A Change in Scenery
Post by 2016 Montana Summer Program student Josh Cary
This section of the class, led by Dr. Tom Scott, was a little different from the rest. Instead of learning about about ranching and the prairie directly from him, we focused on meeting and talking to people about the work they do here in Montana. There was a lot to see, many miles to drive, and even more to learn. Our first day of the unit was spent on the ranch with Gary Ellingston a forestry consultant from Helena, MT. He left his home at 6am just to come meet with us in the morning and tell us about his work. Gary was an interesting guy, who brought with him his own perspective on forest health. I naïvely assumed his perspective would be very different than Bruce Raider, the BLM manager that visited during the previous unit. Different due to the fact that he was managing for a separate reason. However, both seemed to be chiefly interested in forest health with their own agendas coming second.
The second day we drove to Fort Keogh just East of Miles City to meet with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers stationed there. Fort Keogh was once a remount station for the U.S. Calvary back in the days of the horse, but is now the beef cattle and range management Agriculture Research Station for the USDA. The researchers we met had distinctly varied research areas. The first couple focused on grazing and pasture quality. They were using rain ex-closures to test the effects of drought on species composition; something that may be very important in the days of climate change. We also had the opportunity to stick our hands into a cannulated cow’s rumen, something I’ve seen but never had a chance to do. The afternoon was spent learning more about the research going on there and touring their amazingly well supplied lab.
The next day was started with a three hour drive west to Bozeman the home of Montana State University (MSU). As interesting and educational as the tour of their Animal Science Department was, my mind was stuck on fish. As Phil, the Agricultural Department lab manager, so eloquently pointed out “you could throw a stone in any direction and hit a great trout stream”. Bozeman is a different world compared to Roundup and the High Meadow Ranch, primarily there’s flowing water. MSU is also home to the Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit, a conglomeration of university, state, and federal personnel all working together to research this region’s amazing fish communities. I hope one day to joins one of these Cooperative Units and to further my research and possibly complete a masters or even a PhD through the program.
Montana keeps surprising me with its vast array of ecosystems. From the Stillwater River, which we hiked next to on our day off, to the treeless plains of the American Prairie Reserve. In all of my travels around the world, I’ve never experienced a place with the diversity of Montana. In just 3 hours you can go from an arid grassland to lush river bottoms teaming with life. The few people that had the privilege to grow up in this area are truly lucky. Sure, they didn’t have a mall within walking distance, but malls are easy to build wilderness is not. Even though I grew up with woods and fields, they weren’t wild like the areas in Montana are. The lands I explored as a child were the last remnants of a once great system, broken down and cut up by man.
For those brave enough to come here, Montana is a land of opportunities. For an outdoorsman and fly fisher, such as myself, it’s the ultimate playground. For those seeking a complete escape, Montana can be a paradise of nothingness; a land so full yet so empty.
This section of the class, led by Dr. Tom Scott, was a little different from the rest. Instead of learning about about ranching and the prairie directly from him, we focused on meeting and talking to people about the work they do here in Montana. There was a lot to see, many miles to drive, and even more to learn. Our first day of the unit was spent on the ranch with Gary Ellingston a forestry consultant from Helena, MT. He left his home at 6am just to come meet with us in the morning and tell us about his work. Gary was an interesting guy, who brought with him his own perspective on forest health. I naïvely assumed his perspective would be very different than Bruce Raider, the BLM manager that visited during the previous unit. Different due to the fact that he was managing for a separate reason. However, both seemed to be chiefly interested in forest health with their own agendas coming second.
The second day we drove to Fort Keogh just East of Miles City to meet with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers stationed there. Fort Keogh was once a remount station for the U.S. Calvary back in the days of the horse, but is now the beef cattle and range management Agriculture Research Station for the USDA. The researchers we met had distinctly varied research areas. The first couple focused on grazing and pasture quality. They were using rain ex-closures to test the effects of drought on species composition; something that may be very important in the days of climate change. We also had the opportunity to stick our hands into a cannulated cow’s rumen, something I’ve seen but never had a chance to do. The afternoon was spent learning more about the research going on there and touring their amazingly well supplied lab.
The next day was started with a three hour drive west to Bozeman the home of Montana State University (MSU). As interesting and educational as the tour of their Animal Science Department was, my mind was stuck on fish. As Phil, the Agricultural Department lab manager, so eloquently pointed out “you could throw a stone in any direction and hit a great trout stream”. Bozeman is a different world compared to Roundup and the High Meadow Ranch, primarily there’s flowing water. MSU is also home to the Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit, a conglomeration of university, state, and federal personnel all working together to research this region’s amazing fish communities. I hope one day to joins one of these Cooperative Units and to further my research and possibly complete a masters or even a PhD through the program.
Montana keeps surprising me with its vast array of ecosystems. From the Stillwater River, which we hiked next to on our day off, to the treeless plains of the American Prairie Reserve. In all of my travels around the world, I’ve never experienced a place with the diversity of Montana. In just 3 hours you can go from an arid grassland to lush river bottoms teaming with life. The few people that had the privilege to grow up in this area are truly lucky. Sure, they didn’t have a mall within walking distance, but malls are easy to build wilderness is not. Even though I grew up with woods and fields, they weren’t wild like the areas in Montana are. The lands I explored as a child were the last remnants of a once great system, broken down and cut up by man.For those brave enough to come here, Montana is a land of opportunities. For an outdoorsman and fly fisher, such as myself, it’s the ultimate playground. For those seeking a complete escape, Montana can be a paradise of nothingness; a land so full yet so empty.
