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Four
public lectures will be presented at the University of Alaska Anchorage
this fall focusing on topics relevant to national parks and public
lands. Part of the Polaris Lecture Series, and sponsored by the
University of Alaska Anchorage's Democracy Forum and the National
Park Service -- Alaska Region, the lectures and media presentations
are free to the public.
Each lecture
and media presentation runs from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Social Sciences
Building (SSB), Room 118, on the UAA campus.
The series opens Thursday, September 22, and is titled “ANILCA
and Conservation History in Alaska’s National Parks” and
focuses on the establishment of a National Park System in Alaska
from the early 1900s. Lecturers are Ingrid Nixon, interpretive specialist,
Denali National Park, and Frank Norris, historian, Alaska Regional
Office.
On Thursday, October 6, the series looks at "National Parks
as Homes to Ancient Alaskans.” Focusing on the parks of Northwest
Alaska including Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Noatak National
Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, and Cape Krusenstern National
Monument, the presentation will cover archeological research that
has taken place there. The area’s research story predates parks
by many decades, with pioneering work by J. Louis Giddings and David
Hopkins. More recent work has been carried out by National Park
Service archeologists and others, including Jeanne Schaaf and Bob
Gal. The lecturer is Bob Gal, archeologist for Western Arctic Parklands.
On October 27, the program will be “Preserving Alaska’s
History.” National parks have a significant role in preserving
Alaska’s recent history. Sitka National Historical Park and
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park are two examples, and
the statewide reach of this topic is also evident from quick looks
at Kennecott in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, historical restoration
work in other parks, and non-park programs such as the National
Historic Landmark program. Lecturers are Steve Peterson, senior
historic architect, Alaska Region; Jim Corless, superintendent,
Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park; and Ted Birkedal, chief
of cultural resources, Alaska Region.
The fall series wraps up on Thursday, November 10, with "Dynamic
Landscapes in Alaska’s National Parks.” This presentation
focuses on Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and the dramatic
change in landscape that has taken place over the past two centuries.
The rapid retreat of glaciers is well documented in photography
and other field research and continues today. The changing landscape
is reflected in a variety of ways, with retreating ice, new marine
habitat, rapidly evolving coastal habitat, and changing marine and
terrestrial wildlife patterns. Lecturer is Chris Nemeth, Chief of
Interpretation, Glacier Bay National Park.
A one-credit course associated with the fall National Parks Polaris
Lecture series and including an outing to an Alaska National Park
Service site is available for undergraduate or graduate credit.
For information about the course, Political Science A490/A690, Studies
in Politics: National Park Issues, contact the instructor, Ralph
Tingey, at (907) 644-3507, or the UAA Department of Political Science,
at (907) 786-4896.
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& Disclaimer
Author:Jane
Ahern
www.nps.gov/akso
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