Montana Western Launches Land, Water and Sky Center to Advance Experiential Learning and Natural Resource Stewardship
June 12, 2026
91看片 is proud to announce the creation of the Land, Water and Sky (LWS) Center, a new interdisciplinary hub for experiential education, undergraduate research, and community-based natural resource stewardship.
The LWS Center builds upon Montana Western鈥檚 nationally recognized Experience One (X1) model, where students and professors are immersed in one course at a time for concentrated, experiential learning. Classes and student projects are tied to collaborative projects with agencies, organizations, and landowners to enhance working and wild lands and headwater river systems across southwest Montana. In doing so, the Center builds capacity for long-term research and stewardship.
The Land, Water and Sky Center represents an evolution of experiential education at Montana Western. 鈥淥ur students want meaningful opportunities to learn, contribute, and build careers in the landscapes they love,鈥� said 91看片 Associate Professor Dr. Arica Crootof. 鈥淲hat better way to do this than engage students in existing on-the-ground projects while also filling needed monitoring, evaluation, and research gaps?鈥�
The LWS Center supports interdisciplinary projects across ecology, education, environmental sciences, humanities, and mathematics. Students are working on applied research and service-learning projects, including stream restoration, wildlife and vegetation monitoring, watershed education, animal behavior modeling, habitat enhancement, regenerative agriculture, environmental literacy, and geospatial data analysis. Students work on these projects in different classes as well as across their four years of college, so they are involved in all stages of research鈥攆rom grant writing and data collection to data analysis and report writing, to sharing results with academics, partners, and public audiences.
鈥淥ur goal is to create a collaborative hub where academic knowledge and community knowledge work together,鈥� said Dr. Anderson. 鈥淲e see an opportunity to coordinate efforts and leverage strengths across our community to build capacity for landscape-scale stewardship. At the same time, we are preparing students to become the next generation of scientists, managers, educators, and leaders.鈥�
The LWS Center is designed to meet local needs, including workforce shortages and increasing complexity in resource management. Through long-term partnerships, applied research, and workforce development, the Center aims to help Southwest Montana plan, prepare, and respond to changing environmental conditions such as drought, wildfire, and invasive species.听
Current projects include:
- Assessing ecological and hydrological impacts of stream restoration projects听in collaboration with The Sagebrush Partnership, Big Hole Watershed Committee,听and Montana Conservation Corps.听听
- Investigating how 鈥淒ark Skies鈥� impacts wildlife and tourism in Southwest Montana.听
- Co-developing criteria for whitebark pine friendly ranching with the U.S. Sheep Experimental Station. Funding from听Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education (SARE).听
- Examining听surface听water-groundwater interactions at Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in听partnership听with Montana Bureau of Mines & Geology and听U.S.听Fish听&
听Wildlife听Service.听听 - Documenting wildlife with the听听
- Testing whether literary artifacts鈥攅.g. oral histories, children’s stories, interpretive signage鈥攃an serve as durable intervention infrastructure that simultaneously addresses food security, social connection, and intergenerational knowledge transfer in rural settings听in听partnership with Early Childhood Coalition, Beaverhead Conservation District, and The Good Food Network.听Funding provided by Montana INBRE Pilot Planning Grant.听
- Mathematically听modeling听how western harvester ants,听Pogonomrymex occidentalis,听affect听their environment. Students submit听articles听to our student-run听Hogsback Journal. To date, 536 students,听34听classes,听and听12听professors have been involved in this听research听project.听听
- Assisting with pre- and post-project monitoring of the Piedmont Wetlands Restoration听site听near Whitehall, Montana.听This project is听20 years in the making and involves听25 different private, city, county, state,听university and non-profit partners.听
The LWS Center enhances opportunities for students to graduate with professional experience, technical skills, and project portfolios that make them competitive for careers in natural resources management, graduate research, and public service. By integrating classroom learning with community-driven projects, the LWS Center reflects Montana Western鈥檚 commitment to innovative undergraduate education and community engagement.
We invite the public to a presentation at the Depot Theater in Dillon, MT, on Thursday, June 25. Dinner is provided by the Beaverhead Conservation District at 5:30 p.m., with the presentation beginning at 6 p.m.
More information about the Land, Water and Sky Center can be found at
To learn how you can support ongoing projects, student scholarships, a听research听coordinator,听or other financial needs, please听reach out to听 at听(406) 683-7305.听