People
Team
University of Montana researchers, faculty collaborators, and federal partners delivering the project — including four graduate-student theses supported or advised by the work.
Principal Investigator
Kyle Bocinsky, Ph.D. · Director of Climate Extension, Montana Climate Office, W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation, University of Montana.
Dr. Bocinsky leads project design, federal coordination, and the data and analysis pipelines that underpin every output on this site. He coordinates directly with the USDA Climate Hubs and OCE-OEEP to translate findings into actionable recommendations for FSA disaster-relief program delivery.
Graduate researchers
Four M.S. theses are tied to this project: two directly supported and two advised by the PI. All four were chaired by Bocinsky’s faculty collaborators below and were defended at the University of Montana in 2025. Manuscripts for journal submission are in development.
Supported by this project
Shae Leigh Olsen, M.S. · “Emergency Relief as Routine”: The Evolution of FSA’s Livestock Forage Disaster Program in an Era of Persistent Drought. University of Montana, 2025. Examines how FSA staff and producers experience the LFP as a recurring, rather than exceptional, source of operating capital in drought-affected ranching regions.
Kyla Ivana Fugate, M.S. · Adaptation and Resilience: How Beginning Farmers Navigate Land and Climate Crises in Western Montana. University of Montana, 2025. Examines how new operators in western Montana navigate the intersecting pressures of land access, climate variability, and federal program eligibility.
Advised by the PI (related work)
Amishi Singh, M.S. · Equity and Social Vulnerability in Drought Planning and Response in the Northern Great Plains. University of Montana, 2025. Extends the project’s lens to drought planning and response across the Northern Great Plains.
August W. Guenthner, M.S. · Water Scarcity in the Bitterroot Valley. University of Montana, 2025. A regional case study in water-scarcity dynamics in western Montana that complements the LFP work.
Faculty collaborators
Graduate-thesis committee chairs at the University of Montana for the four M.S. theses linked to this project.
Margiana Petersen-Rockney · Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Montana. A political ecologist studying climate equity and agrarian change — how rural agricultural communities experience and respond to climate change, including water and land use policy, climate adaptation, and rural livelihoods.
Hilary Faxon · Assistant Professor of Environmental Social Science and Director of the International Conservation & Development Program at the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation, University of Montana. Researches the politics of land and natural resources, with attention to ties between land tenure, democracy, and rural development.
Federal partners
The project is delivered in partnership with the USDA Climate Hubs, the USDA Office of the Chief Economist (OCE-OEEP), and the USDA Farm Service Agency. The Climate Hub coordinators below are direct project partners:
- Holly Prendeville — Coordinator, USDA Northwest Climate Hub (USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station · Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center).
- Andrés Cibils — Director, USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub (USDA Agricultural Research Service · Grazinglands Research Laboratory, El Reno, OK).