FOOTLOOSE MONTANA has launched the April Christofferson Memorial Scholarship with the University of Montana Foundation.
April Christofferson was a founding member of Footloose Montana, lawyer, and award-winning author of eight books, including Trapped, an eco- and political thriller about illegal trapping in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, inspired by her work with Footloose Montana. April’s Judge Annie Peacock thriller series, from Buffalo Medicine and Alpha Female (“A smart and sexy new eco-thriller” – Cosmopolitan) to Grizzly Justice, center around the pursuit of nefarious characters in the underworld of wildlife crime in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, places she loved and knew intimately. Her fictional stories were inspired by real events; her purpose was to expose the schemes and motives of the killers and educate people about the threats to the nation’s wildlife.
Her background was in biology and veterinary medicine. April served on Governor Bullock’s Half Breed Advisory board to replace derogatory Indian place names in Montana with names that honor the contributions Native Americans have made to the state. In Lolo and Bozeman, April and her husband Steve Leach cared for all kinds of rescue animals, and she adored her family. She was a passionate supporter of animals and social justice.
April died on October 4, 2023, at 72 years old. Her intelligent, creative and love-of-the-wild spirit will live on through the support of students inspired to learn about and work for the environment, wildlife and sustainability.
The annual scholarship of $1,500 will be awarded to undergraduate students in good standing who are pursuing a degree in Environmental Science and Sustainability in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana. The first scholarship will be awarded in fall, 2025.
For more information, please check out: https://www.umt.edu/environment/resources/scholarships/fcfc-scholarships/default.php
Donations to sustain the scholarship fund can be made to:
UM Foundation (please note Footloose Montana’s April Christofferson Memorial Scholarship Fund in check memo)
P.O. Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807
umfoundation@supportum.org
Contact: Connie Poten, Footloose Montana board president
406-274-4791
rattlefarm@gmail.com