The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center\u2019s Friday night lecture series has returned for 2016, with 12 lectures scheduled between today and March 25.<\/p>\n
The first lecture features something relatively few in Southeast Alaska have been lucky enough to catch sight of, compared to more visible animals \u2014 flying squirrels. Winston Smith, a retired researcher with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, researched the mammals for years.<\/p>\n
Flying squirrels and the forest are \u201cinexorably linked\u201d in a symbiotic relationship, he said, with the squirrels helping to develop their own habitat. Southeast Alaska is home to genetically distinct subspecies of the animal, which are particularly adapted to their rainforest home.<\/p>\n
Smith said he\u2019ll also talk about the Tongass National Forest, its unique nature, and the unique management problems that unique nature creates.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk about the Tongass as though it\u2019s a single forest, when in reality, it\u2019s not,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a multitude of systems\u2026 it\u2019s hard to use a management framework that applies across the entire forest\u2026 when (the ecological communities) can differ quite a bit \u2026. That\u2019s one of the biggest challenges of managing the Tongass National Forest, and trying to conserve its biodiversity and natural resources for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s work came out of needs identified in the 1997 Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan, he said. The USFS is currently amending the plan established in 2008, with a final version expected December of this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to come away with some awe and excitement about what they\u2019re learning, and the implications of it\u2026 and management of natural resources; how we use research to try to guide the best management practices,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThat was what my career was about.\u201d<\/p>\n
All lectures are at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, with the second lecture generally the less crowded one. Come early; seating in the main room can fill up fast.<\/p>\n
Contact Juneau Empire outdoors editor Mary Catharine Martin at maryc.martin@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the series list:<\/p>\n
Jan. 8 \u2013 \u201cWatch the Fur Fly!\u201d Flying squirrels, with Winston Smith<\/p>\n
Jan. 15 \u2013 \u201cSecretive Kittlitz\u2019s Murrelets\u201d with US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Michelle Kissling<\/p>\n
Jan. 22 \u2013 \u201cThe History of Alaska\u2019s Capitol\u201d with architect Wayne Jensen<\/p>\n
Jan. 29 \u2013 \u201cExploring Polar Bear Territory\u201d with guide and photographer Laurent Dick<\/p>\n
Feb. 5 \u2013 \u201cArctic Phytoplankton Reveal Changes\u201d with PhD Zach Brown speaking on Arctic Ocean sea ice loss, changing Arctic ecosystems and threatened Alaska Native Communities<\/p>\n
Feb. 12 \u2013 \u201cMaking a Splash: Humpbacks and Dolphins\u201d with University of Alaska Southeast biologist Heidi Pearson, who studies marine mammal behavior<\/p>\n
Feb. 19 \u2013 \u201cThinking Photos\u201d with photographer Mark Kelley<\/p>\n
Feb. 26 \u2013 \u201cYellow Cedars: Treasured Trees\u201d with John Krapek speaking on local cedar groves\u2019 establishment and spread<\/p>\n
March 4 \u2013 \u201cMountain Running in Southeast Alaska\u201d with Juneau runners Dan Lesh and Geoff Roes<\/p>\n
March 11 – \u201cTaku: The Juneau Icefield\u2019s Only Advancing Glacier\u201d with UAS professors Jason Amundson and Martin Truffer<\/p>\n
March 18 \u2013 \u201cThomas Corwin Mendenhall: The Man Behind the Name\u201d with historian Jim Geraghty<\/p>\n
March 25 \u2013 \u201cInvestigating the 1813 Wreck of the Neva\u201d with Dave McMahan<\/p>\n
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