Montana State University graduate students presented new research on wildlife habitat conservation and management during a showcase event on April 16. The event highlighted interdisciplinary projects supported by the Crawford Wildlife Habitat Graduate Fellowship, which was established through a $30 million gift in 2025.
The fellowships aim to help students find ways for humans to better protect and manage the environment for wildlife. Montana State University operates as Montana’s land-grant university, focusing on research, education and community outreach to address key challenges, according to the official website.
Kaylee Guajardo Sullivan, a master’s student in statistics, described her work surveying butterfly species in Glacier National Park. “If you’re driven and you want something, this is a school that’s going to support you,” Guajardo Sullivan said. She credited Kathy Crawford and her late husband Thomas H. “Tim” Crawford for making her studies possible through their endowment. Kathy Crawford attended the showcase and said, “It’s exactly what I had hoped for. The enthusiasm is huge for taking care of wildlife habitat, and I’m overwhelmed with appreciation for what the students are doing.”
Other presenters included Denali Stetson who analyzed stream characteristics suitable for beaver colony reintroduction using data from across Montana wilderness areas; Sundas Iftikar whose doctoral research focuses on using unmanned aerial vehicles integrated with machine learning algorithms to detect wildfires; Noah Davis who studied how protein supplements affect cattle grazing patterns; and Timothy Mooring who created films about conservation efforts in Zambia.
The university leads in research funding in the state with annual expenditures exceeding $288 million according to the official website. It also ranks among the top five percent of global universities per the Center for World University Rankings and leads within Montana according to its official website.
Montana State University enrolls approximately 17,165 students evenly split between residents and nonresidents according to its official website. The institution contributes to communities through volunteer efforts, outreach programs, and research aimed at enhancing lives and protecting natural resources according to its official website.
Looking ahead, recipients of these fellowships will continue their work advancing conservation science while sharing their findings with broader audiences.