Faculty and Staff

Wilderness and Civilization faculty are from the College of Forestry and Conservation, College of Arts and Alaback Sciences, and College of Visual and Performing Arts. Among them are award-winning poets, internationally-renowned scientists, inspiring artists, published writers, and a former Congressman. Faculty bring unique experience and expertise to the program, and share a remarkable dedication to teaching and effective students learning.

MaryAnn Bonjorni, Professor of Fine Arts, College of Visual and Performing Arts
M.F.A. Fine Arts, University of California Santa Barbara (1986) B.A. Fine Arts, Central Washington University (1981). Mary Ann does large-scale multi-media painting constructions and site sculpture focused on re-mything the dominant themes of manifest destiny. Her teaching within the Wilderness and Civilization program involves student visualization of potential means for resolving inefficient intersections between wildlands and human society.
Environmental Drawing Seminar ART 324A

Rich Clow, Professor of Native American Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D. History, University of New Mexico (1977); M.A. History, University of South Dakota (1972); B.S. History, University of South Dakota (1971). Rich teaches courses on Native American history, sovereignty, and environmental perspectives. His research focuses on Northern Plains peoples and he is currently working on a history of the Rosebud Reservation (1880-1940) in South Dakota.
Ecological Perspective of Native Americans NAS 303EX

Louise Economides, Associate Professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., Indiana University (2003). Louise's teaching interests include Romantic literature, ecocriticism, phenomenology postmodernism, literature and science. She is currently preparing book manuscripts on the Romantic poets and contemporary environmental politics and philosophy.
Literature and the Environment/Honors LIT 373L

Lee Heuermann, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music, College of Visual and Performing Arts
Ph.D. Music Composition, State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, (2001) M.M. Composition, Yale School of Music, (1993) B.A. Composition, New England Conservatory of Music, (1981)
Lee is a composer and singer/actor whose music reflects her interest in ritual, myth, and cultural commentary. Her works include Wearing Water/Eating Cement (Icons To Kiss) a collaborative composition-installation/performance piece, Ridge of Blue Longing, for two pianos, based on her connection to the Montana landscape, and collaborations with the Headwaters Dance Company (Montana Suite Project). As a singer, she specializes in the performance of contemporary music and performs both standard classical repertoire and experimental jazz. Lee’s interests explore sound and music composition in relation to nature, while learning from cultures whose music-making process stems from their natural environment. Her teaching is based on the concept that the creative process encompasses an acceptance of wilderness, both in the outside world and within oneself.
Sound in the Natural World MUSI 304A

Andrew J. Larson, Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology, College of Forestry and Conservation
Ph.D. Forest Resources, University of Washington (2009); B.S. Forest Resources, University of Washington (2003). Andrew’s primary research interests include long-term change in forest ecosystems, especially as related to natural disturbance and forest structural development. He is also interested in the application of ecological theory to establish forest restoration targets and guide restoration treatment design.
Conservation Ecology/ Honors RSCN 271N

David Moore, Professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D. English, University of Washington, 1994, (specializing in American Literature, Native American Literature, and Critical Theory); M.A. English, University of South Dakota, 1980; B.A. English, University of South Dakota, 1974. David's teaching and research interests include 19th Century and Post WWII American literature, Native American literatures, and Literary theory.
Literature and the Environment/ Honors LIT 373L

Nancy Cook, Associate Professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D. English, SUNY-Buffalo, NY, A.B. Occidental College; Nancy's teaching in literature includes a focus on Western American Studies, Literature of Place, Literature of the Environment, and 19th, 20th, and 21st century American Literature and Culture. She has many publications in her field, including "Home on the Range: Montana Romance Novels and Geographies of Hope" (2009) and "Writing Water in the West: Reclaiming the Language of Reclamation" (2008).
Literature and the Environment/ Honors LIT 373L

Martin Nie, Professor of Natural Resource Policy in the College of Forestry and Conservation
Ph.D. Northern Arizona University, Department of Political Science; B.A. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, Department of Political Science. Martin's courses cover such topics as public lands and resources policy, environmental policy, property, and conservation strategies and tools. He has a particular interest in political conflict and much of his research examines public lands governance—the political institutions and decision making processes used to handle difficult policy problems. His latest book is The Governance of Western Public Lands: Mapping Its Present and Future (University Press of Kansas, 2008). When not thinking about public lands, Martin likes to hike, ski, float, hunt, and fish on them.
Wildland Conservation Policy and Governance RSCN 370S

Natalie Dawson, Interim Director, Wilderness Institute, College of Forestry & Conservation
Ph.D. Biology, University of New Mexico (2008); B.S. Biology, Environmental Science, Central Michigan University (2002). Natalie is the associate director of the Wilderness Institute, as well as the Director of the Wilderness and Civilization program. Natalie's dissertation research examined the biogeography of carnivores in northern latitudes. Her research interests include: biogeography, landscape genetics, and integration of science in land management planning.
Resource Conservation NRSM 373, Field Studies I and II NRSM 273, Internship NRSM 398