Biologists and biology in montanagonia: Partners in
conservation at the end of the world
Jim Williams, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. 490 N. Meridian Rd. Kalispell, Montana 59901
The Montana-Patagonia Chapter of the Partners of the Americas in both Argentina
and Montana was established during the 1980s. Rick Douglass, Department Head and
Biology Professor at Montana Tech, has been largely responsible for keeping this volunteer
organization active and viable for the last 20 yrs. The Partners of the Americas program was
initiated nationally during the Kennedy administration. Each State in the U.S. is paired with
a Central or South American Country. During the last 20 yrs a host of wildlife and fisheries
biologists have volunteered to travel back and forth from Patagonia to Montana. Culture
and education exchanges have focused on biology and have been completed in the areas of
fisheries management, electro-shocking, wildlife survey and inventory, grazing systems,
hunting systems, puma conflicts, environmental education and more. Patagonia biologists in
Argentina have implemented groundbreaking research and management programs that have
promoted the conservation of endemic species at the southern tip of the South American
continent. Participation in the Partners of the Americas Program has enriched the careers and
lives of professional biologists in both hemispheres.