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In late winter 2023, against record-setting snowfall, two Fort Lewis College juniors joined Southwest Colorado Community Naturalist Keith Bruno and Weminuche Audubon Society Volunteer Kurt Huffman for a 10-mile trek into the HD Mountains near Bayfield, Colorado. Matt Young and Ian Crews were on a mission to record the unique calls of the Mexican spotted owl. Young and Crews are members of FLC’s Strategies for Ecological Education, Diversity & Sustainability Club, and the excursion provided valuable insight into their future careers as land management professionals.

Members of Fort Lewis College’s Strategies for Ecological Education, Diversity & Sustainability Club, or SEEDS, traveled to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, for a student-led study abroad experience to shed light on the ecological diversity of a destination typically known for its pineapple drinks and banana boats.

The Fort Lewis College Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement, or FLC U-RISE, increases access and equity in biomedical research.

Fort Lewis College is one of 104 schools receiving six-year grants as part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence 3 (IE3) initiative. IE3 challenges U.S. colleges and universities to substantially and sustainably build capacity for student belonging, especially for those historically excluded from the sciences.

The Herbert E. Owen Native Plant Garden was built in 2012 as an educational resource for the Biology Department. It is named for Herb Owen, professor of Biology at FLC from 1955 to 1978 and founder of the department.

After identifying a perennial herb that had never been reported in Colorado before, Professor of Biology Ross McCauley welcomed three students to join him in a five-week Field Botany class with the goal of the course mirroring McCauley’s venture: to learn how to identify vascular plants while in the field.

Check out FLC's First Year Launch programs at Purgatory resort, only a half-hour drive from campus. Purgatory is a repository of geologic and biologic gems to be discovered. 

The formal paths make it easier for PCC students with an associate degree to transfer into the same academic program at FLC and pursue a four-year degree.

For students who’d like to explore those many-faceted opportunities in this wide-ranging field, Fort Lewis College now offers the “Pre-Health Certificate,” a year-long program that exposes them to the diversity of educational and professional paths toward careers in public and personal healthcare.

The National Park Service turns to Associate Professor of Biology Ross McCauley and his students to see what might be the best way to give a rare plant the best chance to survive and thrive in Mesa Verde National Park.

Sustainability is part of who we are at Fort Lewis College. To support that aspect of our campus culture, the Sustainability Initiative Grant funds projects that enhance sustainability in our academics and research, student leadership and organizations, administration, and the physical campus itself. “The Sustainability Initiative Grant is an award available to students, staff, and faculty every year for work that supports sustainability on campus,” says Kathy Hilimire, assistant professor of Environmental Studies. “This year, we had a record number of applicants, and we want to highlight the projects of the four winners.”

Angela Grogan couldn’t imagine that a rhinoceros would help determine her passion and her career. That was before she spent two summers interning with Out of Africa Wildlife Park, a private zoo in Camp Verde, Arizona.

“My path to teaching at FLC has been non-traditional. My degree is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, not a PhD. I was (and still am) a practitioner, a veterinarian, who had always dreamed of teaching as that other thing I might love to do.”

“The academic environment at Fort Lewis is one in which faculty with ideas can make things happen that have real impacts on students and our society. I'm lucky that I've been able to take advantage of that openness to forge a career that I really love.”

Associate Professor of Biology Heidi Steltzer reflects on the impact of her experiences on an Antarctic expedition with 75 other woman scientists from around the world. Steltzer's research trip is sponsored by Homeward Bound, an international program aiming  to enhance the influence and impact of women in science and policy.

Three scholars from Fort Lewis College (FLC) were awarded Fulbright grants for 2016-2017, tied for the most with the U.S. Naval Academy among bachelor’s institutions.  Top-producing institutions are highlighted annually in .

The Second Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas will be officially released at a celebration at Maria’s Bookshop in Durango on November 17 at 6:30 p.m.

“There is a gap between science and society, one that cannot be bridged just by doing more science,” says Associate Professor of Biology Heidi Steltzer. “Leadership is needed. This project is an opportunity to understand myself better and learn leadership skills to determine a role I can take in bridging this gap.”

Since the spill, organizations across the Four Corners, including Fort Lewis College, have been stepping up efforts to study and monitor the Animas and other area water sources.