College Course Opens Doors for Collaborative Conservation

SWAN VALLEY - The students in the Swan Valley Connections' Wildlife in the West course spent six weeks learning to identify flora and fauna. They also learned valuable skills about community interaction with conservation.

The course offers alternative educational opportunities to college students that come from all over the country to learn about a variety of topics that may not be covered in their own college programs. Wildlife in the West is focused on wildlife biology and management with courses in field ecology, wildlife policy and collaborative decision making.

"While students gain a good understanding of the ecological aspects of this environment, the course work is focused on human communities and economies," said the program's Education Director Jonathan Bowler.

For Meghan Murphy, the program changed the way she viewed some conservation efforts as well her own opinions. The 18-year-old University of Vermont student had always thought of herself as well rounded until the program at SVC exposed her to more diverse opinions on issues in conservation.

"I realized that reading something isn't the same as fully comprehending a different perspective and truly taking it into account," she said. "So I was exposed to these opinions but I wasn't really considering them."

But when Murphy got the chance to meet with a wolf biologist, a trapper and ranchers, their perspectives on the reintroduction of wolves helped her to see the larger impact of the action from more than a purely ecological standpoint.

"We talked to a trapper who, through trapping, actually gained a lot of respect for the wolf. He also warned that the reintroduction was an example of managing through emotion, rather than good science," Murphy said.

The program had a heavy focus on community conservation, which student Gabby Gittens of Saginaw State University described as "getting into the community and everybody who could be affected by different types of conservation management."

"Normally before when I'd looked at conservation it was just the environmental side of it," Gittens said. "I had this attitude that we had to do whatever needed to be done to protect the environment or protect a species."

After meeting with the Blackfoot Challenge, a group dedicated to protecting the environment and a rural way of life, as well as wildlife and fishery biologists, Gittens realized that thinking wouldn't always work.

"It takes everybody to make these long-lasting solutions to these issues that we're facing in conservation," she said. "When we don't include everyone, get the input of everyone and get the trust of the community, you're not getting durable solutions."