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# Army expands University of Montana environmental contract to cover all U.S. installations
- URL: https://www.the406.news/army-expands-university-of-montana-environmental-contract-to-cover-all-u-s-installations/
- Published: 2026-10-16T13:52:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-16T13:52:44.000Z
- Description: A Regional Intergovernmental Support Agreement that started with nine Army posts in 2023 now covers every IMCOM installation, putting UM's environmental researchers to work on everything from NEPA reviews to wildfire risk.
- Author: Samuel Von Worthington
- Tags: Technology, #zone-missoula, #ai-assisted, #bridger-edit, #dedupe-9d261297d285b814

The U.S. Army has broadened a cost-sharing agreement with the University of Montana to cover every installation under the Army's Installation Management Command — including Fort Carson, Colo., and the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site — after a pilot that launched in 2023 covered just nine posts.

What this means for you

Montana:Real benefit to a Montana institution: the University of Montana's environmental research center picks up a significantly larger federal client base under the expanded RIGSA, which could sustain and grow research positions and graduate opportunities in Missoula. The work itself is performed at Army installations across the country, not in Montana, but the contract revenue and academic activity flow back to UM.

Missoula County:The University of Montana, headquartered in Missoula, is the contracting institution. Expanded federal work under the RIGSA could support faculty, staff, and student researcher positions based there.

Missoula:UM's Center for Integrated Research on the Environment, located on the Missoula campus, is the operational hub for the Army environmental services the RIGSA funds.

Watch next:Watch for UM to post contract details or faculty/researcher hiring tied to the expanded RIGSA — the university's research office or CIRE website would be the first place those announcements appear.

The agreement, called a Regional Intergovernmental Support Agreement, or RIGSA, channels environmental compliance and natural resource work to UM's Center for Integrated Research on the Environment. Under the expanded arrangement, Army installations can draw on university researchers to handle National Environmental Policy Act reviews, natural resource planning, and National Register of Historic Places evaluations for cultural sites.

"Through our partnership with the University of Montana, Fort Carson ensures millions of dollars worth of land assets remain viable and legally compliant," said David Tookmanian of Fort Carson's Plans, Analysis and Integration Office. He said the agreement gives the installation a faster procurement path than traditional federal contracting and keeps training operations running without interruption.

A key practical benefit, Tookmanian said, is the ability to deploy field researchers quickly when problems emerge — surveying for federally protected species or assessing wildfire risk — without waiting on a new contracting cycle.

"Ultimately, this partnership reduces administrative overhead, lowers overall operational costs and delivers high-quality, scientifically backed data to base leadership, allowing military personnel to focus on core warfighting capabilities," Tookmanian said.

The RIGSA is one of several intergovernmental agreements Fort Carson maintains. The installation also holds eight IGSAs with local organizations covering transportation, construction, and energy maintenance — arrangements that let military posts share services with state and local governments at lower cost than full federal contracting.

The University of Montana has not yet released a statement on the expanded agreement. the406.news has reached out to UM's Center for Integrated Research on the Environment for comment.