The Jack Creek Preserve has an established partnership with Montana State University (MSU. The university uses the Preserve for a variety of research, allowing consistent data collection year after year conducted by an ongoing cohort of students in their ecology, geology and earth sciences programs. MSU also takes advantage of our facilities to conduct week-long summer programs for students in their Masters of Science and Education Programs. The Preserve further provides scholarships to undergraduate students at MSU in the field of natural resource conservation.
We invite nonprofits, local and state agencies, schools, students and others to use our property for research opportunities. Please contact us if you are interested in utilizing the Preserve's property.
2016 Song Bird Survey
In 2016, the Intermountain Bird Observatory (IBO) completed their 7th consecutive year of statewide bird monitoring in Montana. In 2016 IBO technicians surveyed at 2,529 points throughout Montana and recorded 34,056 detections, representing 198 bird species. The Jack Creek Preserve was one of 97 participating properties.
The goal of MT IMBCR is to: 1) develop better information on distribution and abundance of all breeding birds and 2) to determine long-term status and trends for breeding species that occur throughout the state. Information learned helps guide conservation efforts on public lands and provide a better measure of conservation success. For more information about this program, as well as other bird conservation programs in Montana, visit our bird partnership’s website: http://www.montanabirds.org/monitoring-research/integrated-monitoring-by-bird-conservation-region/