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Flathead High School Students Present Flathead Audubon Program

Flathead Audubon Society to present study of cottonwoods on Nov. 13

By Beacon Staff

Join Flathead Audubon Society on Monday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. at the Gateway Community Center, U.S. Highway 2 West in Kalispell, for a look at the ongoing study of cottonwoods in Owen Sowerwine Natural Area (OSNA), a 442-acre river bottom managed by Flathead Audubon for educational purposes.

The local natural area appears to have a high percentage of very old black cottonwood trees and very little recruitment of new cottonwoods in the “micro-upland” areas. Flathead High School students volunteered, through their Community Action Service Program, to get some hard data supporting the casual observations.

For the last few months, FHS International Baccalaureate students Conrad Hedinger, Molly Adams, Sarah Randolph and Brandon Pyron have been coring and aging trees in a grid pattern throughout the mainland portion of OSNA, and aging all the cottonwood trees.

Through this study, the group has tried to get a true picture of the present state of black cottonwood age diversity as and the group will present its findings on Nov. 13.