Mountain goats featured in free presentation
Area residents will have a chance to learn about one of North America's largest — and more sure-footed — mammals at a series of upcoming presentations on mountain goats. Among the talks is a Tuesday, March 11 program in Sandpoint.
Photo courtesy BRUCE SMITH
The cover of "Life on the Rocks: A Portrait of the American Mountain Goat", a book by Dr. Bruce Smith on Montana's mountain goats, their lives and conservation challenges.
Dr. Bruce Smith
Curious about the region's mountain goats?
Area residents will have a chance to learn about one of North America's largest — and more sure-footed — mammals at a series of upcoming presentations in the region. Friends of Scotchman Peaks is hosting wildlife biologist and award-winning author Bruce Smith as part of his nationwide book tour with presentations in Thompson Falls, Libby, and Sandpoint, March 10-12.
Of North America’s large mammals, there is one that lives higher, steeper, and more remote than any other. Perhaps the greatest mountaineer the peaks have ever known, the mountain goat is the subject of this presentation by Montana wildlife biologist and photographer Dr. Bruce Smith.
Smith’s career as a wildlife biologist includes 26 years at the Wind River Indian Reservation and the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming. Besides his writing for scientific journals and magazines, he’s an award-winning author of five books of natural history, science, and outdoor adventure. Smith once lived in Montana’s Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area for almost two years to study the lives of mountain goats.
Smith recently collaborated on a status review of Montana’s mountain goats, synthesizing 55 years of population data from across the state. At these presentations, Smith will share results of that work and talk more broadly about the natural history, survival strategies, and conservation challenges facing mountain goats. The photographic images he’ll show are from his book, "Life on the Rocks: A Portrait of the American Mountain Goat", which won the National Outdoor Book Award.
Smith will speak Monday, March 10, 6-8 p.m. at the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge in Thompson Falls, Mont.; Tuesday, March 11, 5-7 p.m., in Matchwood Brewing's community room in Sandpoint; and on Wednesday, March 12, 6-8 p.m., at The Hidden Chapel in Libby, Mont.
To learn more about Bruce Smith, go online to brucesmithwildlife.com. Find more event info at scotchmanpeaks.org/hikes-events-schedule or email info@scotchmanpeaks.org.
The cover of "Life on the Rocks: A Portrait of the American Mountain Goat", a book by Dr. Bruce Smith on Montana's mountain goats, their lives and conservation challenges.
Dr. Bruce Smith