BOZEMAN — $1.9 million. That’s the grant Montana State University is receiving from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the bird flu.
“We try to do everything that we can for these raptors that come in with it, but unfortunately, right now, it is fatal in the majority of the cases that we see in raptors,” said Keaton Thomas.
Thomas is the education director at the Montana Raptor Conservation Center in Bozeman.
“Our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, release and then educate all about the raptors here in Montana,” said Thomas, “We cover 88,000 square miles of Montana so it’s a huge area.”
WATCH: Montana raptors are feeling the impact of bird flu 🦅 MSU just received $1.9M to help find answers
The center gets about 200 raptors every single year. As for the avian flu, Thomas said Montana Raptor Conservation Center has been impacted by it. The avian flu is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted by aquatic birds, according to the Montana Department of Livestock.
“We had about fourteen suspected cases of it last year, so about 5-6% of our total injuries,” said Thomas. “This year, we’ve had just a few we’ve suspected so far. We have sent those off to the wildlife health lab here in Bozeman for testing."
The avian flu can be fatal and manifest in several symptoms, according to Thomas.
“In raptors, it’s a lot of neurological issues, uncoordination, not being able to stand, kind of unpredictable, kind of like a seizure almost."
According to the Montana Department of Livestock, more than 58 million birds from commercial and backyard poultry flocks have been impacted by the avian flu.
In February 2025, Healthy Gallatin reported more than 164,000 poultry impacted by the avian flu in Montana.
“It’s a virus that can have significant agricultural impacts on producers, especially of poultry like chickens,” said MSU spokesman Michael Becker.
That’s why Becker says the $1.9 million grant MSU is receiving is crucial.
“What MSU is doing is looking at ways in which we can understand the virus at a more cellular level: how does it spread, how does it grow and develop at the cellular level, so we can help provide some practical tips or at least more science to help stem or stop outbreaks before they happen,” said Becker.
He added the grant will allow for more student research opportunities.
“This particular grant project will afford graduate students opportunities to get into the lab and work with some of these materials and make discoveries of their own,” said Becker.
For the Montana Raptor Conservation Center, Thomas said the research is important.
“So important. For our poultry farmers, for our endangered California condors, as well as our raptor species here.”
If you come across a raptor you believe is acting abnormally, you can contact the Montana Raptor Conservation Center.
