Speaker Program
From the beginning, the Montana House has featured book signing events with local authors whose books relate to the Park, the State of Montana, Native Americans or other topics pertaining to the area and are for sale in the shop. Musicians whose music was offered in the Montana House have also held mini concerts.
2007 Speaker Program
In 2007 the Speaker Program started on an occasional schedule:
August 2007 -. The first event
was a reception for Chris
Peterson as he debuted his new magazine
Glacier Geographic (later renamed
Glacier Park Magazine). Peterson was the previous editor of
The Hungry Horse News and authored the book
Boy Wonder and the Big Burn. Besides being
Editor
of the magazine, he continues to be a photographer for the
newspaper.
September 2007 - In September the Montana House started the "Look, Listen and Learn" series including slide shows and talks by Douglas H. Chadwick, Dr. Daniel Fagre and Sumio Harada.
Doug Chadwick is a Glacier area wildlife
biologist and natural history writer.
He is the author of numerous
articles over many years time for National Geographic
Magazine. He has also authored 10 books
including
A Beast
the Color of Winter, The Fate
of the Elephant and True Grizz.
Daniel Fagre, an Ecologist
with the U.S. Geological Survey, working
out of Glacier National
Park Headquarters in the Global Climate Change office, provided an
update on what is happening to the glaciers
in the Park and
discussed his book, Sustaining Rocky Mountain
Landscapes: Science, Policy and Management
for the
Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, which he co-edited with Tony Prato.
The book focuses on the
Crown
of the
Continent Region in Montana and the Canadian provinces
of British Columbia and Alberta. This work brings together
information on topics as diverse as archaeology an fire history to
current issues such as coal mining
in the northern Flathead Basin.
Sumio Harada is a world renown
wildlife photographer. Sumio wa
s born in Japan and studied biology
at Tokyo University of Agriculture, His research on the behavior of
the Japanese serow, a close relative of our mountain goat, led to
his wildlife photography career, and prompted his move to the U.S.
and the Rocky Mountains, eventually settling in West
Glacier, His images have been published in National
Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Canadian Wildlife, GEO,
Montana Magazine, 2007 Canon Desk Calendar and in numerous
international magazines and books..In 2008 he published his
own
photo book, Mountain Goats of Glacier National Park.
2008 Speaker Program
February 2008 - Dr. Daniel Fagre returned in February 2008 to update his discussion and presentation of the status of the glaciers of Glacier National Park.
March 2008 - The Montana House hosted featured speaker Dave Hadden, who works for Headwaters Montana, a conservation organization that works to protect water, wildlife and wild lands in the Crown of the Continent. He has a Masters of Science in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and is President of the Flathead Coalition. The coalition formed in 1975 in an effort to protect the North Fork Flathead River from a proposed open-pit, mountain top removal coal mine at Cabin Creek - just six miles north of the US / Canada border. Since the time it was decided the Cabin Creek coal mine should not be built, the Coalition has focused on other coal mine and coal bed methane projects located in the Canadian Flathead. His presentation covered these proposed projects which threatened the water, fish and wildlife of the trans-boundary Flathead River, Waterton / Glacier International Peace Park and downstream Flathead Lake.
May 2008 - "Mountain
Goats As Seen by Sumio Harada." Sumio, a,
world known wildlife photographer was back at the Montana House for
his presentation and unique perspective on photographing Glacier's
mountain goats. There was an overwhelming response to the
announcement of his presentation, and he was able to provide three
separate presentations to accommodate all the guests who came to hear him.
June 2008 - "Fire and Ice - Ten Years in Glacier." Chris Peterson, Editor of Glacier Park Magazine (formerly titled Glacier Geographic) came back to the Montana House starting in early June and every Monday night the rest of the summer presenting slide shows and talks about his experiences in the Park
June 2008 – "75th Anniversary of the Going-to-the Sun Road." Glacier National Park celebrated with an afternoon event that included talks relating to the Road's construction 75 years ago and also included speeches by local dignitaries, and representatives of various Native American Tribes The Montana House also celebrated with featured wood carver, Jim Jensen, "The Bear Man." Jim's father worked on the Road and Jim lived in Apgar as a young boy. While Jim reminisced about those days, he was joined by local resident, Ted Swanberg, whose father and older brother worked on the Hungry Horse Dam. Former Jammer, Gordon Doggett, a Montana House employee whose father was a Jammer in the 30's, joined Jim and Ted with stories of his Jammer Days. July 2008 – "Canada Day in Glacier National Park. " The Montana House helped celebrate with a slide show presentation by Steve Thompson of the National Parks Conservation Association who coordinated the unique mapping process in the Crown of the Continent region. This resulted in the new Crown of the Continent MapGuide which celebrates the natural and cultural heritage of the transboundary region where the Rocky Mountains intersect with Alberta, British Columbia and Montana.
August 2008 - "Climate Change in Glacier," a presentation and slideshow by Michelle Tafoya, Clean Air and Climate Coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association, Glacier Field Office. Michelle's B.S. in biology and her studies for a master's degree in environmental policy, plus interpretive park ranger duties in Glacier National Park for 6 seasons, gave her good back-ground for becoming a crew member of the Northern Divide Grizzly Bear Project in 2004. It also served her well to join The Climate Project, a rigorous training program led by former Vice President Al Gore, to spread the message about climate change.
August 2008 - Book signing by local authors Beth Hodder and Patti Hirst.
Hodder's book, The Ghost of Schaefer Meadow, won the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Award. Jessie Scott, 12, and her dog, Oriole, solve a mystery at the Schafer Meadows Ranger Station in Montana's Great Bear Wilderness. Hodder worked for over 25 years with the US Forest Service, most of it with the Flathead National Forest in Montana. She spent much time working in the Bob Marshall Wilderness complex, including at the Schafer Meadows Ranger Station in the Great Bear Wilderness. Her husband, Al Koss, was wilderness ranger there for over 13 years.
Whitefish, Montana author Patti Hirst recently wrote and published her first children’s book, Rocky Mountain Snow Ghosts, inspired by snow-covered trees that blanket Big Mountain’s (now known at Whitefish Mountain) summit in the winter. The book also draws from Hirst’s years of teaching children across the globe, from the Philippines, Myanmar, and Beijing, to Memphis, New York and the last six years in Columbia Falls, Montana.
September 2008 - "Superorganisms in Einsteinian Space," a talk and slideshow by Douglas H. Chadwick, wildlife biologist and author of seven books on natural history. Doug's books include True Grizz, Growing Up Grizzly, Beasts the Color of Winter and The Fate of the Elephant, named by the New York Times Book Review as a Best Book of the Year. He has also written more than three hundred articles for magazines including National Geographic, Audubon and Sierra. Doug's definition of superorganisms is "colonies that act like a single creature through the remarkable communica-ion systems within the group" - like ants and termites. His pre-sentation helps us understand the resources and workings of a forest-canopied ecosystem by focusing on the little creatures and how much they support the life of an ecosystem.
November 2008 - Presentation by Michelle Taffoya and Sumio Harada. Michelle, Clean Air and Climate Control Coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association, Glacier Field Office, gave an update on what's going on locally relating to climate change. Sumio, renowned wildlife photographer known for his study and photography of Glacier's mountain goats, added his observations about how climate change effects the mountain goat population in the Park.
December 2008 - Carol Guthrie signed books and talked about her latest, Glacier
National Park - The First 100 Years. Carol Is a
free lance writer living in the Ninemile Valley west of Missoula.
This book is a licensed product of the Glacier National Park
Centennial, and is published in partnership with the Natural History
Association. Carol has written 4 other books about Glacier National
Park.
Saturday, March 7 - Jack Potter, Chief of Science, Glacier National Park, discussed science-related projects and activities related to Glacier's Centennial in 2010. Jack has spent 39 years with the National Park Service - all of them in Glacier. He started in 1970 as a seasonal member of the trail crew. In 2007 he was honored with the Superior Service Award of the National Park Service. See press release for further information.
Saturday, March 21. - Kassandra Hardy, Centennial Coordinator, Glacier National Park, discussed various plans, programs and events underway for Glacier Park's centennial in 2010. Prior to becoming Glacier’s Centennial Coordinator, Kass worked several seasons as a Park Naturalist in both West Glacier and St. Mary. She has worked as an Environmental Planner for the NPS in Washington, DC and spent time in Yosemite National Park as a planner for the Tuolumne River Plan and for the Operational Fire Management Plan. She has also worked as a Backcountry Ranger in Canyonlands National Park.
Saturday, April 4, 4 - 6 p.m.- Chris Peterson - "Confessions of a Citizen Scientist." Editor of Glacier Park Magazine, Chris presents his photo show and takes a light-hearted look at his own experiences as an amateur biologist in Glacier. Chris has been photographing Glacier's flora and fauna for the past 11 years. In addition to Glacier Park Magazine and the Hungry Horse News, his photos have appeared in the New York Times, National Geographic's Crown of the Continent Map and an international ad campaign to promote Montana. He also authored the book, Boy Wonder & the Big Burns.
Saturday, April 11, 4 - 6 p.m. - Dan Fagre, Research Ecologist and the Climate Change Research Coordinator for the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey. He is stationed at Glacier National Park and is a faculty affiliate at the University of Montana, Montana State University and several other universities. He has authored two books, one on national parks and protected areas and the other on mountain ecosystems. His presentation will be a slide show that compares and contrasts climate change impacts and glacial recessions in the mountainous ecosystems of the Himalayans in Nepal to the Northern Rocky Mountains in Glacier National Park
Saturday, April 25, 4 p.m.- Jamie Belt, Citizen Science Project, Glacier National Park. Research projects for summer 2009
Saturday, May 30 - Sumio Harada - "Many Glacier in the Snow Season," photography and new DVD release, "The Breaths of Glacier"
Saturday, June 20
- Steve Thompson, Senior
Program Manager for National Parks Conservation Association. "Glacier
Park - Jewel in the Crown of the Continent"
a licensed product of the Glacier National Park Centennial, and 4 other books about Glacier National Park.
Saturday, November 29 - Holiday Open House Centennial Kick Off - Book signing with Sumio Harada, wildlife photographer and author of Mountain Goats of Glacier National Park, and DVD The Breaths of Glacier. Presentation and book signing with Carole Guthrie, author of Glacier National Park, The First 100 Years. Introduction of newest book related to Glacier's Centennial, A View Inside Glacier National Park: 100 Years, 100 Stories.
2010 Speaker Program Schedule
Participating in Glacier National Park's Centennial Interpretive Programs in the Summer of 2010, the Montana House will offer our "Look, Listen & Learn" Speaker Programs the last Saturday of each month.
Saturday, April 24, 2 pm - Will Hammerquist, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Will's topic is Glacier National Park: How Do We Protect a National Treasure for the Next 100 Years?
Saturday, April 24, 11 am - 1 pm - Book signing with Michal Ober, author of Glacier Album: Historic Photographs of Glacier National Park.
Saturday, May 29, 11 am & 2 pm - "Look, Listen & Laugh" with Sumio Harada, world known wildlife photographer and author of Mountain Goats of Glacier National Park, and DVD The Breaths of Glacier. Sumio's topic is "100 Favorite Things in Glacier National Park."
Sunday, June 20, 2 - 4 pm - Book signing & talk with Belly River Ranger, Dave Shea, author of Chief Mountain, Home of the Thunderbird.
Saturday, June 26, 2 - 5 pm -
Montana House 50th Anniversary Open
House. Owner,
Monica Jungster, will host our celebration.
Participating artists include: Jim Jensen, wood
carver; Elaine Snyder, buckskin clothier;
Jim Jokerst, wildlife artist; Sumio Harada,
photographer; Kelly Apgar, oil painter; &
Greg Morley, handcrafted canoes. Musical group Nuevo Columbia.
Saturday, June 26, 7 pm - Chris Peterson, Editor
of Glacier
Park Magazine,
and
author of Boy Wonder and the Big Burns.
Chris will show photos of his Centennial project, "100
Straight Days in Glacier Park."
Saturday, July 31, 8 pm - Dave Hadden,
Director of Headwaters Montana, a
conservation organization that works to
protect water, wildlife and wild lands in the Crown of the Continent.
Dave's topic is "Completing the World's First International
Peace Park," discussing the future and goals of preservation for the North
Fork area that borders Glacier National Park.
Saturday, August 28 - Carol Guthrie, author of Glacier National Park, The First 100 Years, and four other books about Glacier Park. Carol will give a perspective of Glacier's past, present and her thoughts of the Park's future.
Saturday, September 25 - Doug Chadwick, Glacier area wildlife
biologist and natural history writer.
He is the author of numerous
articles over many years time for National Geographic
Magazine. He has also authored 10 books
including
A Beast
the Color of Winter, The Fate
of the Elephant and True Grizz.
Doug will present his new book The Wolverine Way,
based on his volunteer
participation in Glacier
Park's wolverine project.
Saturday, October 30 - Dan Fagre, who is Research Ecologist and the Climate Change Research Coordinator for the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, and is stationed at Glacier National Park. Dan will discuss the results of his summer field work studies of Glacier Park's glaciers, avalanches, and alpine vegetation.
2011 Speaker Program Schedule
Saturday, March 19 - "If You Hike Far Enough, You're Bound to See Something" - a photo presentation and commentary with Chris Peterson. Peterson is an award-winning photographer with the Hungry Horse News and is the editor of Glacier Park Magazine. He has been photographing Glacier's flora, fauna and landscapes for the past 13 years. He is also the author of Boy Wonder and the Big Burns.
Saturday, April 23 - " Botanical Expeditions in Glacier National Park, 1901 and 1910" - a lecture by former Glacier Park botanist, Rachel Potter. She will discuss Marcus Jones and Morton Elrod, founders of Flathead Lake Biological Station, and their early journeys through the Park. Rachel came to Glacier in 1976, has a degree in botany, and is one of the founding membersworld known wildlife photographer and author of Mountain Goats of Glacier National Park, and DVD The Breaths of Glacier. of the Montana Native Plant Society.
Saturday, Ma
y
28 - "Focus on Mountain Lions" - a
presentation by Sumio Harada, world known wildlife photographer and author of
Mountain Goats of Glacier National Park, and
DVD The Breaths
of Glacier. Sumio will share over 100 mountain lion
images he took during an extended stay in the Many Glacier area this
past winter.
Saturday, September 24 - "Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades and Biodiversity" a presentation by Cristina Eisenberg, regarding the relationship of wolves, elk and aspen and how this relationship affects whole ecosystems, a topic she writes about in her book, The Wolf's Tooth.
Saturday,
October 29 - "Changes in the Alpine of
Glacier National Park: A Focus on Snow & Vegetation"
with Dan Fagre,
Research
Ecologist and Director of the Climate Change in Mountain Ecosystems
Project for the US Geological Survey