Speaker series presents wilderness topics

For the 10th year, local wilderness organizations are partnering to host the Wilderness Speaker Series at Flathead Valley Community College.

The series brings timely and interesting wilderness topics to the public and is presented by the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, the Montana Wilderness Association Flathead-Kootenai Chapter, the Northwest Montana Forest Fire Lookout Association and the Natural Resources Conservation Management Program at Flathead Valley Community College.

The series will be presented in the Large Community Room at FVCC’s Art and Technology Building. Lectures will be held monthly from February through April, at 7 to 8:­­15 p.m. There is no charge for these engaging evenings and all are welcome to join the discussion.

Speakers:

- Wednesday, Feb. 5, “Exploring Wilderness within National Parks” by Becky Lomax, author of Moon USA National Parks, Moon Glacier, Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton. In a venture beyond our wilderness areas, Lomax will explore the connection between national parks and wilderness. Her presentation includes a visual romp through national parks that have wilderness designations, how to visit some of them, and options where designated wilderness areas combine with national parks for unique backcountry experiences.

- Wednesday, March 4, “Wildlife in the Whitefish Range” by Tim Thier, retired wildlife biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Thier first began working on grizzly bears in the North Fork in 1976, under the direction of Charles Jonkel and the Border Grizzly Project. He continued this work in the early 90’s first with US Fish and Wildlife Service, then Montana FWP as the Area Wildlife Biologist out of Eureka. Thier will share three decades’ worth of knowledge from monitoring and researching wildlife in the North Fork of the Flathead and Whitefish Range, and what changes they’ve faced over time.

- Wednesday, April 1, “Living with Carnivores in Northwest Montana” by Bryce Andrews, author and field director at People and Carnivores. Andrews lives in western Montana on a farm beside steep mountains. He is fascinated by wild animals and divides his time between agriculture, large carnivore conservation, and writing. Andrews’ first book, “Badluck Way,” was published in 2014 and received several awards. His second, “Down from the Mountain,” was published in April 2019.