During the beginning of the program, you will live with 10-12 other students in Montana's Swan Valley on the Beck Homestead. The Homestead was originally settled by Finnish immigrants in 1916. It encompasses 80 acres of forest, pasture and Swan River frontage. Beyond the property boundaries lie public lands open for exploration on foot or bicycle. The nearest year-round residence is several miles away.

Student accommodations (PDF) include the historic log dairy barn (now renovated to office space, classroom and bunkhouse), a cookhouse and washhouse. You will be assigned a comfortable room on the second floor with 3-4 other roommates. Rooms are equipped with bunkbeds, lamps, a small nightstand and closet. Space is available to store extra gear while you are here. The main floor combines our classroom and a cozy lounge area. Evening quiet hours help create a calm atmosphere for study and conversation.

A washhouse with showers, sinks and toilets is adjacent to the cookhouse and barn. We have made every attempt to create a climate of resource efficiency and self-sufficiency on the homestead. The toilets are modern composting facilities. Water is heated with a wood-fired boiler that supplies both the barn with in-floor heat and the wash house with hot water for sinks and showers.

During traveling portions of the program, students will be staying as a group in private homes or shared-room facilities owned by our partner organizations.

We make every attempt to purchase food from local farms, including eggs, vegetables, fruit and meat. Many of our veggies come from our own garden and other family gardens in the Swan and Flathead Valleys. Fruit comes from local orchards in the Flathead Valley. We purchase beef from a local cattle rancher and chickens from the Hutterite colony on the Rocky Mountain Front.

Students prepare and eat meals together each day in our cookhouse, which is equipped with a full kitchen and dining area. This building was the original homestead cabin on the property and has been renovated for use now as our cooking facility. Pairs of students are assigned to 3-day meal rotations. During this period they are given a budget and are responsible for grocery shopping and preparing meals. Students consistently remark that this "chore" is one of the high points of our programs: getting to work with one other person to prepare nutritious, creative food for the group. Occasionally dinners will be prepared by outside help when time is at a premium.

We try to accommodate most types of dietary preferences. However, if you have specific, challenging needs, please give us a call as we may not be able to handle every contingency given our remote location. Since students do the grocery shopping and food preparation, likes and dislikes can be taken into account meal by meal. Students with wheat allergies, for example, usually wind up getting a separate type of pasta cooked for them, and we can provide a private stash of wheat-free bread. We highly recommend bringing favorite recipes or cookbooks to spark your creative genius during meal planning.

Pairs of students are assigned chores on a rotating basis. These daily chores include grocery shopping and cooking; kitchen clean-up (organizing recycling, sweeping and taking out the compost); and maintaining a tidy living and working space. (Remember, not only is the facility your home and classroom, it is also our main office space.

In order for students to take advantage of the experiential nature of our program and work towards group cohesion, we strive to keep our use of technology such as computers, blackberries, cell phones etc. to a minimum. We have purposefully created a curriculum that does not rely on computers for student learning. Therefore we don't provide computers nor do we expect students to bring a personal computer in order to excel in their academic work. All written assignments are recorded long-hand in personal journals. We highly encourage students to bring stationery and stamps so they can resurrect the dying art of handwriting personal letters.

Phone time for student use is limited, in part because we want all Wildlife in the West students to be fully engaged with the group and daily activities and partly because we have only one phone line for Northwest Connections' business. Past students have remarked that they truly appreciated "de-linking" themselves from the ubiquitous technology of phones and computers. This 'escape' from the tech world offers students the chance to build upon their own observational skills, keen senses, and creative minds. That said, students have use of a shared phone at the Northwest Connections facility with limited time available to all. During the traveling portions of the program, cell phone coverage will likely be limited and inconsistent. Instructors carry cellular phones, satellite phones, and/or Spot technology for emergency situations. Parents should feel free to call our office at any time during the program.

In keeping with our emphasis on establishing a close-knit community amongst students and staff, we encourage students to make the most of their relationships during the brief time available here. Students are welcome to have visitors once or twice during the program but we cannot accommodate overnight stays. Guests are expected to take part in camp and cooking chores. Guests will not take part in field activities.

Please contact us for the supply list; it will provide a detailed description of all the equipment that you need during the program.

Our schedule is an intense one, with classes running all day most days of the program. You can expect a day-long recess mid-way through the program, with one unstructured “independent work day” scheduled each week. During the program recess day, students are free to do what they like or need, including leaving the area, doing laundry, hiking, shopping or sleeping! We expect students to arrive back after this break in the frame of mind to begin work anew.

We also aim for some down time during class days, when students are free from meal preparation or chores; however, because we chose to make the program a short, intensive experience we have packed most days full of activity. Because of the nature of our program, there isn't exactly a typical daily routine. However, you can expect a rhythm to develop, as follows:

A typical day starts at 7-7:30 a.m. with breakfast. From 8-10:00 a.m. students might be working on a reading assignment and written response followed by a group discussion or lecture. At 10:00 a.m. we often leave for the field. Field studies usually last until 4 p.m., with lunch eaten in the field. From 5-7:00 p.m. students have free time to relax, go for a run, or–if they are on dinner detail–to put a good meal together for the group. Evenings are usually reserved for homework. Students often gather in the evening to study together or play music.

You can expect similar types of assignments as you would in any other university setting. The bulk of assignments revolve around field notes, written responses to readings and guest speakers, and pop field quizzes. There will be a significant final project, as well as group assignments for each course.

It is optional to receive 9 University of Montana credits for Wildlife in the West. Anyone is welcome to register for the program, regardless of whether or not they are seeking academic credit.

No. Anyone with an interest in wildlife and community-based solutions to wildlife conflicts are welcome to apply for Wildlife in the West. Most participants, however, are college students who apply the credits towards a degree program.

All of our courses are accredited through the University of Montana (UM). Students can request an official transcript from the University of Montana Registrar's office upon the completion of the program, and once all grades are submitted. To obtain an official transcript students can contact the UM registrar's office at (406) 243-2995.

This depends on your home university. Please read our financial information for more details.

Students can make deposit and tuition payments* to Northwest Connections either via: personal check, money order or credit card.

Tuition payments, deadlines and cancellations.

A background in those subjects will be helpful - but the only academic prerequisite is a strong interest in these subjects and a willingness to explore new perspectives on the issues we study.

Wildlife in the West is a strongly place-based program. We focus on local knowledge and how it relates to the rest of the conservation world. Students learn by participating in conservation and restoration projects in the landscapes of the Swan, Blackfoot and Salmon Valleys. Our instructors are community members who are directly involved in the issues we study. We help students apply their learning in place-based conservation to their own home communities.

Each year we accept between 10 and 12 qualified and passionate students. We feel strongly that learning happens best in small, focused groups and we keep our student to staff ratio at 4:1.

 

Student safety is our highest priority (see  the next topic, Safety and Risk Management).

Student safety is the number one priority during all Northwest Connections programs.  All field instructors are Wilderness First Responder certified through Aerie Backcountry Medicine. We have a medical director who oversees all of our training and risk management policies. Field staff is highly experienced with backcountry and critical decision-making skills. We strive to maintain a staff-to-student ratio of 1:4 in order to ensure a student's safety and personal attention during class.

Students are expected to act responsibly and maintain personal and group safety at ALL times during their Northwest Connections experience. If we feel that a student jeopardizes the safety or health of the group, the student will be sent home at his or her own expense. We reserve the right to deny any student the right to go on the backcountry portion of our courses for safety reasons.

Because we are out in the field most days and our daily schedule is both rigorous and variable, we can not allow pets during Wildlife in the West.

Mailing address:

Northwest Connections, P.O. Box 1309, Swan Valley, MT 59826

Physical address (for Fed Ex and UPS):

Northwest Connections, 1200 Ed Road, Swan Valley, MT 59826