This collection includes theses, dissertations, and professional papers from the University of Montana W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. Theses, dissertations, and professional papers from all University of Montana departments and programs may be searched here.
Theses/Dissertations from 2025
Impacts of Fire-Driven Vegetation Changes on Evapotranspiration in North American Boreal Forests, Tyler Glen Albrethsen
MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE HOST TREE SELECTION AND CLIMATE-GROWTH DYNAMICS IN WHITEBARK PINE, Hannah Rose Alverson
INELIGIBLE PARTNERS: TRIBAL NATIONS AND COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL FOREST LAW AND POLICY, James H. Baker
FUNGAL SYMBIONTS AS HIDDEN ARCHITECTS OF FOREST HEALTH: FROM TREE IMMUNITY TO BEETLE NUTRITION, Lorinda Sabin Bullington
Social, Ecological, and Anthropogenic Drivers of Gray Wolf Vital Rates in Yellowstone National Park, Brenna Jo Cassidy
A Social-Ecological Justice Approach to Ecotourism: Examples from Cockpit Country, Jamaica, Laurel Ann C. Curry
BINOCULARS TO BYTES: DEVELOPMENT AND FIELD VALIDATION OF AN AI-DRIVEN SYSTEM FOR AVIAN MONITORING, Christian J. Dupree
Visual Semiotics in Parks: Assessing Pictorial Symbol Effectiveness in Outdoor Recreation Settings, Miranda Jane Foster
Better Together: Leveraging Existing Research to Evaluate Population Trends, Habitat Selection, and Species Interactions of Mesocarnivores, Jordan Lee Heiman
Linking Empirical Data and Numerical Simulation to Characterize Dynamic Fire Behavior Associated With Interacting Firelines, Marta Sergeevna Jerebets
FUEL BREAK EFFECTIVENESS – DETERMINING IGNITION THRESHOLDS BASED ON RADIANT AND CONVECTIVE ENERGY TRANSFER, Daniel Michael Jimenez
Examining pathways for front-country camping access in the rural American West: An application of access theory, Hayley Ann Johnson
Comparing Survey Methods and Investigating Habitat Use of Black-billed Cuckoos (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) in the Northern Great Plains, Anna M. Kurtin
Aspen stands enrich bird communities following a wildfire in a montane, mixed conifer forest, Cody Q. Lane
UNTANGLING MINING, PAST AND PRESENT: AN ANALYSIS OF KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS ON THE PROSPECTS OF RENEWED MINING ACTIVITY NEAR CAÑON CITY, COLORADO, Lauren E. Nelson and Brian C. Chaffin
Spatial and temporal patterns of nutrient limitation in a western Montana river, Matthew T. Nichols
POPULATION DYNAMICS OF WHITE-TAILED DEER IN A MULTI-PREDATOR, MULTI-PREY CONTEXT IN NORTHERN IDAHO, Elizabeth J. Painter-Flores
HUMAN-BEAR CONFLICTS IN WESTERN MONTANA: MAPPING ATTRACTANTS AND PREVENTION EFFORTS, Jessica Nichole Reyes
A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING COLLABORATION AND SUCCESS IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TEAM, Michelle Crowder Terwilliger
In The Clear: timber harvest informs elk summer nutrition and resource selection in a densely forested landscape, Trevor C. Weeks
Modeling Neighborhoods as Fuel for Wildfire, Bryce Alan Young
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
Habitat selection and connectivity of mountain lions (Puma concolor) across anthropogenic barriers on the Olympic Peninsula: a multi-method comparison, Thomas R. Barbee
SHAPING OUTDOOR RECREATION IN PROTECTED AREAS: INSIGHTS FROM FACTORS INFLUENCING BRAZILIAN PROTECTED AREA PROFESSIONALS, Renata Burlamaqui Bradford
A Social-Ecological Approach to Evaluating Short-Term Water Leasing for Streamflow Conservation in Montana, USA, Logan A. Brauer
FROM CREEK TO DITCH AND BACK AGAIN: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF PATTEE CREEK, MISSOULA, MONTANA, Carver Edward Butterfield
Wildfires are Burning Less Frequently and More Severely than Historically in the Western US: A Novel Approach to Calculating Fire-Regime Departures, Jeffrey Ryan Chandler
FLYWAY BOTTLENECKS: MIGRATORY WATERBIRDS CONFRONT DIMINISHING WETLAND NETWORKS IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA, J. Patrick Donnelly
The Hare and The Hawk: Predator, Prey, and Coat Color Mismatch in a Polymorphic Snowshoe Hare Population, Amanda Shuler Emmel
NAVIGATING CONSERVATION PLANNING FOR A SMALL LAND TRUST, Megan Elise Euclide
THE EFFECTS OF BEAVER DAM ANAOLGS ON LINKED AQUATIC-TERRESTRIAL COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN HEADWATER STREAMS, Michelle Elyse Fillion, Benjamin P. Colman, and Rachel L. Malison
Analysis of the Transformations of Laguna Melincué Wetland, Argentina, Bianca Giunti
SIKSIKAITSITAPI RETURNING THE GAZE ON HUMAN & WILDLIFE INTERACTIONS, Celina C. Gray
INTEGRATING INDIVIDUAL AND SPECIES TRAITS TO BETTER IDENTIFY RISKS TO PERSISTENCE AND SURVIVAL IN AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS, Ross Kenneth Hinderer
Local Visions for Patagonia: Drivers and Dynamics of Collaborative Environmental Governance in Aysén, Chile, Zachary J. Hummel
Integrating Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge for Just Practices in Conservation, Cierra Lea Keith
THE BLACKFEET NATION’S BISON CONSERVATION HERD MANAGEMENT PLAN, Brandon Kittson
CONVERTING FOREST ACTIVITY FUELS INTO BIOCHAR: COSTS AND LOGISITICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF USING AN AIR CURTAIN BURNER AND FLAME CAP KILNS IN WESTERN MONTANA, Klemensas Krasaitis
WILDFIRES, CLIMATE, AND EQUITY: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION, Mark Regier Kreider
Evaluating Early-Life Characteristics and Responses of Native Plant Materials for Dryland Restoration, Sophia N. Lasche
MOOSE ABUNDANCE AND CALF:COW RATIOS ON THE BLACKFEET INDIAN RESERVATION AND GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Landon Joel Magee
WHERE AND WHEN THE ANTELOPE PLAY: DRIVERS OF PRONGHORN DISTRIBUTION AND DEMOGRAPHY ACROSS SPACE AND THROUGH TIME, Molly Cutler McDevitt
INFLUENCE OF CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING & OFF-LEASH DOGS ON WILDLIFE HABITAT USE IN LUBRECHT EXPERIMENTAL FOREST, Sophie Ann Morris
WHERE THE FRAMEWORK ENDS: EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS AND LIMITATIONS DURING AGENCY RIVER PERMIT ALLOCATION DECISION MAKING PROCESSES, Kelsey Ellen Phillips
DROUGHT CONDITIONING CONIFER SEEDLINGS FOR POST-FIRE MANAGEMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION, Anna C. Ross
BEYOND THE PARTICIPATION GAP: EXPLORING HOW AFFINITY GROUPS MAKE OUTDOOR RECREATION MORE ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, Jaclyn Fox Rushing
RANGELAND SOIL SEED BANK DYNAMICS: SOIL PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS, PATTERNS ACROSS A DEGRADATION GRADIENT, AND RESPONSES TO SHRUB MANAGEMENT, Ryan Willis Richard Schroeder
Using Remote Cameras to Estimate Abundance and Occupancy of Multiple Species in Northwest Montana, Karlynn Michele Tellier
QUANTIFYING WASTEWATER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UPPER CLARK FORK RIVER, Claire Utzman
A CLOSER LOOK AT DENALI’S ALPINE WILDLIFE: ASSESSING THE INFLUENCES OF CLIMATE AND VEGETATION CHANGES ON SPECIES IN ALASKA, Jennifer Lynn Wall
Dynamics of Rural Water Quality and Wastewater Infrastructure: A Case Study of Seeley Lake, Montana, Marie Watson
EXPLORING SPATIAL CLIMATE ANALOGS FOR CLIMATE IMPACT PROJECTION, ADAPTATION, AND COMMUNICATION, Svetlana Valeryevna Yegorova
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
RETERRITORIALIZATION AND ENCLAVIC TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: A HISTORY OF ZONING AND ITS IMPACTS IN CORBETT TIGER RESERVE LANDSCAPE, INDIA, Rajiv Bhartari
Federal Funding Statutes and State-Federal Wildlife Authority: Did Congress Demonstrate a Preference for State Wildlife Management Authority with Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson?, James Vaughan Branch
INTERACTIONS AMONG CLIMATE, FIRE, AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES ACROSS MULTIPLE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SCALES IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORESTS, Kyra Diane Clark-Wolf
INVESTIGATING INTELLECTUAL DIVERSITY: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ACADEMIC PUBLISHING PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, Madeline M. Damon
NAVIGATING EXTREME CLIMATE EVENTS: UNCOVERING THE CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM GOVERNANCE IN THE ANTHROPOCENE, Amber Waialea Datta
A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE MANAGEMENT OF A NON-NATIVE TROUT SPECIES, Kaeli Alexis Davenport
INSIGHTS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT: UNVEILING METHODOLOGICAL BIASES AND THE IMPACTS OF BEAVERMEDIATED ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION ON AMPHIBIAN-PARASITE DYNAMICS, Leah Marie Fischer
Conflict and Recreation Behaviors Among Snowmobilers: The Role of Organizational Membership, Liam Carlson Harry Mr.
GREATER SAGE-GROUSE IN A GRAZED LANDSCAPE: HABITAT SELECTION, DEMOGRAPHIC RATES, AND POPULATION TRENDS IN CENTRAL MONTANA, Jennifer Evans Helm
AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES AND HUMAN PERCEPTIONS OF MONTANA’S MOUNTAIN LAKES, Carly Innis
Evaluating the relative influence of soil water potential, soil moisture, and vapor pressure deficit on semi-arid vegetation dynamics, Kayla R. Jamerson
IRRIGATION IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES: OCCURRENCE, IMPACTS, AND SUSTAINABILITY, David Granger Ketchum
LINKING LIFE HISTORY AND POPULATION DYNAMICS OF AN ICE-ASSOCIATED SEABIRD, THE KITTLITZ’S MURRELET (BRACHYRAMPHUS BREVIROSTRIS), Michelle Lynn Kissling
The birds and the trees: Quantifying the drivers of whitebark pine decline and Clark's nutcracker habitat use in Glacier National Park, Vladimir Kovalenko
QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF BEAVER DAMS AND STREAM RESTORATION ON HEADWATER SALMONID POPULATIONS, Andrew Biche Lahr
COLLECTIVE MEMORY IN A POST-INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY, ANACONDA, MONTANA: A MIXED METHODS APPROACH FOR UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND TRANSITIONS, Megan Alison Moore
RESPONSES OF ELK TO MANGEMENT ACTIONS AND HUNTER ACCESS IN THE NORTHERN SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS, MONTANA, USA, Peter O. Mumford
Predicting mountain lion resource selection and abundance in North America, William Connor O'Malley
GOVERNING HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT: A CRITICAL INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH TO DECOLONIZING CONSERVATION IN THE CHOBE ENCLAVE OF BOTSWANA, Jake Rayapati
SAGEBRUSH STEPPE SONGBIRD CONSERVATION: INFERENCES USING REMOTE SENSING DATA AND A NOVEL REPRODUCTION MODEL, Kaitlyn Marie Reintsma
Between Tradition and Transformation: A Feminist Investigation of the Role of Pastoral Women within Tanzania's Integrated Environment and Development Landscape, Kelli Erin Rogers
Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) alter carbon pools, fluxes, and concentrations of intermountain headwater streams, Hilary Schultz
ECOSYSTEM PHOSPHORUS NUTRITION: A SOIL PROCESS INVESTIGATION, Alanna Nicole Shaw
THE EFFECT OF PLACE ATTACHMENT AND LEISURE IDENTITY ON STEWARDSHIP PARTICIPATION IN THE RATTLESNAKE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA AND WILDERNESS, Elena Rene Thomas
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE AND WILDFIRE ON WESTERN LARCH REGENERATION, Spencer T. Vieira
IMPACTS OF CONIFER REMOVAL ON SONGBIRD DENSITY, REPRODUCTIVE OUTPUT, AND HABITAT SELECTION, Elise Catherine Zarri
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
GENETIC RESCUE OF ISOLATED CUTTHROAT TROUT, Donovan Alexander Bell
CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS: IDENTIFYING PREDICTORS AND AUDIENCES FOR COLLECTIVE CLIMATE ACTION, Nathan Scott Bender
Looking to the Future of Wildlife Conservation: Durable Wildlife Policy for the 21st Century, Charlie R. Booher
APPLYING RESOURCE SELECTION PROBABILITY FUNCTION (RSPF) TO UNDERSTAND FLORAL RESOURCE USE BY A COMMON BUMBLE BEE, BOMBUS VANCOUVERENSIS, Rebekah Brassfield
FACILITATING AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT USING SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING AND MACHINE LEARNING FRAMEWORKS, Sean C. Carter
DERIVING SURFACE FUELS FROM UAS IMAGERY FORFIRE MODELS, Matthew R. Cunningham
EVALUATING THE MANAGEMENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF HYBRIDIZATION BETWEEN NONNATIVE RAINBOW TROUT AND NATIVE WESTSLOPE CUTTHROAT TROUT, Anthony James Dangora
Grizzly Bear Attractant Policies In Montana: How Regulations, Recommendations, And Resources Differ Among And Between Recovery Areas, Kenneth J. Edmo
SPATIAL BEHAVIOR, FORAGING, AND POPULATION DYNAMICS OF A SUBARCTIC UNGULATE, Elizabeth (Libby) Parr Williamson Ehlers
LiDAR-Landsat Covariance for Predicting Canopy Fuels, Margaret D. Epstein
The Genetic and Demographic Outcomes of Mixed-Source Reintroductions of Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Montana, Colter Austin Feuerstein
SMALL AREA ESTIMATION OF POSTFIRE TREE DENSITY IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES USING AN ANNUALIZED FOREST INVENTORY, George Chilton Gaines III
The Transfer of Federal Public Lands to Tribal Trust Ownership: Statutes and Cases from 1970 - 2020, Audrey L. Glendenning
RETHINKING RARE: NOVEL APPROACHES TO RARE SPECIES MONITORING AND CONSERVATION, Jessie Deanne Golding
CAUSES AND CONSQUENCES OF FIRE IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS OF THE SELWAY-BITTERROOT WILDERNESS, Melissa Jaffe
Seeding Resilience: An Examination of the Impacts of a Seed Saving Network in Western Montana, Christina Leas
Climbing Management on National Forests, Christopher Ryan MacKay
Ecological effects of prescribed burning, mechanical cutting, and post-treatment wildfire for restoration of Pinus albicaulis, Enzo Paolo Martelli Moya