The university of montana's program of research in FY2026 consists of continuing transdisciplinary projects that advance scientific knowledge across the range of topical areas targeted by the mcintire…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Montana $1,249,646 under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research program (CFDA 10.202) on October 1, 2025.

The University of Montana is conducting transdisciplinary research on interconnected forest systems and multiple forest uses in the Western United States, with performance at Missoula, Montana and subordinate sites including the UM Lubrecht Experimental Forest and other locations across the United States. Research activities include investigation of forest carbon storage capacity and measurement tools; seed bank composition and restoration potential following structural changes such as wildfire and timber harvest; wildlife responses to timber, range, and recreational use; and social responses to forests. The recipient is continuing a long-term longitudinal fire and fire surrogate study to understand fire and thinning practices, and examining seed bank resiliency and water resources to support forest restoration planning.

The award period runs from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2027. Research aligns with mandated areas of the McIntire-Stennis Act and USDA Strategic Plan Goals 1 and 2. The formula grant is assistance funding distributed to state-certified forestry research institutions as determined by the Governor or their designee. The University of Montana operates through its Research and Sponsored Programs division.

The university of montana's program of research in FY2026 consists of continuing transdisciplinary projects that advance scientific knowledge across the range of topical areas targeted by the mcintire stennis cooperative forestry program. Forests in the western united states serve multiple roles on the landscape. Forests store carbon, produce timber, support biodiversity, provide recreational opportunities, and serve as range for livestock. Balancing all these opportunities requires an understanding of the processes supporting each and, perhaps more importantly, the interactions among the various uses. Our research projects aim to understand the interconnected processes providing for multiple roles of forests on the landscape. We seek to understand how changes in environmental conditions potentially impact each forest use. Specifically, we will investigate capacity to store carbon and our ability to measure and predict storage, seed bank composition and potential for current and future restoration of forest and range in the event of a change in structure, wildlife responses to timber, range, and recreational use, and social responses to forests including recreation and values. Our research aligns with the mandated research areas of the mcintire stennis act and IT also aligns with the USDA strategic plan goals 1 and 2. We will leverage the UM lubrecht experimental forest in addition to other sites in the united states to better understand the interconnectedness of forest systems. We will continue the fire and fire surrogate study as a long term longitudinal study to understand fire and thinning practices. We will examine carbon storage measurement and prediction tools to better understand how to plan for forest management as a carbon storage system. Furthermore, we will examine seed bank resiliency and water resources to better understand how forests can be restored after structural changes such as wildfire and timber harvest. Forest resources extend beyond vegetation to wildlife and people who use them. We will further consider how management for carbon storage can be linked to management for wildlife habitat and recreation. We will expand methods for measuring wildlife populations using remotely triggered cameras to estimate wildlife abundance, diversity, and use. Cameras represent a method that could be employed across a wide range of forest managers from small private forests to large scale federal lands. The results of our research will provide guidance for land managers seeking to balance multiple objectives in their forests. We will develop methods for measuring key features such as seed bank resources and wildlife. We will also develop insights for managing forest stands with fire and thinning as they grow with an eye toward carbon storage capacity. Beneficiaries of our research include private landowners and land management agencies considering timber and carbon resources of their forests, recreationists, and wildlife users