2025 AWF Grant Update: Jacob McArtor
Each year, the Audubon Wildlife Fund supports research and other projects that directly benefit birds and wildlife in Montana. We recently checked in with the 2025 Audubon Wildlife Fund Grant recipients, and are excited to share these updates on their research and projects.
Grant recipient
Jacob McArtor, master’s student in the Systems Ecology program of the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana
Project
Studying how heavy metals released by wildfires impact aquatic insect communities over time in streams across western Montana.
Graves Creek near Thompson Falls, MT. This watershed was burned by the Thorne Creek fire in 2017. Photo: Jacob McArtor.
Update
During the summer of 2025, University of Montana master’s student Jake McArtor visited 27 different wildfire-affected forests in western Montana. To better understand how these wildfires are influencing the aquatic ecosystems that exist in rivers and streams, he collected hundreds of samples of water, algae, and aquatic insects such as mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies. Audubon Wildlife Grant funds were used to pay for travel costs between study sites, which spanned six National Forests across the state. Results of this research will be published in 2026 as part of Jake’s graduate thesis.
University of Montana undergraduate intern Benjamin Brady collecting algae samples at Colt Creek, which burned in 2023. Photo: Jacob McArtor.
A Columbia Spotted Frog captured at Grouse Creek near Wise River, MT. Amphibians can also be affected by changes to streams following wildfire. Photo: Jacob McArtor.
Graduate student Jake McArtor sorts aquatic invertebrates collected from Control Creek, Kootenai National Forest. Photo: Jacob McArtor.
