Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 42.13
Liaison Eva Rocke
Submission Date June 30, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Montana
OP-9: Landscape Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.03 / 2.00 Madeleine Jones
ASUM Sustainability Coordinator
ASUM
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total campus area (i.e. the total amount of land within the institutional boundary):
156.28 Acres

Figures required to calculate the total area of managed grounds:
Area (double-counting is not allowed)
Area managed in accordance with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses a four-tiered approach 0 Acres
Area managed in accordance with an organic land care standard or sustainable landscape management program that has eliminated the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in favor of ecologically preferable materials 0.75 Acres
Area managed using conventional landscape management practices (which may include some IPM principles or techniques) 45.50 Acres
Total area of managed grounds 46.25 Acres

A brief description of any land excluded from the area of managed grounds (e.g. the footprint of buildings and impervious surfaces, experimental agricultural land, areas that are not regularly managed or maintained):

35.5 acres of hardscape (sidewalks, parking lots, etc)  These areas are monitored and spot sprayed for weeds.

Building Footprint: 25 Acres


Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an IPM program:
0

A copy of the IPM plan or program:
---

A brief description of the IPM program:

The University of Montana grounds manager was unable to produce a four-tiered IPM Plan to submit with our STARS report.


Percentage of grounds managed in accordance with an organic program:
1.62

A brief description of the organic land standard or landscape management program that has eliminated the use of inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in favor of ecologically preferable materials:

Several campus buildings that are LEED certified are landscaped with organic and native landscaping that requires no pesticide or herbicide application. This is a small portion of our campus landscaping, but it's something!


A brief description of the institution's approach to plant stewardship:

The University prioritizes native plant species in landscaping when possible. There is a native plant demonstration garden on campus and the landscaping around the new Payne Family Native American Center is exclusively native plants.


A brief description of the institution's approach to hydrology and water use:

UM grounds tries to prevent compaction of soils during construction by providing outside contractors with guidelines for minimizing impacts to the surrounding landscape.  We also aerate turf areas 1-2 times annually to increase air and water infiltration into plant root zones. UM is constantly trying to upgrade all irrigation systems to automation, which allows for reduction in water loss due to evaporation and off target watering.  These upgrades are budget dependent, and only occur periodically.


A brief description of the institution's approach to materials management and waste minimization (e.g. composting and/or mulching on-site waste):

Facilities Services mulches all leaf and grass clippings. Tree branches, pruning debris, and other biomass is processed in a chipper and used as mulch on campus grounds.


A brief description of the institution's approach to energy-efficient landscape design:

Incorporating landscape trees to building sites, and planting trees in existing landscapes is done with the ideas of passive solar heating, and summer cooling in mind.  UM planted its first test plot for measuring this type of passive cooling in 2016 near McGill hall.


A brief description of other sustainable landscape management practices employed by the institution (e.g. use of environmentally preferable landscaping materials, initiatives to reduce the impacts of ice and snow removal, wildfire prevention):

The university has not implemented strategies other than only doing the amount of work necessary to remove snow and ice.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Ben Carson- UM Grounds Maintenance Manager
E-mail- ben.carson@mso.umt.edu
Phone- (406) 243-2183


Ben Carson- UM Grounds Maintenance Manager
E-mail- ben.carson@mso.umt.edu
Phone- (406) 243-2183

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.