Officials with the Flathead Lake Biological Station have made the decision to cancel summer classes after the University of Montana announced summer 2020 classes would be offered entirely online due to the coronavirus.

For more than a century, the facility has conducted college courses, graduate programs and research focused on the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, according to the station’s website. The bio station is a Center of Excellence and administrative unit within the University of Montana.

But Flathead Lake Biological Station Director Jim Elser said in a recent newsletter 2020 classes at the station were experiential and field-based, and therefore could not be converted to an online platform.

“This was a very tough decision to make,” Elser wrote. “We wanted to communicate this decision as early as possible so students can make alternative plans for the coming summer.”

Students who applied for the station’s summer program were issued refunds. In addition, those affected by the course cancellation due to the coronavirus who would like to attend in 2021 instead, will be given first priority preference.

“The absence of the vitality and wonder for the natural worlds that our students bring each summer will truly be felt by all at the Bio Station,” Elser said. “We will miss our students deeply, and very much hope that they will still be able to join us next summer.”