About Us

Adam Sigler is the Extension Water Quality Specialist in the Land Resources and Environmental Sciences Department (LRES) at MSU Bozeman. He has an MS in LRES from MSU (2008) and a BS in Watershed Science from Utah State University (2001). He completed his PhD at MSU in 2020working on water and nitrogen dynamics in a dryland agricultural system in the Judith River Watershed of central MT. Adam has been conducting water quality research, education, and outreach with MSU Extension since 2005.  He works with watershed groups and tribes around Montana to build water quality monitoring capacity, conducts educational programming for private well and septic owners in Montana and is the chair of the Water Committee for the Montana Watershed Coordination Council. Adam has taught a junior level classroom based water quality course and a graduate level online water quality course at MSU. He has served as the Montana coordinator for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) National Water Program and has collaborated with the National Park Service’s Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring team on water quality monitoring.

Kyle is a freelance web developer who has been working with MSUEWQ since Fall 2014. He is originally from Billings, MT and graduated from MSU with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science in Fall 2017. His work has focused on web development and the creation of web interfaces for the storage and visualization of water data collected by volunteer monitoring programs.

Meghan Robinson is an undergraduate student at MSU working towards a degree in environmental science. Meghan is interested in water quality and generally passionate about environmental problems that threaten water. She is originally from Helena, Montana, and like most Montanans loves the outdoors. She particularly enjoys running, hiking, and kayaking. She joined MSUEWQ in the spring of 2021 and is excited to work with watershed groups around the state and learn more about water resources here in Montana.

Kendall joined the MSUEWQ team in January 2021. She has a degree in Environmental Economics and Management from the University of Georgia. At school Kendall pursued independent research on local food system resiliency and served as a research technician under one of her professors gathering data on agricultural runoff and pesticide use. She came to Bozeman after graduation and has enjoyed doing all things outdoors. Kendall looks forward to supporting MSUEWQ staff and connecting with different communities throughout the state.

Rachel is a senior at MSU who transferred in 2020 from Florida Tech’s Marine Biology program. Rachel is originally from the Jersey Shore, but has fallen in love with Montana and the Western United States. She joined the MSUEWQ Team in September 2021 working on the Well Educated Program and has loved (and still loves) her time here. Rachel enjoys traveling, fishing, playing guitar, and musical theatre. On campus, she is a Resident Advisor, a Campus Tour Guide and has received a grant through the Undergraduate Scholars Program to conduct independent research this Spring with the Microbiology department. After graduation, Rachel will be pursuing a career in Environmental Health and Safety, eventually would like to obtain her Master’s in Public Health in the aforementioned field.

Claire Bickford joined MSUEWQ in January of 2020. She has a BS in Environmental Science with a Freshwater Ecology emphasis from Western Washington University. While in college, Claire worked as a research assistant for the Institute for Watershed Studies where she assisted on a project investigating bio-filtration media for storm water drainage systems. After graduating she took a position as a fisheries technician with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department where she worked to assess fish population health and stream restoration options. Claire is excited to bring these past experiences to her position with MSUEWQ and is looking forward to engaging with communities throughout Montana to address watershed health.

Nina Denny is an undergraduate student in the Environmental Engineering Program at MSU with a minor in Water Resources and has an interest in hydrology and water resource management. She is originally from Northern California and loves recreating in the outdoors, whether its skiing in the winter or backpacking in the summer. Nina started working at MSU Extension Water Quality in the Fall of 2018.

Jim Bauder is an affiliate of the MSU Extension Water Quality Program. He was formerly a Soil and Water Quality Specialist and Adjunct Professor with the Land Resources and Environmental Sciences Department at MSU-Bozeman. Jim graduated from Utah State University with a Ph.D. in irrigation-drainage science. For the past two decades, Jim has dedicated his work to irrigation management in semi-arid soil regions of Montana and has become a well known specialist on saline-sodic soil and water management and options for the on-the-land management of coal bed methane product water. Jim also designed and taught soil and water quality online graduate courses for the MSU Masters of Science in Science Education program. He is a fellow of ASA, SSSA, and SWCS.

Ike is a undergraduate student working towards a bachelor’s degree in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis, interested in water resources and environmental law. Ike is from the slopes of Vail, CO and is a hobbyist in XC biking, running, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, fly fishing, backpacking, and being a gym member. He started working as a student technician at MSUEWQ in Spring 2018.

Rachel Phipps is a senior undergraduate student working towards a bachelor’s degree in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis with an interest in water resources. Rachel hails from Bellingham, Washington, and enjoys skiing, hiking, and kayaking. She started working as a student technician at MSUEWQ in Spring 2017, and her duties include administering the Well Educated program and the spatial analysis of water quality data.

Katie received her bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Advertising and her master's degree from Montana State University in the Land Resources and Environmental Sciences department. Her master's project focused on use of molecular microbiological methods to quantify human wastewater influence on groundwater. Her primary roles with the MSUEWQ program were administering the Well Educated program, assisting in water quality monitoring, volunteer monitoring and watershed support, NIFA Regional Water Program initiatives and Tribal College Water Quality Education initiatives.