THE WAY THE RIVER FLOWS

Dr. Rebekah Levine (ABOVE) is a professor at the University of Montana Western. When she’s not teaching, she lives on Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana’s Centennial Valley. She is also the mother of seven-year-old twins. Levine, her biologist husband, and their children enjoy exploring the surrounding waterways and landscapes.

What kind of science do you study?

I’m a fluvial geomorphologist. I study rivers and how they interact with landscapes. Basically, my big things are soil and water. I’m a mud scientist! I hike into the sagebrush and forests here in Montana and find beaver dams along rivers and streams. I study the ways that the land changes around beaver dams. And I get to see so many cool animals—beavers included!

Being a mud scientist sounds like a fun but messy job. What drew you to it?

I grew up along the coast of Maine. As a child,