The future looks bright for those interested in the ancient fossil heritage of Montana, the Rocky Mountain region and the world.

The state Board of Regents recently approved a new University of Montana Paleontology Center, which includes an associated Fort Peck Field Station amid the fossil-rich Cretaceous formations surrounding Fort Peck and Glasgow.

Organized under UM’s Department of Geology, the new center and field station will promote paleontology education and research and serve as a repository for important fossil discoveries. It also will boost public outreach in paleontology.

UM formed a partnership with Fort Peck Paleontology Inc. to create the new center. FPPI is a nonprofit organization formed by eastern Montana residents to promote study and research of the area’s spectacular fossils, including dinosaurs, plants and invertebrate remains.

A five-year plan is in place to get the paleontology center up and running. The Fort Peck Field Station will be housed within FPPI in a 7,000-square-foot former laundry building used during the 1933-40 construction of Fort Peck Dam.

The second seminar in the series “Montana Constitution: Progressive Spirit of the Rocky Mountain West” will be held Friday, Oct. 21, in Helena.

“Indian Education” will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the State Capitol Building’s House Chambers.

The seminar, organized by the Tribal Leaders Institute and the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at UM, will address the Indian education requirements of the Montana State Constitution. Through presentations and panel discussions, seminar participants will examine the progress of the state’s attempts to implement the Constitution’s provisions regarding Indian education and then move on to explore needs and proposals aimed at improving those efforts.

Cost of the seminar is $10 for those wanting lunch or continuing education credits and free for others who wish to register and attend sessions.

A complete schedule is available online. For more information or to register for the seminar, call (406) 243-7700 or e-mail ThompsonJ@mso.umt.edu.

Montana-made programming on Montana PBS will be available in High Definition format thanks to a $927,000 federal grant to UM’s television station, KUFM.

The U.S. Department of Commerce grant -- the largest given during the current round of funding -- will support the acquisition of HD cameras, digital editors and additional studio equipment to upgrade the station’s broadcast infrastructure.

High Definition, known for its clear pictures and wide-screen format, is the new standard in television production and broadcasting. With it, Montana PBS programs such as the popular “Backroads of Montana” will take on a new clarity and vibrancy.

The U.S. Department of Commerce also has awarded $78,000 to the Montana World Trade Center, a program of UM.

The money will be used to develop a comprehensive regional marketing strategy for Montana Creative Enterprises under the Planning Assistance Program.

The project will focus on developing a regional identity for Montana artists and artisans, as well as exploring ways to create a stable, year-round marketplace for their products.

An evening of entertainment to benefit a center that serves and does research for people with disabilities is set for Tuesday, Oct. 18, at UM.

The New Directions Wellness Center will host two screenings of the movie “Murderball” in the University Center Theater, which offers the most seating for wheelchair-users of any theater in Missoula.

“Murderball” is a film about individuals with quadriplegia who play full-contact rugby in specialized “Mad Max-style” wheelchairs. It describes how they overcame unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Entrance to the 5:30 p.m. screening costs $5, while the 7:30 p.m. screening is $15 for the general public and $10 for those living lightly.

Michael Beers, an award-winning comic and UM student with a disability, will warm up the crowd before the movie. In addition, Sam Gloor, a member of the U.S. Quad Rugby Team and a star of “Murderball,” will introduce the movie and answer questions at the end of the show.

“Nicaragua: Living with the Consequences of U.S. Policy” will be presented at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in UM’s North Underground Lecture Hall.

The histories of Nicaraguans who live with the physical and psychological scars of the Contra war will be presented in this photo and testimony project compiled by Paul Dix and Pam Fitzpatrick.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Dix, a photographer, was in Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990, and Fitzpatrick was director of the North Pacific office of Witness for Peace in the country from 1985 to 1993. They returned to Nicaragua during the past three years to search for people Dix had photographed in the 1980s and to document the effects of the war on their daily lives.

UM employees began making herbicide applications this week to control noxious weeds and restore Mount Sentinel’s native grasslands.

Crews will work through the first week in November, mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays as weather permits. Up to 15 acres of weeds will be sprayed, mostly as small patches across the 500 acres owned by the University.

The herbicides will not be sprayed near the M trail at this time, so hikers should not expect closures.

Targets of the herbicide applications are Dalmatian toadflax, leafy spurge and spotted knapweed, which are aggressive non-native species that displace Montana’s native prairie plants and decreases habitat for deer, ground-nesting birds and other wildlife.

Spray work in the spring and fall complements hand-pulling and the use of biocontrol insects in UM natural areas. Crews with backpacks will spray weeds using ATVs, horses and mules.

The Montana Grizzlies showed they are a force to reckon with in the Big Sky Conference when they upended the Idaho State Bengals 32-10 Saturday at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho.

The win increased Montana's record to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Sky. Cole Bergquist took over the reins as starting quarterback, replacing Jason Washington, who stayed home with a shoulder injury suffered in the previous week's game. Bergquist went 16-for-26 with 181 yards and two touchdown passes. Jon Talmage caught both of Bergquist's touchdown tosses.

The second-ranked Grizzlies continue their 2005 Big Sky Conference schedule at home Saturday, Oct. 15, playing the 12th-ranked and the league's pre-season favorite Eastern Washington Eagles. Kickoff is at 1:05 p.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

The game can be seen live on KPAX-TV in Missoula and on Montana Television Network stations statewide.

Montana Volleyball dropped a match in three games Friday night to Portland State at UM's West Auxiliary Gym. Junior Emily Sakis finished with a season-high 16 kills on a season-best .480 hitting to lead the Griz.

Saturday, also in the WAG, Montana lost in three games to Eastern Washington. It was the fifth-straight loss for the Grizzlies, who dropped to 10-9 overall, 0-5 in league play.

UM will wrap up the first half of its Big Sky Conference schedule this weekend when the Grizzlies play at Idaho State and Weber State. Montana faces the Bengals at 7 p.m. tonight and the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The UM soccer team gave up two headers for goals and dropped a 2-0 decision Friday night at Northern Arizona. On Sunday, the Grizzlies lost 2-0 to Sacramento State at Hornet Soccer Field in Sacramento, Calif.

The two losses drop the Grizzlies' season mark to 2-9-1 overall and 0-3-0 in Big Sky Conference play.

Montana is on the road for the final time in the 2005 regular season with contests at South Dakota State and North Dakota State. The Grizzlies have a 6 p.m. contest tonight with the Jackrabbits in Brookings, S.D., then wrap up the weekend with an 11 a.m match Sunday against the Bison in Grand Forks, N.D.