Citizenship In The Natural World

Daniel Martin et al.
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:00:00 PDT

Missoula, Montana, is defined by its extensive network of public parks, yet, many residents face challenges experiencing them. This capstone project evaluates how community members interact with the City’s parks system and how the Missoula Parks Department, but more specifically, Fort Missoula, can best serve the Missoula community.

Over the past year, our team conducted six data-collection events during the Parks Department’s “Frost Free Fridays” initiative at Fort Missoula Regional Park. Each event invited different user groups, which gave us a diverse set of responses spanning ages, occupations, and primary activities. We collected information through an anonymous online survey, accessible via QR code, asking about their views of the Parks Department and its parks, barriers to participation, and perceptions of department communication.

Preliminary findings indicate that barriers include things like lack of transportation options to the sites, lack of information about events, administrative complexity, and uncertainty about available programs. Participants consistently expressed interest in more and clearer communication, more public events, increased public transportation to parks, and more intuitive ways to learn about activities, facilities, and ecological features.

Our final deliverable will be an implementation plan for the City, which will include our collected data and our recommendations on how to modernize communication and media, increase public access, and diversify the offerings of Fort Missoula. This project demonstrates how systematic public input can strengthen civic trust, increase park participation, and improve equitable access to the public lands that shape Missoula’s identity and quality of life.