Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Hosting 21st Annual Science and History Day
After four years of virtual webinars the transboundary parks are returning to a single in-person day of presentations
By Micah Drew
Glacier National Park (GNP) and Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP), which combine as the world’s only International Peace Park, are jointly hosting a day of presentations focused on shared science and history topics on July 23. The in-person event comes after four years of a virtual Science and History Week when the COVID-19 pandemic and transboundary travel restrictions put limits on the agencies.
Since 2004, Parks Canada and the U.S. National Park Service have hosted the annual event to highlight current national and cultural research related to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, with the two parks alternating hosting duties. Each presentation provides attendees the opportunity to connect with park scientists and learn about the myriad connections between the two parks and their shared ecosystems.
The featured presentations are grouped around four topics: wildlife, visitor use management, co-stewardship and cultural and historical resources.
The 21st annual Waterton-Glacier Science and History Day will take place Tuesday, July 23 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Community Building on Albright Circle in West Glacier. The event is free and open to the public.
The following is a snapshot of featured presenters and topics:
Wildlife Biology
When: 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Topics: Glacier National Park wildlife biologist Lisa Bate will discuss efforts to vaccinate bats in Glacier for White-Nose Syndrome, and Waterton Lakes National Park resource management officer Chris O’Sullivan will talk about native trout in Waterton.
Visitor Use Management
When: 11a.m. – noon
Topics: Christy Gustavison, visitor experience manager at Waterton, and Susie Sidder and Kat Barrs, Glacier’s visitor use program manager and technician will cover visitor use data interpretations and management strategies of both parks.
Co-Stewardship
When: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Topics: Kim Pearson, Ecosystem Scientist at WLNP, and Kansie Fox, Environmental Protection Manager with Blood Tribe Land Management, will discuss how agencies worked together to restore the Northern Leopard Frog (Matsiyíkkapisaa) at Paahtómahksikimi — the Blackfoot name for the Waterton area. Jeremiah North Piegan, fisheries program manager with the Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife Department, and Clint Muhlfeld, research aquatic ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, will talk about their collaborative conservation efforts to restore native trout in eastern Glacier and the Blackfeet Nation.
Cultural and historical Resources
When: 2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Topics: Author and journalist Ray Djuff will present on the history of Glacier National Park’s iconic red buses, and former WLNP cultural resource management officer Edwin Knox will offer a history of Walter B. Forester.