of Montana experience climate change nearly twice as fast as other areas of the world. “If you want to study climate change— and subtle climate change—this is the place to do it,” Fagre says. In fact, the 7,000-year-old Boulder Glacier disappeared in 1988, he says, and others are following suit. The most rapid loss of glaciers has taken place since 1966, and only twenty-five glaciers remain in Glacier National Park, he says. “This is where the changes are occurring,” Fagre says. “The glaciers are now revealing rock that hasn’t seen the sun in 500 years.” Fagre’s lecture hit home with the diverse group of students, many of whom came from around the country to hear it. When information on climate change is taught in close proximity to the glaciers it’s affecting, it seems to have a profound effect on students. It’s not only the flora and fauna that make the Crown such a unique place. You also find a native people who have lived on this landscape long before white settlers did. This, also, is part of the Crown coursework and public programs. “There are fascinating stories of the indigenous people here,” Graetz says. “There is no place in America where there was so much interaction between the people who were here before whites.”
THIS KIND OF RESEARCH IS VITAL to the curriculum of the Crown of the Continent Initiative. And it’s up to people like Candi Merrill to help get that information to alumni. Merrill, program director for UM’s School of Extended and Lifelong Learning, says the Crown of the Continent Initiative
is a way to provide a bridge between UM, Montana, and the public. “Nothing before this has brought it all together in a way that the community was invited to participate in,” Merrill says. “We are asking people to come on in and hear about this, and have fun doing it.” Merrill says topics in various disciplines help to portray the essence of the Crown of the Continent’s ecology, geology, and people. “I would love to see courses come together, like climate and geology, with writing and poetry, even music,” she says. “The combinations of things are really exciting, so our participants can go away with a great breadth of experience. If we can incorporate combinations of things, we can reach a wide audience.”
Photo by Susie Graetz
1977, says, “I thought this was the perfect way to spend my birthday. It’s a unique experience I’d recommend to anybody.” Before taking the course, Simonson had heard the term Crown of the Continent but says he never quite knew what it represented. “Now I understand it, and I have a lot more definition of where it is and what it is,” he says. “Today I see things and understand what they are as I’ve never done before. I’m a more educated and knowledgeable person than I was forty-eight hours ago.” Graetz brings in experts in land-use issues, forest management, water and fisheries biology, climate, and weather. The scientists are passionate about what they do, and that excitement comes across in the classes. With such interesting topics covered in the Crown of the Continent Initiative, it’s easy to see why the courses have become so popular with students and others. “We don’t just go out and hike and climb,” Graetz says. “There are solid reasons why we teach this. There is no place in America where there is so much deep evidence and success from collaboration for the sake of conservation. Nowhere else has conservation been so widespread.” Climate change is one of the most pressing areas of study taking place in the Crown. Dan Fagre, a research ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey and frequent lecturer in the initiative’s courses and public programs, presented some of his research during the June class at Big Creek. Fagre outlined how Glacier National Park’s glaciers are disappearing rapidly, while participants listened in rapt attention. He estimates most of the glaciers in the park will be gone by 2030, as many high-elevation areas
Photo by Susie Graetz
Looking north along the Chinese Wall from below Cliff Mountain, Bob Marshall Wilderness Area
WITH SUCH INTERESTING TOPICS COVERED IN THE CROWN OF THE CONTINENT INITIATIVE, IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY THE COURSES HAVE BECOME SO POPULAR WITH STUDENTS AND OTHERS.
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