01. Photographer pick: Nicholas Parker
Nicholas is a landscape photographer native to Western Montana. He has been working for eight years perfecting his craft, and his photos have been used in numerous publications. He says he wants to “convey to the viewer that they're present in the scene I've captured, observing the foreground object with strong leading lines that carry their gaze throughout the entire depth of field.” His work can be found at https://www.instagram.com/traunfoto and https://www.traunfoto.com.
The park is home to over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals, including grizzly bears, mountain goats, and moose. Photo by Nicholas Parker
02. Article pick: The Missing Lynx of Glacier National Park
In this article in Flathead Beacon, author Tristan Scott tackles the interesting subject of wildlife biologists who work in Glacier National Park, focusing on John Waller. Waller recently concluded a three-year monitoring study of the Canada lynx, “also known as the ‘shadow of the forest,’” finding that there were 52 lynx living in the park. This article is fascinating, from the perspective of the science and technology the researchers used to study the wildlife of Glacier National Park, as well as the future as the park grapples with the oncoming specter of global warming and what that could mean for the wildlife in the park.
The park is home to more than 25 active glaciers, which are remnants of the ice age that ended more than 10,000 years ago. Photo by Cole Allen, Unsplash
03. Book pick: The Melting World: A Journey Across America’s Vanishing Glaciers
This book by Christopher White, science writer and naturalist, details the work of Dan Fagre, a climate scientist and ecologist who works out of Glacier National Park. Fagre studies the glaciers, and has come to the conclusion that they are receding quicker than humans had anticipated, and that climate change is more significant than we thought. Using Glacier National Park as a microcosm of the macro issue, this book goes into what mountain environments could look like without ice sheets.
04. Video pick: Beauty in Glacier National Park and it’s wildlife
This video by travel YouTuber The West is Big! Travel is a relaxing 10-minute long video detailing the beauty of Glacier National Park. This YouTuber has several videos about Glacier Mountain Park, including a over two hour long video guide of the park, which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPOdUjpVrsY&t=3s. For anyone interested in visiting this park, this YouTube channel provides a depth of knowledge.
05. Quote of the Week
“Wander here a whole summer, if you can. Thousands of God’s wild blessings will search you and soak you as if your were a sponge, and the big days will go uncounted. If you are business-tangled, and so burdened with duty that only weeks can be got out of the heavy laden year, then go to the Flathead Reserve; for it easily and quickly reached by the Great Northern Railroad. Get off the track at Belton Station, and in a few minutes you will find yourself in the midst of what you are sure to say is the best care-killing scenery on the continent – beautiful lakes derived straight from glaciers, lofty mountains steeped in lovely nemophila-blue skies and clad with forests and glaciers, mossy ferny waterfalls in their hollows, nameless and numberless, and meadowy gardens abounding in the best of everything …."
— Naturalist John Muir on Glacier National Park