This field tour will visit one of the National Fire-Fire Surrogate Study Sites at the University of Montana’s Lubrecht Experimental Forest. The site is about a 45-minute drive from Missoula. This study, initiated in 1999, evaluates the effects of thinning and burning treatments in fire-adapted ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir forests.  A unique aspect of the study is that it was heavily impacted by a mountain pine beetle outbreak approximately 5 years after treatment implementation. A second thinning was completed in 2023, followed by mastication in the thin-only treatment. Second-entry prescribed burns were completed in 2024.  We will discuss treatment effects over time, including stand dynamics, fuel treatment longevity, potential fire behavior, bark beetle activity, invasive species, and soil productivity.  

The field tour will start with a brief background of the Lubrecht Experimental Forest and the National Fire-Fire Surrogate study. Then we’ll walk through one of the study blocks to visit each of the four treatment units for a more detailed discussion of the effects of the different treatments. The tour will involve walking about ½ mile through the forested treatments and up and down a gentle slope. Please wear close toe shoes.

Departure time: 8:00 am 

Return time: 1:00 pm 

Wheelchair accessible: No 

Limited mobility accessible: No 

Lunch provided: Yes 

Registration cost: $35 

Departure time: 9:00 am  

Return time: 12:00 pm  

Wheelchair accessible: Yes  

Limited mobility accessible: Yes  

Lunch provided: No  

Registration cost: $20  

This tour of the University of Montana campus and surrounding area will highlight the distinct yet complementary roles of arboreta, native gardens, and urban green spaces in supporting education and fostering healthier, more resilient, and more livable communities. The State of Montana Arboretum—an outdoor living museum devoted to trees and shrubs selected for education, scenic beauty, and long-term stewardship—features more than 2,000 trees representing eight forest regions of North America. Established to “make possible the study of most of our native trees without long journeys into the woods to see them growing” (Morton Elrod, 1908), the arboretum continues to serve as an accessible resource for learning and inspiration. During the tour, we will visit notable specimens within the collection and discuss the opportunities and challenges of maintaining a diverse tree assemblage in Zone 5a. We will also explore the UM Ethnobotany Gardens, the UM UC Gardens—an expansive indoor garden located in the University Center atrium—and the Montana Native Botanic Garden.  

Take a one-of-a-kind tour of the USDA Forest Service Missoula Smokejumper Base and Fire Sciences Laboratory. The tour will start at the Smokejumper Base, the largest of its kind in the US, to provide an in-depth look at the profession of smokejumping. Visitors will learn about jump gear, parachutes, cargo, and aircraft. Next, participants will tour the Fire Sciences Laboratory to learn about past and current research conducted at this internationally renowned wildland fire science facility. Visitors will see the combustion facilities, wind tunnel, fire ecology laboratory, and participate in a fire behavior demonstration and discussion. 

Departure time: 9:00 am 

Return time: 12:00 pm 

Wheelchair accessible: Yes 

Limited mobility accessible: Yes 

Lunch provided: No 

Registration cost: $20 

Image credit: Conservation Media

Departure time: 8:00 am 

Return time: 5:00 pm 

Wheelchair accessible: No 

Limited mobility accessible: No 

Lunch provided: Yes 

Registration cost: $50 

This field tour will visit three sites where years of collaboration and strong partnerships have led to novel approaches to forest restoration in the Blackfoot Valley. The first stop is Primm Meadow, an old-growth ponderosa pine with a long history of tribal stewardship and homesteading. It is now the hub of co-stewardship and partnership between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) supported by the Reserve Treaty Rights Lands Program (Reserved Treaty Rights Lands Program: The Power of Partnership).  The second stop is an active BLM stewardship project where the BLM is using timber harvest and mechanical thinning of small diameter trees to set over 1,000 acres of high-density western larch stands on a trajectory towards long-term resilience. The third stop will be a recently prescribed fire on partner lands completed as part of the 2025 or 2026 Blackfoot TREX. The 2025 TREX burned more than 800 acres while providing training opportunities to local fire resources and building a community of practice in Montana.

Presenters will be from CSKT, BLM, Blackfoot Challenge, TNC and more.  We will discuss building successful, long-term partnerships, doing work at scale and leveraging treatments to address larger challenges in resource management.  The tour will involve walking ~½ mile at several sites through the forested treatments and up and down gentle slopes. Please wear close toe shoes.