Funding Available For Montana Projects to support historical research, creative writing and wilderness studies projects that explore Montana’s land and people.

The University of Montana Wilderness Institute is now accepting proposals for grants to support historical research, creative writing and wilderness studies projects that explore Montana’s land and people.

The grants range from $400 to $1,000 and are awarded through the University’s Matthew Hansen Endowment, which was established in 1984 as a memorial to Hansen and his ideals.

The deadline to submit proposals is March 1. Awards will be announced in April.

Projects should encourage mindful stewardship of the land and contribute to the preservation of Montana’s heritage. Proposals from individuals will take precedence over those from institutions. The endowment committee recommends projects that can be completed in one year.

Hanson graduated with honors from UM with a degree in history in 1984. While at UM he completed the Wilderness and Civilization program and researched and wrote about the Metis and their settlement on the South Fork of the Teton River. After graduation, he worked for the Montana Historical Society collecting oral histories from around the state. He also worked as a backcountry packer for Smoke Elser in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. He died of cancer in 1984 at the age of 23, and his family set up the endowment so that students could pursue studies in his interests. Hansen was the son of the late Missoula poet and teacher Ripley Schemm Hugo and the stepson of the late poet Richard Hugo.

For more information or instructions on how to apply, call the Wilderness Institute at 406-243-5361, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.cfc.umt.edu/wi.

http://news.umt.edu/2013/01/011713hans.aspx