Glacier National Park's Vanishing Namesake

TO PROMOTE AND CULTIVATE THE APPRECIATION, UNDERSTANDING AND STEWARDSHIP OF NATURE THROUGH EDUCATION

Fall 2007

NaturalistMONTANA

see Get Outside Guide, page 9

Follow Your Own Path

Special Issue:

Montana’sChangingClimateGlacier(less) Park

Altered State

2MONTANA NATURALIST FALL 2007

inside

NaturalistMONTANA

Fall 2007

Features

4 Glacier’s Vanishing NamesakePhotographs help interpret climate change

7 Altered StateScientists chart impacts of rising temperatures on our landscape

Departments

3 Tidings

9 Get Outside GuideBe a phenologist, online climate-change resources, book review, calendar of events

13 Community FocusA conservationist’s viewpoint

14 Far AfieldChanging faces

16 ImprintsVolunteer spotlight, donor thanks, save the date!

18 Magpie Market

19 Reflections

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Cover photo – Westslope Cutthroat, North Fork Blackfoot River, Montana,taken by Pat Clayton (www.fisheyeguyphotography.com).

Correction – Due to an editing error, the osprey photo on page 4 of theSpring/Summer 2007 issue was attributed incorrectly. The photo was taken byColorado photographer John Armitage.

No material appearing in Montana Naturalist may be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the publisher. All contents © 2007 The Montana Natural History Center.

Special Pull-Out Section

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3FALL 2007 MONTANA NATURALIST

With this issue of Montana Naturalist webroach the subject of climate change asit may affect or be affecting familiarMontana landscapes and ecology.

During this summer of heat and smoke, it’s been alltoo easy to feel that a substantially different-lookingfuture is a foregone conclusion. As articles in this issue point out, there is a lot of circumstantial andsome hard evidence to support the idea of a permanently changed climate in Montana, and they suggestareas of our natural history that may be especially sensitive to change. However, we consider this issuejust a beginning. We will continue to look for stories that illustrate what climate change might mean forus as research and observation add to our understanding of how less snow, earlier springs and longer,hotter summers impact plant and animal communities. We invite you to learn along with us about thevarious individuals, organizations and initiatives in the state involved in tracking change and helpingconserve habitat to buffer its effects. In this issue see especially the online resources listed in the GetOutside Guide and Project BudBurst, a citizen-science project that can help quantify the effects ofwarming temperatures on seasonal phenomena. We hope this issue gives you something to think aboutand prompts you to renew or deepen your acquaintance with the incredibly rich and seasonally changingnatural history of Montana. Fall is beautiful!

Executive Director

Arnie Olsen

Youth Programs Coordinator

Lisa (Moore) Bickell

Community

Programs Coordinator

Jessie Sherburne

Field Notes Coordinator &

Montana Naturalist Editor

Caroline Kurtz

Receptionist

Jenny Gray

Board of Directors

Hank Fischer, PresidentEllen Knight, Vice PresidentAlan Okagaki, TreasurerMarcia Hogan, Secretary

April ChristoffersonMarilyn MarlerIan MarquandBetty OlesonRick OnckenMegan Parker

Susan RoyGlenna TawneySteve Woodruff

Montana Naturalist Art Director

Eileen Chontos

tidings

120 Hickory StreetMissoula, MT 59801

(406) [email protected]

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Caroline KurtzEditor

Cow elk

Letters

Student letter from Mrs. Lind’s and Mrs. Selvig’s4th grade class, Franklinschool, Missoula.


The icy burnish of glaciers draped across jagged peaks drewintrepid photographers to northwestern Montana at the dawnof the 20th century. Their stunning images played a pivotalrole in convincing Congress in 1910 to designate Glacier as

the 10th national park. Today, those same black-and-white archivedprints, paired with modern photographs taken at the exact samelocations, are bringing global climate change into sharp focus.

Rapid climate change affects every national park, but Glacierstands out for two reasons. The first is the vanishing of its namesake.The second is the convergence of science and interpretation in theRepeat Photography Project—the brainchild of ecologist Dan Fagre,the global change coordinator for the Northern Rocky MountainScience Center of the U.S. Geological Survey.

For 7,000 continuous years, today’s glaciers have shaped the land,water and wildlife of the park. Of the 150 glaciers photographers sawa century ago, only 26 remain and most are shards of their former

By Deborah Richie Oberbillig

[Adapted from an article thatoriginally appeared in Legacymagazine (May/June 2007),published by the NationalAssociation for Interpretation(www.interpnet.com.) – Ed.]

Glacier National Park’s Vanishing Namesake:

A Picture’s Worth

1911, (USGS)

LEFT: Shepard Glacier fromPyramid Peak, Glacier NationalPark.

1913, W. C. Alden (USGS) 2005, Blase Reardon (USGS)

RIGHT: Piegan Glacier appearsunchanged in this pair, but themeadow in foreground hasundergone significant vegeta-tion change. Although theGlacier has not melted notice-ably, years of fire suppressionand changing climate may haveallowed the invasion of conifersin what was an open meadow in


grandeur. Less than a third of the glacier-covered landscape is left. Inthe past century, temperatures here have risen by 1.6 degreesCelsius—three times the global mean increase. Scientists predict thatby the year 2030, Glacier will be glacier-less.

“Losing the glaciers is the equivalent of shutting down the geysersin Yellowstone National Park,” says Fagre, who is stationed in WestGlacier.

Fagre started the Repeat Photography Project in 1997 in theinterest of science. He and his staff searched through a historicarchive of some 12,000 photographs to unearth images of glacierstaken by Morton Elrod, T.J. Hileman, Ted Marble, F.E. Matthes,and several others, dating to the early 1900s. The next summer,researchers hiked with copies of photos in hand to the precise spotwhere the photographer had stood to record a glacier. Sometimes,they bushwhacked for miles through grizzly country, guided by GPSdevices. Then, the modern photographer stepped into the ghostlytracks of a century ago and clicked a digital shot.

A Thousand Words

Grinnell Glacier taken fromthe Grinnell Glacier trail,Glacier National Park.

This pair of photographsdepicts significant change inthe size of Grinnell Glacier,whereas Gem Glacier, in theupper left of both photo-graphs, does not appear tohave changed much. GemGlacier is Glacier NationalPark’s smallest glacier andGrinnell Glacier is the park’smost visited glacier.

1998, Lisa McKeon (USGS)

Since 1997, more than 60 photographs taken of 17 differentglaciers are adding to the science and the interpretive story. Thirteen ofthese 17 glaciers show an alarming retreat. The few that don’t, likePiegan Glacier, are protected from melting by facing north-northeastalong the Continental Divide, where wind deposits winter snows. Evenat Piegan, ecologists can see the effects of a warming climate byinspecting changes in vegetation around the glacier.

Glaciers and snowfields store water and release it slowly torecharge the streams and rivers over the summer. Fagre says the snow-pack in the park now melts two to three weeks earlier than in the past.That sounds at first like good news for early access to the famedGoing-to-the-Sun Road over Logan Pass. But the flip side is the parkdries out sooner, which in turn leads to more wildfires than normal.High-elevation forests of spruce and subalpine fir that ought to be toowet to burn now become tinder dry by late summer. Streams dwindleor even dry up by late summer without late-season flows, harmingfisheries, and shutting down angling seasons.

1930, George Ruhle (Glacier National Park Archives) 1998, Lisa McKeon (USGS)

the foreground of the 1930photo. Also, the demise of theecologically important white-bark pine is visually under-scored in this pair of photos.Notice how the rounded profileof the tallest trees (whitebarkpine) in back of the meadowhave been replaced by thespikey- topped sub-alpine fir inthe 1998 photo. Dramaticdeclines of whitebark pine arecaused primarily by white pineblister rust and fire exclusion.


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The loss of glaciers signals the end, too, of wildflower meadows, the Weeping Wall, and for mountaingoats and pikas that depend on alpine living. High-altitude meadows only exist because heavy snow and ashort growing season prevent tree seedlings from surviving. Warmer temperatures allow trees to thrive athigher elevations and choke out the meadows. More trees also suck up groundwater, which leaves even lessfor waterfalls and trout streams.

Snow that falls later and melts earlier throws off the built-in timing for animals that change color toblend in with their surroundings. A white snowshoe hare or ptarmigan against bare rock make easy pickingsfor predators. The rate of change far exceeds the ability of animals to adapt.

Lynne Dixon, a veteran park interpreter, gives boat tours and leads hikes regularly to Grinnell Glacier, theeasiest to reach. Even without the photos in hand, she says that here, it’s obvious that the glaciers are melting.

“In one summer, you can see the melt lines and hear the crash of big ice chunks hitting the lake. Theoverlook is now far from the glacier itself.”

The day I talk with her she’s working at the desk at Logan Pass inlate September. I ask her if global climate change is affecting the visitorexperience. Yes, she tells me, because it’s all happening so fast. The treelines are ascending, the alpine meadows are dwindling, the glacierscalving, and early spring runoff from melting snow increasing.

We turn, then, to the more immediate subject at hand—my sightingof a wolverine along the popular trail to the Hidden Lake overlook.

My mother and I were sauntering back from the one-mile trek,basking under a brilliant sun, indigo sky, and air as tangy crisp as aMacintosh apple. The wolverine burst from a clump of stunted subalpinefir, galloped across the trail and clambered bow-legged up the glacial

gravels to a plateau 20 feet above us. Unbelievably, it turned back toward us, raced down the slope topounce fox-like upon an unwary rodent, and ran back up the rocks. Gone.

Only later did I find out that wolverines, too, may disappear from the park if the warming continues.They dig burrows deep into snow to create dens, where mothers give birth and raise their young. As wintersshorten and snow lessens, the places to den shrink as well.

I’m not sure I’d have wanted to hear that sad piece of news on a day of revelation. And, indeed, that’s anotherchallenge to telling the global warming story to vacationers who want to simply enjoy the park’s wonders.

Matt Graves, West Lakes District interpreter for the park, and I discussed this challenge of addressing climatechange to people from wide-ranging backgrounds, without preachiness or as a doom and gloom scenario.

“Climate change is the issue of our age,” Graves says. “If we only have 10 to 15 years to do something,there is a sense of urgency. People need to be aware that there are threats to their national heritage.”

1981, Carl Key (USGS) 2006, Karen Holzer (USGS)

“Losing the glaciers is the equivalent of shutting downthe geysers in Yellowstone National Park”

For a full report onclimate change andnational parks, go toNational ParksConservationAssociation,www.npca.org.

Weeping wall

Wolverine

1932, George Grant (GNP Archives) 1988, Jerry DeSanto (USGS)


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o one can say how, exactly, the effects of climate change are going to play out on the Montanalandscape in the coming decades, but changes, indeed, are happening. The familiar places oftoday – from the peaks of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks to the prairies of Big SkyCountry and all the variety of habitats in between – may look substantially different in another

50 years. The blink of an eye on nature’s timescale.A few trends are clear: around the state conditions may get a bit drier or wetter, but they will

definitely get warmer. According to Steven Running, climate scientist and University of Montana professor,we are starting to see vivid evidence locally of an accelerated global warming trend that started about 30years ago. As a result, the Pacific Northwest in general and Montana in particular are experiencing shorter,milder winters with less snowfall, earlier springs, and longer, hotter summers.

Running, who is being asked to give public talks about climate trends in Montana more and moreoften, says that temperature records show a one to two degree Fahrenheit increase statewide in averagetemperatures since 1970. Fifty years ago, peak snowpack was about April 1; now it’s about March 1,with April snowpacks about 30 to 50 percent lower than they used to be. Streamflow also reflects this:peak runoff is happening about three weeks earlier than 50 years ago.

The reason, he says, is due to the spike in March temperatures. While regionally temperaturesaverage one or two degrees higher than 50 years ago, mean March temperatures in Montana haveincreased at least five degrees.

“When earth’s surface is bright, the sun’s energy is reflected. Dark surfaces absorb heat energy,causing temperatures to rise more quickly in the early spring than the rest of the year,” he explains. Somelting snow creates a darker surface, which heats faster, which causes more melting.

In another 50 or 60 years, models predict no appreciable snow in Missoula at all; just rain. Andeven if rainfall increases somewhat in parts of the state, Running estimates we would need another twoto three inches of rainfall to balance increased evaporation due to a hotter, longer summer season.

What will happen to ecosystems when water is no longer stored for long periods in the form of snow?Snowpack affects major areas of Montana’s economy: agriculture and recreation, hydroelectric power

That’s where the historicand modern comparativephotographs come in. There’snothing preachy or debatableabout the clear depiction ofaccelerating melting. Thephotographs become a launchingpoint to help people connect adisappearing glacier to the lossof wildflower meadows, to lesswater and more fires, and finally,to people’s own homes andlifestyles.

It’s easy to get depressed.But when I think about GlacierNational Park and that autumnday of the wolverine, it’s likedipping into the refreshingspray of the Weeping Wall. I’menergized. There’s somethingabout the uplifting beauty ofthis park, this “Backbone of theWorld” long revered by theBlackfeet people, that gives methe backbone I need to do myown little part. Perhaps, likethe photographers who trekkedup hills with their cameraburdens, we may not know yetjust what action might becomethe powerful one a hundredyears from now.

Deborah Richie Oberbillig makesher living as an interpretivewriter and wildlife viewingconsultant in Missoula,Montana. For more, please seewww.deborahrichie.com.

LEFT: Ice cave on BoulderGlacier, Glacier National Park.This pairing of photos from theflank of Boulder Glacier revealsa dramatic change in the 56years between the photos.Pack trips to Boulder Glacierused to include exploration of the glacier’s ice cave. The cave has long sincedisappeared as the glacierreceded beyond this point.

Altered StateScientists chart impacts of rising temperaturesBy Caroline Kurtz

Aerial photo of 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park


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generation, forest and range health, aquaticecosystems and wildlife in general. Runningpredicts that instead of low flows all winter,with a strong peak of spring runoff, we willbegin to see progressively more wintertimestreamflow, with earlier and not as strongrunoff, and less flow through late spring andsummer.

“Fire and water, that’s the Montanastory of climate change,” says Bruce Farling,director of Montana Trout Unlimited. As faras water goes, he says, trout and salmonsurvival becomes iffy once river temperaturesreach the upper 70s. Some models indicatehabitat for Montana’s coldwater fish – trout,grayling and whitefish – could decline by 5-30 percent by 2090, but that’s if you onlyaccount for higher water temperatures.Losses likely will be greater when largerecosystem changes are factored in. Farlingcites a recent report by fishery scientists inthe Northwest region that suggests climatewarming could shrink habitat for bull troutby 90 percent by the end of the century. Inthe short term, increasingly higher stream

temperatures mean earlier and more fishingclosures, as we have seen this year.

The connection between higher temper-atures and more and larger wildfires is evenstronger. There is a clear correspondencebetween years of early snow melt and big fireyears throughout the west, says Running.“Our fire season now is about 70 days longerthan it used to be. Fires are burning aboutnine months out of the year, country-wide.”

The biggest change in Montana is theincrease in forest fires above 6,000 feet.These high-elevation forests of spruce and firused to be protected by late-season snow-pack, but they are becoming increasinglyvulnerable.

Steven Running is a terrestrial climateecologist, who has studied global warmingfor nearly 30 years and published morethan 240 peer-reviewed scientific articles.As lead author of the North Americanchapter in the most recent report of theIntergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange, he is an authority on currentlevels of scientific consensus, as well asuncertainties, that surround globalwarming and its effects.

Some other potential impacts of a warming climate could include: longer agriculturalgrowing seasons and increased grassland productivity, offset by more invasive weeds,bug infestations and other disease increase. While it may cost less to heat homes in thewinter, cold snaps serve an important ecosystem function by killing off organisms thatcarry diseases that can affect animals, including humans, and by killing the insectsand other pests that, without environmental checks, can decimate plant communities.

What concerns Running are the policiesand planning that assume a stable climate.

“I have no reason to believe that thetrends we’ve been seeing will slow down,” hesays. “We’ll be lucky if they stay flat, but Iexpect to see even faster change if nothing isdone [to change the course of atmosphericgreenhouse gas levels].

It’s one thing to chart the course ofclimate change, another to know what actionto take. To paraphrase Mark Twain, asMissoula Mayor John Engen did at a Junepublic meeting on climate change conse-quences: Everybody talks about the weatherbut nobody does anything about it.

Yet, said, Engen, a change in attitude canbe powerful. Missoulians used to regard theClark Fork River as a handy dump. “Now wesee it as a valuable natural resource.”

To learn more about Montana Climate Changeinitiatives, go to:www.mtclimatechange.uswww.climatestrategies.us

On a cool-ish July morning, ProfessorPaul Alaback grabs notebook andpencil, dons a brimmed hat andhits the trail for perhaps the 1,000

time – literally.His route, which he has traveled two or

three times a week for the past 10 years,takes him up the western facing slope ofMount Sentinel through dense shrubbythickets, past rocky outcrops, across opengrassland to a lush pocket of forest andback. It spans about two miles and 1,500feet in elevation. Some 210 different plant

species have been documented within threefeet of the trail on either side.

Alaback’s routine is an exercise in, well,exercise, but it’s also a chance to find outwhat can be learned from long-term,repeated observation. Every time he makesthe trip, he jots down the changes he seesin familiar plant faces – when, where andfor what species the first leaves appear, firstbuds emerge, first flowers, first fruit, firstcolor change and more. It seems part game,part serious work.

“It’s funny,” Alaback says, “but we livein this community and go jogging or what-ever and yet we don’t know much aboutwhat’s really going on right around us.”


get outside guide

Along the TrailNoting changes with Paul Alaback

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Keeping TrackJoin Project BudBurst

If you’re interested in starting your own phenology journal or contributing tothe growing worldwide citizen-science effort to provide consistent, ongoing

observations about natural events for scientists to use in models of climatechange, you can start with Project BudBurst.

This online initiative is a collaboration of several sponsors, including TheUniversity of Montana.

Spring 2007 observations have been analyzed and the results posted atwww.budburst.org. You can join the 2008 effort, either as an individual orpart of a class, by helping collect important information on the timing ofleafing and flowering of native trees and flowers in your area.Fi

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A professor of forest ecology withmany research interests, Alaback is, atheart, a naturalist with a deep apprecia-tion for phenology, or the study ofobservable events in the natural world.Phenologists study the cyclic changesthat perhaps we are all so familiar withwe don’t always pay attention to. Butbeside the inherent value of tracking suchevents – something that farmers andgardeners have done throughout history –there is an even more pressing reason:understanding climate change.

Phenological events – like the locationand timing of first flower, when the firstmigratory species arrive or leave an area, firstsnowfall or first ice out – when compiledover time can show how climate haschanged, predict future trends and suggestwhat these changes might mean for plants,animals and people.

On this day, Alaback notes that manyplants he sees are as much as four or fiveweeks ahead of their normal schedule.Plants like white aster and wild tarragon,which he would expect to see blooming in

late August or September, are floweringnow, in July. And all kinds of berries areripe as well, at least three or four weeksearly.

This departure from establishedpatterns has an impact on migrating birdsand other animal behavior, Alaback says.“Many naturalists and scientists worryabout this breakdown of synchrony – ortiming – in the natural world as a result ofrapid climate change,” he says. “Birds thatbegin to migrate through in late Augustmay miss their traditional food sources.”

By keeping faithful records of plantphenology on Mount Sentinel, Alaback isproviding a baseline of information formonitoring the continuing effects ofclimate change in our region.

“Plants and animals move around indifferent ways [in response to changes intheir environment],” he says. “Some willbe able to cope with a rapidly changingclimate and some won’t.” – C.K.

Special P

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ection:pull out and post these pages for handy reference.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Programs and events held at MNHC’s new home - 120 Hickory Street - unless otherwise noted.10

September 8 Saturday Kids’ Activity. Bears andBerries, 2:00 p.m. Hour-long program withstories, craft project and other learningexperiences.

September 15 Visiting Naturalist in theSchools Field Trip Training,10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Join us to learn aboutlocal plants, birds and other wildlife as weprepare for our fall school field trips.Volunteers participating in the training areasked to help teach field trips in October.Registration required.

September 22 Saturday Discovery Day.Extreme Trees: The Whitebark Pine of MorrellPeak, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Field trip withforest ecologist Steve Arno. Meet at MNHCand carpool to picnic spot near site, walkabout a mile to trees. Wear sturdy walkingshoes and bring warm clothes/windbreaker, bag lunch and water. Call 327-0405to register; $15/$10 MNHC members.

September 26 Volunteer Open House,6:00-7:00 p.m. MNHC welcomes prospectivevolunteers for light refreshments and tolearn about unique opportunities to shareyour time and energy – and gain new skills– with our Visiting Naturalist Program, orwith general activities at the nature center.No specialized background required.

September 26 Special Evening Presentation.Whitebark Pine: Keystone Species under Threat,Diana Tomback, 7:00 p.m. University ofColorado/Denver Professor speaks aboutthe whitebark pine ecosystem, threats thatface it and possible restoration strategies.

September 29 Saturday Kids’ Activity. WingedWonders, 2:00 p.m. Learn about birdmigration, do an art project and more.

September 29 Prairie Keepers National PublicLands Day, 1:00 p.m. Show your apprecia-tion for our public areas by helping restorethe fragile native prairies along the M trail.Pull knapweed, scatter seeds and cover uperoding trails. Bring work gloves and water.Meet at the M trailhead.

October, date TBA Special EveningPresentation. Osprey, Erick Greene, 7:00 p.m.

October 6 Saturday Discovery Day. The Elk ofGrant Creek, 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Local elkenthusiast Bert Lindler leads a bus tour,with some hiking, to learn about Missoula’surban elk herds, weed management and elkecology. Call 327-0405 to register.

October 13 Saturday Kids’ Activity.Garbage Art, 2:00 p.m. Fun things to do withrecyclables.

October 17 Special Evening Presentation. TheElusive Wolverine, Jeff Copeland, 7:00 p.m.

October 19 Montana Educators Associationconference, Belgrade, MT.

MNHC Hours: Tuesday-Friday, noon - 5 p.m. and Saturday noon - 4 p.m. Admission Fees: $2/adults, $1/children 4-12,

free/children 3 and under and MNHC members.

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sSaturdayDiscovery Day.The Elk of GrantCreek, 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

With You We

Grow.

MNHC 11th Annual

Dinner and Auction,

6:00 p.m., MissoulaHarley-Davidson.

Saturday Kids’

Activity. All about

Bats,

2:00 p.m.

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Grizzliesmay start tohibernate

BigDipperlies low on the

horizon

Weaselsgrow whitewinter coats

Red squirrels

cache seeds

Pronghornbreed

Waxwingschange dietfrom insectsto berries

Saturday Kids’

Activity.

Garbage Art,

2:00 p.m.

Montana

Educators

Association

conference,

Belgrade, MT.

Volunteer Open

House, 6:00-7:00 p.m.Special Evening

Presentation.

Whitebark Pine: KeystoneSpecies under Threat,7:00 p.m.

Prairie

Keepers

National Public

Lands Day, 1:00 p.m.

Saturday Kids’

Activity. WingedWonders,2:00 p.m.

Saturday

Discovery Day.

Extreme Trees: TheWhitebark Pine ofMorrell Peak,9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Saturday Kids’

Activity. Bears andBerries, 2:00 p.m.

Visiting Naturalist

in the Schools

Field Trip

Training,

10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Special Evening

Presentation.

The Elusive Wolverine,

7:00 p.m.

Visit www.MontanaNaturalist.org for directions. To register or to learn more, call MNHC at 327-0405.

get outside calendar

Summer Science Day Camps

Saturday Discovery Days

Prairie Keepers

Volunteer Opportunity

Look for these program symbols inMontana Naturalist and on our web-site at www.MontanaNaturalist.org.

October 20 Saturday Kids’ Activity. All aboutBats, 2:00 p.m. Hour-long educationalprogram with stories, crafts and more.

October 27 With You We Grow. MNHC 11thAnnual Dinner and Auction, 6:00 p.m., MissoulaHarley-Davidson. Tickets are $45 per personfor MNHC members/$50 per person for non-members. Call 327-0405 for reservations.

November 1 Visiting Naturalist in the SchoolsVolunteer Training: The Reason for theSeasons, 4:00-5:00 p.m. Work with ourVisiting Naturalist in the Schools 4th and 5thgrade program. Training will prepare you forNovember class visits and provide anopportunity to learn more about seasonalchange and weather.

November 3 Saturday Kids’ Activity. RadReptiles, 2:00 p.m. Find out about our scalyfriends.

November 10 Saturday Discovery Day.Introduction to Amateur Wildlife Photography.Registration required. Call 327-0405 fordetails.

November 14 Special Evening Presentation.Alaskan Brown Bears of the McNeil River WildlifeSanctuary, Larry Aumiller, 7:00 p.m. TheMcNeil Sanctuary hosts the world’s largestseasonal concentration of brown bears. Joinour speaker as he recounts stories from 34years spent with Alaska Fish and Gamestudying bears at McNeil River.

November 17 Saturday Kids’ Activity. TerrificTurkeys, 2:00 p.m. Hour-long educationalprogram with stories, crafts and more.

December 1 Saturday Kids’ Activity. Animals inWinter, 2:00 p.m. Learn how animals surviveand thrive in winter.

December 3 Visiting Naturalist in the SchoolsVolunteer Training: Weather, 4:00-5:00 p.m.Work with our Visiting Naturalist in theSchools 4th and 5th grade program. Trainingwill prepare you for December class visitsand give you everything you need to know toteach about weather.

December 5 Special Evening Presentation.Sage Grouse, Dave Naugle, 7:00 p.m.

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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Visiting Naturalist in

the Schools Volunteer

Training: The Reason for the Seasons,4:00-5:00 p.m.

Visiting

Naturalist in

the Schools Volunteer

Training: Weather4:00-5:00 p.m.

Saturday Kids’

Activity.

Terrific Turkeys,2:00 p.m

Special Evening

Presentation.

Sage Grouse, DaveNaugle, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday Kids’

Activity.

Animals in Winter,2:00 p.m.

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December

Special Evening

Presentation.

Alaskan Brown Bearsof the McNeil RiverWildlife Sanctuary,7:00 p.m.

Saturday

Discovery Day.

Introduction toAmateur WildlifePhotography.

Saturday Kids’

Activity. RadReptiles, 2:00 p.m.

Whitetaildeer in rut

Otters leavesled markson snowy

river banks

Spruce treesshelter owls,

snowshoehares, grouse

Snowshoehares

changefrom brown

to white

Closed for

Holiday


get outside guide

Phenology Resources National Phenology Networkwww.uwm.edu/Dept/Geography/npn/Journey Northwww.learner.org/jnorth

Climate Change ResourcesFor KidsNational Wildlife Federation ClimateClassroomwww.climateclassroom.orgEcoHealth www.ecohealth101.orgClimate Change: Kids’ Sitewww.epa.gov/climatechange/kidsUniversity Corporation forAtmospheric Research/Office ofEducation and Outreachwww.eo.ucar.edu/kids

For ParentsRealClimate www.realclimate.orgNational Wildlife Federationwww.nwf.org/globalwarming

For TeachersRealClimate www.realclimate.orgEducational Resourceswww.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/educationEarthguidehttp://earthguide.ucsd.eduGlobal Change Master Directoryhttp://globalchange.nasa.gov/resourcesGlobal Change and EnvironmentalEducation Resources www.gcrio.orgGreen Schools Programwww.ase.org

Special P

ull-Out S

ection:pull out and post these pages for handy reference.

Who needs fire? The Charcoal Forest has answers

Reading The CharcoalForest: How Fire HelpsAnimals and Plants, by

Beth Peluso, is almost asmuch fun as being outdoors,discovering for yourself thevibrancy of life in a recentburn. In this book about theplants and animals that live

and thrive in recent burns,Peluso captures the strangebeauty and complex networksformed by the living thingsthat follow fire.

Written for ages 8 andup (including adults), Peluso’sbook walks us through theforests of the northern RockyMountains in the first hours,months and years after fire,examining one living thing ata time and exploring eachone’s relationship with fire.Who uses infrared sensors tofind smoldering trees? Howdo liverworts spread acrossash-covered soil? How canmillions of aspen sproutscome up the year after a fire?Peluso answers these questionsin 20 small natural-historystories, illustrating each witha full-page watercolor andsmaller technical illustrations.With meticulous attention todetail in both text and art,she captures the many ways

in which plants and animalsrely on fire to provide fortheir needs. The black-backedwoodpecker provides thetheme connecting all of herstories. This bird rarely occursoutside burned areas, andPeluso shows how it sharesthe burned forest with everyother creature in the book.

It is tempting to over-simplify technical informationwhen presenting it to ayoung audience. Peluso doesnot do so; instead, she high-lights and celebrates detailssuch as the undergroundstructure of the black moreland the tough seed coat ofthe snowbrush. She evenaddresses variation in fireitself, comparing the differentways in which low- and high-severity fires affect plants andanimals. Because of this levelof detail, The Charcoal Forestis not only a beautiful naturalhistory book but also a goodintroduction to the science offire ecology. The CharcoalForest is a joy to read andlook at as well as an excellentwelcome to the fascinatingworld of forests after fire.

— Jane Kapler Smith

The Charcoal Forest: How Fire Helps Animals and Plants (Mountain PressPublishing, Missoula, MT, 2007).

Jane Kapler Smith is an ecolo-gist with the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture Forest Service,Rocky Mountain ResearchStation, Fire SciencesLaboratory in Missoula.

Book Review

DominoesWhy is phenology so important now?

Because plants are at the base of food chains, anything thataffects them sends ripples through the rest of an ecosystem.Many animals rely on leaves, buds, flowers and fruit for

food. If the timing of these changes greatly, fewer seeds andinsects may be available, which impacts animals that depend onthem for food.

For example, some mice eat both insects and seeds. If plantsbloom early, they may be finished flowering by the time theirpollinators (insects like bees or butterflies) are mature enough todo their job. This reduces two of the mouse’s food sources: ifflowers aren’t pollinated, there are no seeds; if the insects don’thave their flower food source, there are no insects. With lessfood, fewer mice survive, so predators like snakes and hawks,which prey on mice, also go hungry.

Nature does not operate on a strict time table. Phenologicalevents can vary from year to year, and ecosystems can cope withvariations between years. But when these changes happenconsistently over many years, the timing of leafing, flowering,migration and insect emergence can impact how plants andanimals are able to thrive in their environments.


hunters, anglers, outfitters, guides, farmersand ranchers, land managers, countycommissioners, tribal leaders and othersthroughout Montana and the West, and Ihear similar reports and concerns from themabout changes on the landscape, and impactsto water, wildlife and our western way oflife. What I hear from fellow hunters andanglers is consistent with a recent surveycommissioned by the National WildlifeFederation, examining the attitude of huntersand anglers regarding global warming.Among the most salient findings from thatsurvey are that

• Hunters and anglers are witnessing the effects of global warming and believe immediate action is necessary to address it;

• Eighty-five percent believe we have a moral responsibility to confront global warming;

• Eighty percent believe our nation shouldbe a world leader in addressing this issue;

• Seventy-five percent agree that Congress should pass legislation that sets a clear national goal for reducing global warmingpollution with mandatory timelines.

This is not, nor should be, a partisanissue. I know Republicans, Democrats andIndependents who all share a concern aboutglobal warming, and a desire to see somethingdone about it. We need to band together, anddemand that Congress and other leaders takea closer look at the scientific evidence andconsensus, to listen to citizens who arewitnessing the impacts first hand, set asidepartisan politics and various industrial andcorporate pressures, and tackle this issuewith the sense of urgency required.

Even with immediate and substantialreductions in greenhouse gas emissions,climate trends will continue to affect fish,wildlife and wild places. Therefore, anylegislation regarding climate change shouldinclude funding specifically dedicated tohelp states protect, restore and re-connectfish and wildlife habitat so that species willstand a greater chance of being able to adaptto a rapidly changing environment.

Dave Stalling has worked for numerousconservation organizations, including TroutUnlimited and the National WildlifeFederation. You can contact him [email protected].

community focus

By Dave Stalling

Iam not a scientist or a wildlife biologist. However, like many Montanans, I am an avidhunter, fisherman, hiker and backpacker who deeply cherishes the wildlife and wild-lands surrounding my home. And, like most Montanans, I am growing increasinglyconcerned about record-breaking temperatures, unseasonably low, warm rivers and

alarmingly dry forests and hillsides. Two summers ago, I hiked from my front porch in Missoula to Waterton, Alberta.

During this eight-week, 800-mile backpack trip, mostly off trail, I only crossed three roads,traveling through the Rattlesnake, Mission Mountains, Bob Marshall, Great Bear andScapegoat Wilderness Areas, and Glacier National Park. This is some of the wildest, mostunique and precious country left in the United States, providing the last strongholds forrare, threatened and endangered species such as grizzlies, wolves, mountain lions, lynx,wolverines and pure strains of westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout.

But even here, in such remote, wild places, I witnessed evidence of what scientists andwildlife biologists have been warning us about for years. Snowpacks, so crucial in Montanafor supplying water to our rivers and streams, are rapidly declining. Diminished water flowsmakes for shallower, warmer streams with less oxygen, making it more difficult for coldwaterfish such as trout to survive [see related story on page 7].

On my journey, I also saw large tracts of forest impacted by increased occurrence ofmountain pine beetle, which scientists are linking to trees being less resistant to insects anddisease because of drier, more stressful conditions. I also walked through large expanses ofcharred forests burned in recent wildfires. Our western forests evolved with and are welladapted to fire. However, drier conditions and more trees dead from beetle infestations areresulting in more frequent, more damaging fires than historically and naturally haveoccurred, with serious implications for wildlife.

Toward the end of my adventure, while hiking through Glacier National Park, I wasstruck by the profound decline in the size of glaciers I have visited in past trips. Manyscientists are predicting glaciers in the park will be gone within 20 years [see related story onpage 4].

As a grassroots organizer for the National Wildlife Federation, I work with and speak to

AConservationist’s

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It’s possible that milder winters and warmer summers could bringabout some striking changes within the next 50 to 100 years inthe types of birds that are able to survive and thrive in Montana.Familiar faces such as the olive-sided flycatcher, winter wren, sage

thrasher, American redstart, red crossbill, pine siskin and eveninggrosbeak may be replaced by vermillion flycatchers, Bewick’s wrens,cactus wrens or painted buntings, according to a 2002 report fromthe American Bird Conservancy and the National WildlifeFederation. But, as Dan Casey of ABC says, predicting the potentialimpacts of a changing climate on bird communities is still veryspeculative at this point.

As the Northern Rockies Bird Conservation Region Coordinator,Casey has spent a lot of time and energy compiling data about pastand current population levels for species that breed or spend theyear here. He says that he tries to incorporate the most predictableaspects of climate change models as he helps scientists andconservationists set optimal population targets for different speciesand priorities for habitat conservation.

“In some cases, these [optimal population levels] could be veryunrealistic given the changes in habitat that have already occurred [asa result of human use and development], but where can we targetmeaningful conservation?”

Much depends on how adaptable birds are: can they moveupslope to cooler conditions, or are they tied to specific habitats?

The case of the black swiftAs primary author of the 2000 Montana Bird Conservation Plan,Casey looked at available habitat for a variety of species, whetherpopulations have been increasing, decreasing or stable, and howmuch of a birds’ entire population is found in Montana.

“With the black swift, and also with the white-tailed ptarmigan,there is a sense of urgency connected to climate change,” Casey says.Both these species inhabit higher elevations in wilderness areas. Yearsago, he says, “we thought the threat [of habitat loss] to swifts was lowbecause where they live was already protected. But they were poorly

far afield

Changing FacesGoodbye pine siskin, hello cactus wren?

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: pinesiskin; black swift; RunningEagle Falls, Glacier NationalPark; vermillion flycatcher.

OPPOSITE PAGE FROM TOP:

red crossbill, red-wingedblackbird, yellow-headedblackbird.

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monitored – it’s very difficult to find their nests– and so we really don’t have a good handleon their true population size and trends.”

Black swifts nest on cliffs behind water-falls, where it’s damp, cool and shady all day.They only have one chick at a time, whichhas the unusual behavior of going intotorpor – a state of lower body temperature,breathing, metabolism – during the daywhile the parents are away, and reviving inthe evening when parents return with food.The adults come and go only at certaintimes and are not easily observed.

Three summers ago, Casey and JeffMarks of Montana Audubon had a contract totry to find new black swift nests. He choseto focus on Glacier National Park, which ischock full of waterfalls to monitor. “We

found the first new nests identified inMontana in 40 years,” he says.

Glacier was predicted to be a good placeto look for black swifts since there are so manypotential nesting sites, but as waterfalls dry updue to less snowpack and receding glaciers,what might happen? Casey is working withthe Park Service to survey more potentialnesting sites, and he is joining with researchersin Colorado to track microclimates aroundnesting sites to see if effects of climate changecan be quantified more clearly.

The ptarmigan may warrant a similarapproach. As treelines move up in the parkand tundra becomes timbered, Casey says,these birds, which are closely tied to theopen flat ground for nesting sites, may besqueezed out.

“Clearly species that are generalists farebetter in the face of any change than thosethat are specialists,” says Casey. But it’s thespecialists that often have important ecologicalroles that could be lost with climate change.

Birds not only pollinate plants, disperseseeds and eat insects, many also are predatorsof insect pests, such as douglas-fir tussockmoths, western spruce budworm, ponderosapine budworms and mountain pine beetle,that cause major damage to Montana forests.If conditions become such that bird predatorsare squeezed out of this range, such pests willgo unchecked.

Familiar facesIt’s not just birds like black swifts and white-tailed ptarmigan that interest Casey. Themore mundane yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds also can be vulnerable towarmer temperatures, although the yellow-head, because of it’s more restrictive nestinghabits, is predicted to decline sooner.

“You see these birds eating togetheralot,” Casey says, “but they nest in differentniches in wetlands. Yellowheads take theprime spots among bulrushes over deeperwater, while redwings nest in cattails nearthe edges. As wetlands contract, both specieswill decline as the available room declines,but the yellowhead is predicted to declinesooner because redwings can deal with drierhabitats.”

Red cross-bills are anotherexample of howan adaptationcan become adisadvantagewhen conditionschange rapidlyand permanently.The bills of

these bird are specialized to pry open conesin order to get the seeds. Research indicatesthere may be as many as six or more speciesof crossbill, each associated with a differenttype of tree. If one is particularly adapted toopening larch cones and the distribution oflarch changes, what does that mean for thatspecies?

Across the state, to the south and east,plant communities are beginning to shift toinclude drier shrub type vegetation andCasey says there is a significant trend in birdsshowing up from more southern ranges,poised to take advantage of this expandedhabitat. However, current models say that itwill be at least 100 years before a cactuswren could call Montana home.

For more information, go towww.abcbirds.org/climatechange/birdwatch-ersguide.pdf.

…it’s the specialists that often have important ecologicalroles that could be lost with climate change.

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Explorers Club MembersAnonymousMaggie and Frank AllenHelen BolleTom and Anne BooneWendy and Fletcher BrownApril and Steve ChristoffersonBriar and Heidi DiggsMike and Kay DuffieldCarol and Hank FischerNancy and Hank HarringtonMarcia Hogan and Karl EnglundWilliam GabrielNoel and Anne HoellElizabeth and Stan HowardGreg Kennett/

Ecosystem Research GroupMargaret Kingsland

and John FletcherEllen and Bob KnightCaroline and Willis KurtzDennis and Cathy Lower and FamilyKathy Markette and John SchulerAnita and Cole MaxwellCharles MillerSue and Alan NewellMike and Keri Nielson/BCEMarty NoydBetty Oleson and Jim GoauxRick and Penny OnckenCurtis and Cheryl PiganowskiJane RectenwaldSue Reel and Dick HuttoRobin Tawney and Nick NicholsJohn TrauchtPam and Sandy VolkmannDoug Webber and Nancy WinslowDon and Bente Winston

Business and PartnerDonors, Sponsors andAdvertisersAmerican Home MortgageBar Lazy MBarney Jette JewelryBigga PizzaBitterroot Valley BankBurley’s Natural Home SupplyClark Fork CoalitionCold Stone CreameryStephen R. Daily, DDSDatsopolis MacDonald & LindH. B. DrollingerEnviroconFirst Interstate BankFirst Security BankGalusha Higgins & GalushaGarlington Lohn & RobinsonGood Food StoreHerrara EnvironmentalInsured TitleKibo GroupLewis and Clark Trail AdventuresMax Bauer/Allied WasteMax Tite Metal Roof SystemMCS EnvironmentalMissoula County Water Quality

DistrictMissoula County Weed DistrictMissoula NissanMontana Cancer SpecialistsMontana Department of

Environmental QualityMontana Department of

Fish, Wildlife & ParksMontana Native Plant SocietyMountain Press PublishingNorris Woodworking

Nutritional LabsPaws Up RanchPhilanthropic Educational

OrganizationPierce FlooringRangitsch Bros.Ravalli County Weed DistrictRic McLeod CounselingJudy Schmidt, MDScience Educational Partnership

AwardStoverud’s JewelersSubwaySwan Ecosystem CenterThe Learning TreeThe University of MontanaThe University of Montana Integrated

Pest Management ProgramThe University of Montana

President’s OfficeUnited States Forest ServiceVolkmann Woodworking

31 Missoula County 4th and 5th grade classes

16 Missoula County 6th grade classes

FoundationsCinnabar FoundationKendeda FundMontana Community FoundationNEST FoundationNorcross Wildlife FoundationPlum Creek FoundationWilliam H. and Margaret Wallace

FoundationDennis and Phyllis Washington

Foundation

imp

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tsCritical CareSupporters Make a Difference

The staff and board of MNHC wish to thank these individuals and organizations for their essentialsupport of our programs, enabling us to provide quality nature education for schoolchildren and thecommunity at large. Through July 31, 2007, these benefactors include:

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NaturalHeritageTrackerHelps hunt down information about Montana’sanimal and plant communities

In partnership with area elementaryschools, MNHC’s Visiting Naturalist inthe Schools program brings volunteers into

4th and 5th grade classrooms each month toprovide activities and discussion about naturalhistory. Volunteers also lead students ontwice-yearly, all-day field trips, exploring withthem the many facets of local ecology.Students get to see and learn more aboutnature in their area, and volunteers get toshare in the fun of discovery themselves.

“I love the Visiting Naturalist programbecause it lets me use a lot of the stuff Ilearned in college,” says Kim Birck, a long-time MNHC volunteer. “There’s nothing likesharing the outdoors with children.”

Birck likes to participate in field daysthe best, she says, because “the students reallyseem to enjoy them, and not just becausethey don’t have to be in school!” She oftenleads wildlife walks and finds that hercharges are genuinely excited about whatthey observe, whether it’s an osprey catchingfish or a singing song sparrow.

“Once, we flushed a great horned owland discovered it had two babies in a nest in

Volunteer Spotlight

On September 26, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.,MNHC is hosting an open house for

prospective volunteers. Come join us forlight refreshments and learn about uniqueopportunities to share your time and energy– and gain new skills – with our VisitingNaturalist Program, or with general activitiesat the nature center. No specialized back-ground required. Stay for the evening’s spe-cial presentation on whitebark pine, withDiana Tombeck, at 7:00 p.m.

Volunteer Open House

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a snag. We set up a spotting scope so every-one could see them up close. The chaperonewas so thrilled that she ran back to whereother groups were gathered for lunch andbrought everyone for a look. I didn’t hearany complaining about postponing lunch!”

Hank Harrington is another regularvolunteer, who also gets great satisfactionfrom watching young students makediscoveries in nature, sometimes pushingthemselves outside their comfort zones.Once, leading a group in search of aquaticinsects, wading in a muddy pond with fine-mesh nets, he noticed one nervous childstanding on the bank, screwing up hiscourage to take the plunge.

“He was telling himself to focus, andafter a minute it worked. He went in. Andthough I didn’t have a thing to do with hisdecision except present the choice in thefirst place, I was very proud of him and of aprogram that provides moments like theseto children who might otherwise miss out.”

Visiting Naturalist volunteers need nothave any specialized prior experience, only adesire to learn, share knowledge and be out-side. Volunteer training sessions are scheduledthroughout the year; see Calendar listingsfor more information or contact coordinatorLisa (Moore) Bickell at 327-0405.

Don’t miss the fun at MNHC’s annualdinner and auction on Saturday,October 27, from 6:00 p.m., at

Missoula Harley-Davidson. The eveningfeatures a fabulous menu crafted of localingredients, entertaining auctioneering byMayor John Engen and a chance to bid onnature excursions, travel packages, artworkand more. Call 327-0405 to reserve tickets.$45 per person for MNHC members; $50per person for non-members.

Natural Heritage Tracker is a newlyexpanded and revamped database ofmore than 429,000 Montana bird

observation records, and nearly 100,000observations of other vertebrate and inverte-brate animal species, developed by theMontana Natural Heritage Program andavailable through its website www.mtnhp.org.

The purpose of Tracker is to give usersaccess to maps, photos and up-to-dateinformation about species, communities and habitats for a variety of research andmanagement purposes. For more informationabout MtNHP or about using Tracker,contact Susan Crispin at (406) 444-3019 oremail [email protected].

With You We Grow

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TOYS • CHILDREN’S BOOKS • TEACHER’S RESOURCES


reflections

Mayfly photo byJason Neuswanger,

troutnut.com

In somber forestWhen the sun was low

I saw from unseen pools a mist of fliesIn their quadrillions rise

And animate a ragged patch of glow

EXCERPT FROM “MAYFLIES” BY RICHARD WILBUR

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

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If you have enjoyed the articles and photosin Montana Naturalist, won’t you please help

us continue to celebrate Montana’s naturalhistory by becoming a voluntary subscriber?Your donation will go directly to support thecosts of producing this magazine.

Please send donations to:Montana Naturalist,c/o Montana Natural History Center 120 Hickory St. Missoula, MT 59801.

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Glacier National Park's Vanishing Namesake

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Transcript of Glacier National Park's Vanishing Namesake