The University of Montana offers a major in Wildland Restoration prepares students to tackle the complex challenges associated with repairing degraded ecosystems.
Wildland Restoration students can select one of two options: the Terrestrial Option, which focuses on the repair of terrestrial ecosystems; and the Aquatic Option, which focuses on stream, wetland, and groundwater restoration.
Both options provide in-depth training in the science of restoration ecology and the management activities and human dimensions of restoration practice. Students engage in field-based learning, contribute to cutting-edge restoration projects, and are challenged to apply ecological theory to restoration practice. The major requires completion of a nine-credit restoration capstone, during which students gain hands-on real-world experience planning and implementing restoration projects in partnership with natural resource management agencies and organizations in western Montana.
A degree in Wildland Restoration prepares students for careers as restoration practitioners with non-profit, private, or governmental agencies and for graduate school in ecology or natural resource management. Students who graduate with this major may qualify for the following federal civil service jobs: biological technician (Series 0404), ecologist (Series GS-408), forester (Series G-460), hydrologist (Series GS-1315) and soil conservationist (Series GS-457).
Photo of Montana’s Big Horn River by Storm Cunningham