News Release

Olympic National Park Announces Schedule for This Year’s Perspectives Monthly Speaker Series

Date: November 8, 2018
Contact: Penny Wagner, 360-565-3005

Program topics and presenters have been announced for this year’s Perspectives Winter Speaker Series, offered free of charge on the second Tuesday of each month, November through April.
 
Talks take place at 7:00 p.m. and will be offered at the Raymond Carver Room, Port Angeles Main Library of the North Olympic Library System. The Port Angeles Main Library is located at 2210 South Peabody Street.
 
“We invite our neighbors and visitors to see Olympic National Park through new perspectives,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “Science, research and collaboration provide new windows on the park and are all featured in this year’s series.”
 
The series is sponsored by Olympic National Park, the Friends of Olympic National Park, and the North Olympic Library System.
 
November 13, 2018
Sea Otters
Jessie Hale, PhD candidate, University of Washington
Join Jessie Hale and Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar of NOAA, for a discussion on the history of sea otters in Washington and research investigation into otter diets and what that might tell us about the health of sea otter populations.
 
December 11, 2018
Pacific Martens on the Olympic Peninsula
Betsy Howell, Wildlife Biologist, Olympic National Forest
Since 2008, federal partners have been working to better understand the conservation status of Pacific martens, small carnivores in the weasel family, on the Olympic Peninsula. In the past 30 years there have been only 10 verifiable records of the species, all in high, remote locations. The survey effort involves a number of partners and methods, including remote cameras and scent-detection dogs.
 
 January 8, 2019
Wolves, Elk, Rivers, and Trophic Cascades in Olympic National Park
Kurt Jenkins, PhD, Wildlife Biologist, United States Geological Survey
Just how potent was the wolf in controlling riverine ecosystem structure and function in Olympic National Park? In this presentation we will explore evidence for a trophic cascade of ecological effects that may have affected the park's riverine ecosystems as a result of wolf eradication nearly a century ago.
 
February 12, 2019
The Edge of the Sea: Scales of Change on Olympic Coast Beaches
Ian Miller, PhD, Coastal Hazard Specialist, Washington Sea Grant
Learn more from Dr. Miller's recent studies on Rialto and Kalaloch beaches, and investigations of sea level change on the Olympic Coast.
 
March 12, 2019
Predators and Prey: Columbian Black-tailed Deer and Cougar Research on the Olympic Peninsula
Kim Sager-Fradkin, Wildlife Biologist, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
Kim Sager-Fradkin will share the results of a four-year study examining patterns of fawn and buck mortality on the north Olympic Peninsula, and will provide preliminary results on a study designed to answer questions about cougar population genetics, movement patterns, and prey selection.
 
April 9, 2019
A Witness to Change
Janis Burger, Hurricane Ridge Interpreter, Olympic National Park
Janis Burger will share photos and experiences gleaned over a 37-year career as a seasonal biological technician and longtime Hurricane Ridge interpreter.