Sac Audubon program explores our scenic, unprotected backyard
Sacajawea Audubon Society will host ecologist and author George Wuerthner for its next monthly program, “Our Backyard: Custer Gallatin National Forest.” The event will take place on Monday, March 9th at Hope Lutheran Church, located at 2152 W Graf. The evening begins with a social at 6:30pm, followed by the program at 7pm.
The Custer Gallatin is the most visited national forest in Montana, and is home to grizzly bears, wolverines, elk, many birds and other important species. It contains the Gallatin Range, the largest unprotected landscape sharing a border with Yellowstone National Park. With ten peaks over 10,000 feet, the Gallatin Range supplies 80 percent of Bozeman’s drinking water. Its waters flow down through several wild and scenic rivers, including the Gallatin. Montana Natural Heritage Program lists 18 birds, 8 mammals, 3 fish, 3 amphibians and 1 reptile as “at risk” or declining in numbers within this unprotected landscape. In his presentation, Wuerthner will uncover the extraordinary history and discoveries of the Custer Gallatin with a special focus on the Gallatin Range.
Wuerthner has published dozens of books, including Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness, the Foundation for Conservation, Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of Earth, Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Montana, Magnificent Wilderness and three books on Yellowstone National Park.
Wuerthner has extensive on-the-ground experience with protected landscapes having visited more than 400 designated wilderness areas, 200 national park units, and every national forest in the West. He has previously taught environmental studies and ecology field classes for a number of universities. He also has worked as a botanist and biologist for the Idaho BLM, wilderness guide in Alaska, a river ranger on several Alaskan Wild and Scenic Rivers, and a Backcountry Ranger in the Gates of the Arctic NP in Alaska.
Sacajawea Audubon Society programs are free and open to the public. The events feature a special guest speaker the second Monday of each month, September through May, at Hope Lutheran. The organization’s mission is to build on an interest in birds to promote the conservation of our natural environment through enjoyment, education and action. Learn more at www.sacajaweaaudubon.org. •