Montana Summer Field Program
The Great Plains is an amazing place both in terms of its natural and human communities. Yet these two communities are never divided, and it is this concept that drives the Montana Summer Field Program. The field component here is key, as faculty get students outdoors to learn by becoming immersed in the lives and conflicts on the Great Plains first hand from area experts. For example, the 2016 course benefited from instruction by 4 faculty members and >20 guest speakers as students traveled around central and eastern Montana. Time spent over the 3-week course was divided among faculty with expertise in natural history, conservation biology, rangeland management and animal health.
Goal: To challenge students to understand and integrate the conflicting values, ethics, and priorities by different stakeholders that make up and define the Great Plains as a "Working Conservation Landscape."
Working - because people have, are and will continue to live here
Conservation - because in the face of rapid social and environmental change it is often in our nature to conserve what we love
Landscape - because it is inherent in the ecology of any system for it to change based on the biotic and abiotic factors existing at any point in time - and it is often most challenging and relevant when an understanding of this dynamism is scaled up to the landscape level
Approach: We use this "Working Conservation Landscape" theme as a guiding approach across the entire course. Each year up to eight outstanding Clemson undergraduate students are selected to participate in the Montana Summer Field Program. Selected students spend the spring semester learning about the Great Plains in a specially designed class that will help fellows prepare for their trip. During the June summer minimester, students will travel to Montana and live at High Meadows Ranch near Roundup, Montana. The ranch will serve as our base of operations and central classroom, but there will be multi-day trips away from the ranch. Field-based lessons are taught by expert Clemson faculty on the topics of forestry and forest fire, animal health and nutrition, rangeland management, and wildlife ecology. We particularly try to highlight intersections between each of these scientific fields and how they are influenced by culture.
Requirements: To get oriented, students will be expected to enroll in a specially designed Creative Inquiry course during Spring semester. Enrollment in the June summer minimester course is required. Students will have to cover their own round-trip airfare to and from Billings Montana, but housing and transport while in Montana is provided.
Applying: Clemson students interested in applying for the annual program should write a detailed cover letter highlighting their interests and expertise, as well as how this program will help them in their career. Please send your application packet to Dr. David Jachowski (djachow@clemson.edu).
More information: For more information about the program or any question, please contact Dr. Jachowski at the email address above.
