MAGIP Scholarship and Grants Committee 2026 Annual Report

Please allow me to update you on the success of the Scholarship and Grants Committee and congratulate our current award winners. At the 2026 Big Sky GeoCon we were delighted to see some of our past awardees thriving as professionals in our community, and saw excellent presentations from Sara Tabor, of Belgrade High School, at Big Sky GeoCon, and Eqi Luo, PhD Student from Montana State University, who received a grant and a scholarship, respectively, from us last year.

Sarah Tabor is noteworthy among educators in the way she brings GIS into her classrooms to encourage STEM skills. She does this with grace and honesty and has been sharing her experience with us over the past several years. She has helped us get a better understanding of how to deliver and work with GIS-based material in high school education, and we look to her for guidance in the future.

It was also a powerful dynamic to witness Eqi Luo present his research on temperature changes in urban environments of the developing world, as his presentation was followed by Daniel Bose, who is another PhD student in the same program. As I will describe, Daniel received a scholarship from us this year, and he was already at the conference presenting the work he has done so far. It was truly a delight to see how Eqi and Daniel are collaborating on the complex challenges associated with processing and analyzing volumes of global climate data.

2026 Awards

The awards we made in 2026 included a K-12 Education Grant to the Yaak Valley Forest Council, and three Higher Education Scholarships to two PhD students at MSU, and one highly motivated undergraduate student at the University of Montana.

Establishing a relationship with the Yaak Valley Forest Council is exciting because they are offering a GIS summer camp to local students, which is also supported by the US Air Force and MSU. With that foundation, students will get a better understanding of how conservation is being planned and conducted in the Yaak Valley. We like this idea of a GIS summer camp and are pleased to support it.

Our Higher Education Scholarship recipients are all doing interesting and valuable work to support a resilient future backed by geographic analysis. Caroline Cane, out of the MSU Department of Ecology, is evaluating the difference between fuel treatments and catastrophic fires on wildlife movements, Daniel Bose from the MSU Department of Earth Sciences, is developing techniques for processing large data cubes that are used to interpret the complex relationships between sea surface temperature and precipitation is arid environments, and Beau Milton of UM’s Geoscience Department is accounting for the spatial variability of precipitation to help design an updated hydrologic monitoring system in the Blackfoot River watershed.

For more information about the people and projects involved in these awards, please visit our website:

Best wishes,

Robert Ahl, PhD, GISP
MAGIP Scholarship and Grants Committee Chair

2026 MAGIP Elections - Meet the Candidates!

Please visit the MAGIP Elections page to view the candidate bios and photos for the following open MAGIP Board positions:

We currently have four positions open:

• Vice President (3-year term Vice President, President, Past President)
• Web Administrator (2-year term)

And two At-Large positions which would fill the Committee Chair positions of:

• Conference Liaison Chair (2-year term)
• Member Development Chair (2-year term) 

Meet the Candidates

Elections will open April 27 and close May 12, 2026. MAGIP Members in good standing will receive a ballot through their email linked to the MAGIP profile on April 27, 2026

Congratulations to our 2026 MAGIP Award Recipients!

2026 Award Recipients

Distinguished Service Award Recipient: Robert (Bob) Cochran

Livability Award Recipient: Dr. Robert Ahl

Visit the MAGIP Awards page to view the award criteria and past award recipients. 

2026 MAGIP K-12 Education Grant & Higher Education Scholarships

MAGIP Van Shelhamer Memorial K-12 Education Grant 

K-12 Education Grants are intended to help educators engage students with geographic principles. This may involve concepts and include the application of traditional tools and contemporary technologies such as:

• Instruction with printed or digital maps
• Demonstration of traditional navigation or orienteering skills
• Use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
• Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Application of Image interpretation or Remote Sensing

Grants may be used for:

• Curriculum development for classrooms, after school programs, or sanctioned clubs with student participants
• Geographically oriented training for educators
• Purchase of equipment or software that will enhance enduring geographic instruction

Eligible applicants include educators, and those working with educators.

Applications are due: March 27, 2026

https://www.magip.org/Grants

MAGIP Higher Education Scholarships

All undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at Montana colleges or universities, carrying the minimum number of required credits for full time enrollment, engaged in geospatially-related projects or research, are eligible to apply to the Higher Education Scholarship.

Award packages include an invitation to present at the annual MAGIP Big Sky GeoCon, accompanied by a complimentary registration. A stipend of $150 is also granted to those traveling more than 100 miles to awardees presenting at the conference.

https://www.magip.org/Scholarships

Applications are due: March 27, 2026

Email the Scholarship and Grants Committee Chair Rob Ahl for more information! Thank you!

2026 MAGIP Elections - Call for Nominations

Please consider this Call for Nominations for the Montana Association of Geographic Information Professionals (MAGIP) 2026 BOD elections.

We currently have four positions open:

And two At-Large positions which would fill the Committee Chair positions of:

MAGIP Board Nominations can be submitted using the Survey123 link below that will open in a new window.

Submit your Board Nomination(s)

Nominations close on April 21 at 11:59 pm (MT)

See the MAGIP Elections page and the MAGIP Board of Directors page on the MAGIP website for more information.

You're invited to attend the 2026 MAGIP Big Sky GeoCon!

The 2026 Conference will once again feature a robust three days of hands-on workshops, two days of concurrent sessions, a map/poster gallery, exhibitor showcase and social reception, a keynote luncheon featuring John Nelson with Esri, and a hosted dinner and award ceremony. 

Please see the 2026 Big Sky GeoCon webpage for more information.

Back by popular demand - we will again be offering an Early Career Professional and Student Roundtable during the conference. In addition, you'll have an opportunity have your resume reviewed during a dedicated "Resume Review" time. 

Registration Fees (include all Wednesday & Thursday sessions, social/networking events, coffee breaks, and lunch and dinner on Wednesday).

Registration Type	Early Bird January 28 - March 13	Intermediate Rate March 14 - 29	Late Rate After March 29
MAGIP Member	$270	$345	$425
Non-Member	$350	$425	$505
Student	$75	$75	$75
One Day Only: MAGIP Member	$150	$175	$225
One Day Only: Non-Member	$200	$225	$275

NOTE: Workshops on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday are in addition to conference registration. Select workshops and pricing during the registration process.

Conference Registration Cancellation Policy: Cancellations must be made in writing and emailed to Michelle Quinn, MAGIP Administrator. Cancellations made by March 20, 2026, may be issued a full refund. Cancellations made after this time will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to a minimum $100 cancellation fee. "No shows" forfeit entire registration fee.

We look forward to seeing you in Whitefish!

For more information contact Michelle Quinn, MAGIP Administrator, or Jeff Hedstrom, the Conference Liaison.

As a MAGIP member, your feedback is incredibly valuable and helps our organization do its best to serve the Montana GIS community and our members. Please take the time to fill out our 2025/2026 Member Satisfaction Survey and share your thoughts on how well MAGIP is doing and how we can do better.  The member survey can be accessed via the link below: https://magip.org/MemberSurvey Note: you will have to log in to access the survey. As a member you should also have received an email with the direct link to the survey.  Survey Responses will be accepted through the final day of Big Sky GeoCon: April 17, 2026. Thank you!!

2026 MAGIP K-12 Education Grant & Higher Education Scholarships

MAGIP Van Shelhamer Memorial K-12 Education Grant 

K-12 Education Grants are intended to help educators engage students with geographic principles. This may involve concepts and include the application of traditional tools and contemporary technologies such as:

Grants may be used for:

• Curriculum development for classrooms, after school programs, or sanctioned clubs with student participants
• Geographically oriented training for educators
• Purchase of equipment or software that will enhance enduring geographic instruction

Eligible applicants include educators, and those working with educators.

https://www.magip.org/Grants

MAGIP Higher Education Scholarships

All undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at Montana colleges or universities, carrying the minimum number of required credits for full time enrollment, engaged in geospatially-related projects or research, are eligible to apply to the Higher Education Scholarship.

Award packages include an invitation to present at the annual MAGIP Big Sky GeoCon, accompanied by a complimentary registration. A stipend of $150 is also granted to those traveling more than 100 miles to awardees presenting at the conference.

https://www.magip.org/Scholarships

Applications are due March 20, 2026

Election Results

Congratulations to our new MAGIP Board Members!

New Board Members will officially take office on May 27.

Visit the Elections page for more information.

Visit the MAGIP Elections page to view the 2025 Nominees:

https://magip.org/Elections

Elections open April 28 and close May 12.