannula was unethical. I feel deep down that cutting a hole in an animal that allows for ready access to the internal organs of the animal is questionable at best. Moreover, one of the researchers stated that they once inserted the device into a group of wild elk. Performing this invasive surgery on a domesticated animal is one thing but performing it on a wild animal that is not used to handling is very unethical. I have to preface that I am not an animal science major and I had never heard of a cannula before. I just had a very visceral reaction to the entire process.
I am so glad to have participated in this course. I feel like a more rounded individual afterward. I am very grateful to all the professors, speakers, and scientists that helped put it all together. I will never forget getting my time in Montana and I am sure that my heart will never truly leave the West.
