SCIENTISTS CONSIDER THE CROWN TO BE ONE OF THE MOST PRISTINE AND INTACT ECOSYTEMS IN NORTH AMERICA AND A GRAND LABORATORY TO STUDY CLIMATE CHANGE.
“There are scientists working there, but few people know about the research, the science, history, and geography of this area,” Graetz says. “The whole idea is to get this information to the public and University students.” The program was started initially to help track research in Glacier National Park, but it soon grew to involve a comprehensive ecosystem-wide program for students. “There’s a lot of student interest in it,” Fetz says. “All of this work in ecosystem studies is now coming to the forefront.” Much of the initiative’s outreach is through a digital magazine available online and numerous community lectures.
“It’s becoming a big project,” Graetz says, “and I couldn’t have done it without Jerry [Fetz]. It’s still growing, and it’s become solid. We’re doing exactly what we said we’d do.” Each year and in every class, the Crown initiative uncovers more information and research about the ecosystem.
IN ADDITION TO ITS 300-LEVEL GEOGRAPHY CLASS,
Photo by Dave Reese
together scientists and researchers from several disciplines, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations, and translates their work into a 300-level UM geography class and outreach programs for the public. Graetz, a UM Department of Geography faculty member, leads the courses. Founder of Montana Magazine and a longtime Montana photographer, writer, and geographer, Graetz has traversed most of the Crown terrain in the past thirty years, writing guidebooks and publishing photo books. When he began to uncover how much research was being done in Glacier National Park—much of which was not widely disseminated to the public— he approached former UM President George Dennison about starting a class and program incorporating the work of researchers and bring this vital information to UM students and the greater public. “We wouldn’t have had the program if it wasn’t for George Dennison,” Graetz says. “He believed in its potential and he said, ‘Make it happen.’” After Dennison retired, new UM President Royce Engstrom helped continue to advance the Crown of the Continent Initiative, which he supported when he was UM’s provost. “Both Dennison and Engstrom think in a progressive way,” Graetz says. UM Professor Emeritus Gerald Fetz, a former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Davidson Honors College, came on board to help administer the Crown program and negotiate the complex workings of higher education. He serves as co-director with Graetz.
the Crown of the Continent Initiative works with nonprofit organizations such as the Glacier Institute to offer classes to the public. This past June, several UM alumni and others participated in a class at Big Creek Outdoor Education Center, located on the North Fork of the Flathead River near Glacier National Park. Following morning sessions covering topics such as fire ecology along the rushing waters of Big Creek, the group hiked a narrow, winding trail through a forest thick with trees to nearby Cyclone Peak Lookout to see how fire ravaged the area in 1988 and 2003. The following day, participants ventured to Logan Pass in the park to learn about overthrust geology and hear a brief history of Native Americans who once used this area. Graetz’s enthusiasm on the outings was not dampened by a slight limp incurred from a recent mishap in China. He is laid-back and uses humor and straightforward talk to impart his knowledge of the Crown. The combination works for students. Bob Simonson took the three-day version of the class and celebrated his birthday atop the Continental Divide along with other classmates. Simonson, who earned a journalism degree at UM in Opposite page: Bowman Lake, on the west side of Glacier National Park
The Blackfoot River, west of Lincoln WWW.UMT.EDU/MONTANAN
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Above: Participants in a Crown course descend Cyclone Peak. In the background is Cyclone Peak Lookout, a U.S. Forest Service lookout near Polebridge, Mont.
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