from Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC)

The Crown of the Continent Lecture Series, which began with “Two Peoples, Two Countries, Three Voices” on September 15, will continue September 21 with “The Crown Region: Setting the Stage,” presented by Geography Department Chairman Dr. Jim Byrne of the University of Lethbridge. Byrne will establish the broader geographical elements that help define the Crown of the Continent.

On September 26, the series will offer a field trip adventure, “Along the Buffalo Cow Trail: History and Ecology of the Trans Boundary North Fork,” led by Thompson and Geologist and Glacier Institute co-founder Dr. Lex Blood. The trip will involve a hike along the North Fork of the Flathead River on the Kishenehn Trail, the same route the first people took on the 10,000-year-old trail. The cost of the trip is $65 per person and includes transportation. Space is limited, and advance registration is required. Participants also are required to have moderate hiking ability.

The series will resume September 29 with “Defining the Ecology of the Crown of the Continent,” delivered by Dr. Chris Servheen, adjunct research associate professor of wildlife conservation and grizzly bear recovery coordinator at The University of Montana. Servheen will provide an overview of the characteristics that distinguish the Crown of the Continent from neighboring and global ecosystems including the diversity of flora and fauna.

Author Jack Nisbet of “Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson across Western North America” will conclude the series October 6 with his presentation, “Seeing Across the Rockies: Reaching for Montana 1787-1812.” Nisbet will reveal the relationship between Lewis and Clark, David Thompson and Thomas Jefferson and their involvement with the first accurate map of the Crown region.

All lectures are free and open to the public. Each lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in the large community meeting room inside the Arts and Technology Building on the FVCC campus at 777 Grandview Drive in Kalispell.

For more information or to register for the field trip, visit www.fvcc.edu, or contact the FVCC Continuing Education Center at 406-756-3832. This series is a part of the official Glacier National Park Centennial Program.

Glacier National Park is quickly approaching its 100th anniversary. The park has empowered a team of volunteers to help plan and implement a community-based Centennial Program to take place throughout the latter half of 2009 and run through the celebration year of 2010. For more information on the Centennial, please visit http://www.glaciercentennial.org.

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