Poster Session #1 and Franke GLI Presentations

Posters South Ballroom: Poster Session #1 GLI Presentations UC 333: Franke GLI Presentations (10:45-12:15

Deeply Rooted: The Role of Indigenized Research Approaches in Camas Restoration Ecology

Despite being one of the most culturally significant and historically abundant native plants of the Pacific Northwest, common camas (Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene) has undergone a precipitous decline across its range. This decline, driven primarily by agricultural land-use conversion and wetland drainage, has disproportionately impacted Indigenous peoples for whom camas is a cultural keystone species. For thousands of years prior to colonization, tribes across the Pacific Northwest relied on camas bulbs as a first food and managed camas prairies using Traditional Resource Management (TRM) practices. Camas restoration has emerged as a widespread management priority in recent years, particularly among Indigenous groups, and many of the recent studies on the subject have addressed the species’ cultural significance or drawn upon Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). TEK, which refers to the intimate knowledge of local ecosystems held by Indigenous peoples, has been widely embraced in the field of restoration ecology as a complementary epistemology to western science, though serious concerns have emerged regarding the ethical dimensions of its use in academia. In response to these concerns, a growing number of studies in the field of restoration ecology have begun to utilize Two-Eyed Seeing and other research approaches to respectfully and meaningfully integrate the perspectives, priorities, and values of the Indigenous communities impacted by both ecological degradation and restoration. I review the current state of camas restoration ecology, outline a number of Indigenized research approaches both within the camas literature and beyond, and highlight how these approaches stand to improve the social and ecological outcomes of camas restoration. I then outline several open questions in camas restoration ecology that could be addressed using these approaches, primarily concerning the mechanisms by which traditional management practices increase camas abundance

FROM RECREATION TO OCCUPATION: EXPLORING ACCESS TO THE OUTDOORS

Questions of access and allocation are growing more pressing in today’s society as elements such as economic inequality, amenity migration and climate change create resource scarcity and complicate access to the outdoors. Whether it is apportioning the Colorado river, accessing busy National Parks, or owning land in an expensive mountain town, there are ample examples across the American West of the challenges posed when there are not enough resources to meet demand. At a time when natural resources are starting to feel more limited, allocation, ownership and access become increasingly important. For my Master’s Portfolio I reported three stories that fall within the theme of access to the outdoors. Each story examines a different aspect of access, using the lenses of recreation, residence and employment to investigate questions of outdoor access. My interest in this topic stemmed from both observations of broader cultural and societal trends as well as personal life experiences. The primary goal of my Master’s Portfolio was to understand how access has changed over time and will change in the future

SB19-23/24: Resolution Encouraging Excused Student Absences for the Democracy Summit

This resolution passed 16Y-0N-1A on a roll call vote during the March 6, 2024 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)

SB21-23/24: Resolution Increasing the Kless Sustainability Fee by Ballot Referendum

This resolution passed 14Y-0N-0A on a roll call vote during the April 3, 2024 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)