The Flathead Valley Community College will host the annual Wilderness Speaker Series again in 2024 in partnership with three local environmental non-profit organizations. On the third Wednesdays of February, March and April, speakers will bring a variety of timely and interesting wilderness topics to the public to raise awareness and inspire community discussion.
The Wilderness Speaker Series is presented by the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, the Northwest Montana Lookout Association, and the Flathead-Kootenai Chapter of Wild Montana, with support from the Natural Resources Conservation & Management program at FVCC.
The series will be held in the Large Community Room (#139) at FVCC’s Art and Technology Building from 7:00-8:15 PM on February 21st, March 20th, and April 17th. The events are free of charge and all are welcome to join the discussion.
The series will kick off on Wednesday, February 21st with local historian and lookout Mark Hufstetler as the featured speaker. As a professional historian who spends his summers on Baptiste Lookout on the Flathead National Forest, Mark will share his unique perspective and take a look at the lives of the men and women who have staffed these towers over the generations – a unique shared experience that is remarkably little-changed today.
On Wednesday, March 20th, retired MT-FWP Grizzly Bear Management Specialist Tim Manley will share how improvements in technology, equipment, and techniques have revolutionized how grizzly habitat is mapped, populations are estimated, and conflicts with humans avoided.
On Wednesday, April 17th, a panel of artists from past Artist Wilderness Connection residencies will share their stories, inspiration found, and art created from spending weeks in remote Forest Service cabins in the Bob Marshall Wilderness to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the program.
To learn more about the Wilderness Speaker Series, visit bmwf.org/wss
