Glacier science takes center stage Thursday

The Daily Inter Lake

Glacier National Park will host a daylong science and history conference at Lake McDonald Lodge on Thursday.

The conference, a sequel to last year's popular inaugural event, will feature 14 presentations on ongoing or recently completed research projects in Glacier and Waterton Lakes national parks.

The talks will be non-technical and geared toward the general public. Speakers include university, government, tribal and private industry researchers from the United States and Canada.

There is no cost to attend the meeting. The public is welcome to listen to any or all presentations.

The conference will take place in the lodge auditorium from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A lunch break is scheduled from noon to 1:15 p.m.

Specific presentations include:

-9:10 to 9:35 a.m. - Repeat photography of Waterton-Glacier mountain landscapes;

-9:35 to 10 a.m. - Climate change, glacier retreat, and ecosystem history of the northern Rocky Mountains;

-10 to 10:25 a.m. - Dendroclimatology in Waterton Lakes National Park;

-10:45 to 11:10 a.m. - Bull trout and lake trout in Glacier National Park: A tragic combination;

-11:10 to 11:35 a.m. - The evolving habitat mosaic of the Nyack floodplain;

-11:35 a.m. to noon - Overlooked treasures: Capshell limpets in Lost Lake;

-1:40 to 2:05 p.m. - Counting bears hair by hair: Grizzly bear DNA studies;

-2:05 to 2:30 p.m. - Grizzly bear research in Alberta;

-2:30 to 2:55 p.m. - Severe fire restores forest conditions for numerous species;

-3:15 to 3:40 p.m. - Culturally scarred trees of the North Fork of the Flathead River;

-3:40 to 4:05 p.m. - Putting Indians back into the wilderness equation: Blackfeet Indians and the Great Northern Railway;

-4:05 to 4:30 p.m. - History of snowmobiles in Glacier and Yellowstone.