Outdoor news
Horsemen meet
The Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead will hold their regular monthly meeting at the at the Fish, Wildlife and Parks offices in Kalispell, across from the fairgrounds, on Tuesday, Sept 11, at 7:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and all are welcome. The Back Country Horsemen is a volunteer organization dedicated to protecting stockowners’ use of wilderness and backcountry trails, education of horse owners on Leave-No-Trace principles and support to back country agencies. For more information, call 212-8107.
Park award
Headwaters Montana is seeking nominations for its first Jack Potter Glacier National Park Stewardship Award. The award recognizes the legacy of Jack Potter, who retired in 2011 after 40 years of public service in Glacier Park. He ended his career at the Park in 2011 as chief of science and resource management. The nomination period for this year closes Sept. 30. Nominations can be sent online to www.headwatersmontana.org.
Outdoor classes
The Glacier Institute will offer the following outdoor classes this month: Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 17-18, Inspired by Glacier: Writing Workshop; Friday, Sept. 21, Autumn in Glacier; Saturday/Sunday, Sept. 22-23, Fall Mushroom Foray; Saturday Sept. 22, Hawk & Eagle Migration; Saturday/Sunday Sept. 29-30, Ecology of Elk. Marking its 29th year of educational programs, the Glacier Institute is a long-time partner with Glacier National Park, the Flathead National Forest, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Flathead Valley Community College. To register or for a complete listing, call 755-1211 or visit online at www.glacierinstitute.org.
Audubon meeting
Cristina Eisenberg will present a free talk on wolf ecology at Flathead Audubon’s meeting at The Summit in Kalispell on Monday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. Eisenberg will discuss the ecological effects of fundamental processes, such as wolf predation and wildfire, on the entire food web, including songbirds in “From Wolves to Birds: Trophic Cascades in the Crown of the Continent.” Eisenberg has a Ph.D. in Forestry and Wildlife from Oregon State University. An Aldo Leopold scholar, Eisenberg is currently working on her second book.
Raptor Day
A community bird walk will kick off the sixth annual Raptor Day at Lone Pine State Park on Saturday, Sept. 8. Scheduled events include Community Bird Walk with Ansley Ford at 9:30 a.m.; family program, “A Celebration of Rod Ash,” keynote address by Flathead County Commissioner Dale Lauman, and Family Bird Program by Glacier National Park ranger Pat Hagan, starting at 11 a.m.; lunch, food vendors available, at 12:30 p.m.; “Beauty of Bird Song” by Bruce Tannehill at 1:30 p.m. There will be educational exhibits on bird identification, management and habitat, including Wildlife Return’s live owls, and lots of fun kids activities. For more information, contact Lone Pine State Park at 755-2706 or Ashley Mason of the Flathead Audubon Society at 755-2772.
Backpackers ball
The Backpackers Ball at the Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier will be held Saturday, Sept. 8. Transportation includes an exclusive BNSF Railway train leaving the train depot in Whitefish on 1 p.m. and departing East Glacier at 10 p.m. A live auction will start at 7:45 p.m. with plein art and paint-out work by Allen Jimmerson, Nick Oberling, Mark Ogle and Linda Tippets. For more information, contact the Glacier National Park Fund at 892-3250.