Glacier Conversations
VIRTUAL EVENTS
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Upcoming Conversations
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Past Conversations
August 2026
Meet the President and Superintendent
Details:
Join us for a lively conversation with Tagen Vine, the Conservancy’s new President, and Dave Roemer, Superintendent of Glacier National Park, as they introduce themselves, share what drew them to this place, and talk about what’s ahead for the park and the partnership that supports it. Join GNPC Donor Engagement Lead Amy Lucke for an hour of interaction, attendee questions and the always-popular speed round.
April 2026
Wild and Scenic Rivers
Details:
This year, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Flathead Wild and Scenic River designation. Join us for an important conversation with Sheena Pate, Executive Director of the Flathead Rivers Alliance, as we learn more about their work and partnership with Glacier National Park to safeguard the future of the Flathead River system.
February 2026
Journey to the Sun Documentary
Details:
The Lefler brothers’ passion for Glacier runs deep. Now they are embarking on an epic journey to not only document the history of Going-to-the-Sun Road but in their words, “capture the spirit of the road and tell the stories of the people who bring it to life.” Join GNPC Executive Director, Doug Mitchell for a conversation with Logan and Jordan Lefler as they give us an insider’s look at the making of their documentary, Journey to the Sun.
December 2025
Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray
Details:
Join GNPC Executive Director Doug Mitchell for an insightful conversation with Chris La Tray, a citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians/Métis, who has been widely recognized for his profound work sharing the story of the Little Shell, who were federally restored in 2019. Chris is the 2023 -2025 Montana Poet Laureate and the 2025 Montana Heritage Keeper honoree. His acclaimed memoir, Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home was chosen as the 2025 Great Reads from Great Places Award for the state of Montana.
August 2025
National Parks Uncovered
Details: National Parks Uncovered explores America’s 63 National Parks with engaging stories, personal anecdotes, tips directly from insiders, fun facts, stunning photography and so much more. Author Linda Mohammad will join GNPC Executive Director Doug Mitchell for a lively conversation about her book and her passion for national parks. We hope attendees will be inspired to share some of their favorite national parks and adventure stories.
April 2025
Saving Sperry
Details: Saving Sperry is the dramatic story of the resilience of a beloved place high in the mountains of Glacier. GNPC Executive Director Doug Mitchell takes you behind the scenes to discover how determined people and dedicated donors rallied to save the historic Sperry Chalet—deep in Glacier’s wilderness—after it was nearly totally lost in the 2017 Sprague Fire. Featuring former GNP Superintendent Jeff Mow, Sperry Chalet manager at the time who stayed on to cook for the stabilization crew, Renee Metcalf, and stunning aerial photography from Adele Scholl of Gravity Shots—you won’t want to miss this special Glacier Conversation!
February 2025
The North Face Athletes Mike Foote and Jenn Lichter + Photographer Steven Gnam
Details: Shining Mountains documents an epic adventure with a purpose through Glacier National Park. Watch the film HERE and join GNPC Executive Director Doug Mitchell for a conversation with The North Face athletes Jenn Lichter and Mike Foote and adventure photographer Steven Gnam for a behind-the-scenes look at their challenging and inspirational journey photographing the glaciers of Glacier.
December 2024
School to Park
Details: Did you know Columbia Falls High School students are learning advanced construction skills while providing critical support to Glacier National Park? Join Executive Director Doug Mitchell for a conversation with Glacier National Park carpenter, Bob Jellison, and current students to discuss the innovative School to Park program and the benefits to the park and the students.
October 2024
Park Project Preview
Details: Join Executive Director Doug Mitchell for a conversation with Glacier National Park staff experts as we highlight a few of the projects we’re fundraising for to take place next year. Hear directly from park managers and learn how you can help make them possible. Topics include bat research, wilderness preservation, and the park archives.
Guests from NPS will include Lisa Bate and Gabby Eaton, Wildlife Biologists; Kate McHugh, Wilderness Coordinator; and Jean Tabbert, Museum Curator.
August 2024
Bring Them Home Filmmakers
Details: Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya tells the story of a small group of Blackfoot people and their mission to establish the first wild buffalo herd on their ancestral territory since the species’ near-extinction a century ago, an act that would restore the land, re-enliven traditional culture and bring much needed healing to their community. Hear from the directors and producers of this award-winning and important film. The film will be shown in Kalispell at the Wachholz College Center on August 29th.
June 2024
Lake McDonald Water Quality with Brooke Bannerman
Details: Lake McDonald may be the most photographed view in all of Glacier National Park. It is an iconic symbol of the park’s natural beauty and clean water. Glacier’s aquatic team aims to keep it that way which is precisely why a 2-year, Conservancy-funded, nutrient study of Lake McDonald was completed in 2023. You don’t want to miss this conversation with Brooke Bannerman, University of Montana Ph.D. student, as she shares stories from her time studying Lake McDonald and the results of her important work.
April 2024
Montana Conservation Corps
Details: Montana Conservation Corps inspires young people through hands-on conservation service to be leaders, stewards of the land, and engaged citizens who improve their communities. We invite you to learn more about the Piikuni Land Corps, Young Adult and Youth Programs within Glacier. Join GNPC Executive Director Doug Mitchell with Shelbi Goddard, Gavin Wisdom and Ashley Mazzullo from MCC as they provide insights into each program and share highlights from recent project work in Glacier!
February 2024
Many Glacier Hotel Winter Caretaker Josh Hurley
Details: Josh Hurley will join Executive Director Doug Mitchell to share his experience as the winter caretaker of the historic Many Glacier Hotel. Get an insider’s look into Josh’s life of solitude and the challenges he faces in the wild and remote Many Glacier Valley.
December 2023
Climate Trial – Held v. Montana
Details: Join the Glacier Conservancy and Executive Director Doug Mitchell on Zoom where we will have a discussion with the Flathead Valley’s own Lander Busse, one of 16 youth plaintiffs who successfully asked the court to declare that Montana’s fossil fuel energy policies and actions violate young people’s state constitutional rights.
October 2023
2024 Park Project Preview
Details: Executive Director Doug Mitchell will talk with Glacier National Park staff experts about a handful of select projects for 2024 including a harlequin duck study, a new season of the Headwaters podcast, and fisheries management. Speak directly to park managers about these projects and how you can help make them possible.
Guests from NPS will include Chris Downs, Aquatic and Physical Science Programs Manager, Lisa Bate, Wildlife Biologist, Holli Holmes, Master’s Student in Wildlife Biology, Peri Sasnett, Visual Information Specialist and Michael Faist, Visual Information Specialist
August 2023
Search and Rescue with Chief Ranger Paul Austin
Details: Join us for a fascinating look into search and rescue operations in Glacier. Chief Ranger Paul Austin will give us an inside look into everything it takes to locate and assist injured and lost visitors in a million-acre park with few roads. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when a person is reported missing in Glacier National Park, this is your chance to learn.
June 2023
Historic Preservation with Preserve Montana
Details: Since 1987, Preserve Montana has been providing individuals and communities with the leadership and knowledge to preserve our past for the future. Join Executive Director Jenny Buddenborg and Director Emerita Chere Jiusto in a conversation about Preserve Montana’s work statewide, in Glacier National Park and the Flathead Valley. Learn about restoration efforts at the Wheeler Cabin and Baxendale Schoolhouse, advocacy efforts at Holland Lake Lodge, and share your thoughts on the future of preservation in the Treasure State.
April 2023
Getting Glacier Open with Brian Paul
Details: The annual process of getting Glacier National Park facilities open for millions of summer visitors is a huge undertaking. It involves removing hundreds of millions of tons of snow, braving avalanche and rock fall, and preserving the historic integrity of the road. Join us for a discussion with Glacier National Park Roads Supervisor Brian Paul about plowing Going-to-the-Sun Road and everything it takes to make Glacier ready for summer.
Watch the Zoom conversation here.
February 2023
Citizen Science with Jami Belt
Details: The Glacier National Park Citizen Science Program invites members of the public to assist in biological research. The program is coordinated by the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center (CCRLC), based in Glacier, and made possible by the generous supporters of the Glacier National Park Conservancy. Jami Belt, Biologist and Citizen Science Program Manager, will present highlights of what we have learned from Citizen Science efforts since the program began over a decade ago, what is happening in 2023 and how you can help the park by becoming a citizen scientist.
Watch the Zoom conversation here.
December 2022
Adventure Photography with Jordan Lefler
Details: Jordan Lefler is an adventure photographer and filmmaker who spends a lot of his time capturing the awe-inspiring beauty of Glacier. Jordan is a second descendant of the Salish tribe and has lived most his life on the Flathead Indian Reservation. He will share some of his favorite images, stories about those images including the influence of Native American culture on his photography and his passion to leave no trace as he photographs some of the most beautiful places in the world.
Watch the Zoom conversation here.
October 2022
Winold Reiss Exhibit Discussion
Details: A special fall Glacier Conversation about Winold Reiss to include Prof. Heather Caverhill (University of Alberta, Department of Art Design), Prof. Julie Levin Caro (a contributor to the recent Reiss book The Multiculturalism of Winold Reiss), and Marilyn Kushner (Curator, New York Historical Society Museum and Library, Curator of ‘The Art of Winold Reiss: An Immigrant Modernist’).
Watch the Zoom conversation here.
August 2022
Bighorn Sheep with Dr. Elizabeth Flesch
Details: Learn all about the amazing lives of bighorn sheep and how the changing landscape affects them. Join researcher Dr. Elizabeth Flesch while she discusses her fascinating work studying the region’s bighorn sheep populations.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Flesch here.
June 2022
Fire Lookouts with Writer Amy Grisak
Details: Learn all about fire lookouts and their history – plus their current role – in Glacier National Park. Join writer Amy Grisak while she discusses her fascinating work writing a book about fire lookouts.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Amy Grisak here.
April 2022
Cultural History of Bison in Glacier with Park Archeologist Brent Rowley
Details: Join Glacier National Park Archeologist Brent Rowley and learn about the complex relationship of bison and people from the end of the Pleistocene to the late 19th Century based on ongoing archeological research undertaken by the park’s Cultural Resources Program.
People often think of bison as being only a plains animal, but they inhabited the mountain environments of Glacier as well! Bison played a central role to the Indigenous cultures of the region, so where there were bison, there were people trying to hunt them. This project attempts to tell the story of interactions between people and bison in the high country of Glacier based on nearly 13,000 years of archeological evidence in the region.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Brent Rowley here.
February 2022
Under The Night Sky with Artist-In-Residence Imma Barrera
Details: The Under The Night Sky presentation will highlight Imma’s current project to raise awareness about the importance of nature conservation efforts, in particular, protecting the night sky from light pollution. Preserving the night environment helps support human health and heritage and preserve wildlife habitats. Night photography offers a chance to capture and document scenes that few people ever see nowadays due to artificial light and airglow pollution.
Born in Barcelona, Imma Barrera is a landscape and nature photographer based in New Jersey. She is a graduate of NY Institute of Photography and has won several awards and exhibited her photography in a number of galleries worldwide. She has published books about the night skies in NJ and the first book of her series “Photographing National Parks” about her experience as an Artist-in-Residence at Capitol Reef. Currently, she is working on the second book about her National Park series covering Glacier and another book about several US national parks at night.
To see her work, and to find more information about Imma’s dark skies presentation, please visit this link. you can also follow her on Instagram @imma.photo.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Imma Barrera here.
December 2021
Kay Knapton & Olivia Secord – “The Young Goat and Old Goat”
Details: Kay Knapton and her granddaughter, Olivia Secord, will join us to talk about their inspiring Climate Hike through Glacier National Park, where they volunteered to hike 50 miles in four days and raised over $9,000 for Glacier National Park.
Kay and her granddaughter Olivia Secord call themselves the Young Goat (age 11) and Old Goat (age 81). They were determined to take steps – 100,000 to be precise – to help address the effects of climate change, support conservation in Glacier National Park, and add another adventure to their bucket of shared experiences.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Kay & Olivia here.
November 2021
Mapping Glacier’s Wilderness with Jillian McKenna
Details: Geographic Information System (GIS) Analyst, Jillian McKenna, will discuss her work in creating a base GIS layered map that shows installations and facilities in Glacier’s recommended wilderness – the first of its kind for Glacier National Park.
You can learn a little bit more about the project and Jillian’s work by checking out our Project Spotlight video from this year’s virtual Backpacker’s Ball!
Watch the Zoom conversation with Jillian McKenna here.
September 2021
Alex Schnee of Alex on the Map
Details: Alex is a professional writer and international travel blogger. Her work has been featured in USA Today, the Huffington Post, Travel + Leisure, Fodor’s, and many more. A Flathead native, she now runs her own international travel blog, Alex On The Map, where she shares her passions of cooking, photography, and traveling as a digital nomad, as well as encouraging conservation and respect for natural spaces – including Glacier. She has been to over 50 countries and has worked with brands such as National Geographic, Contiki, Gutsy Women Travel, The North Face, and many more.
You can check out Alex’s recent work in Fodor’s Travel, which features Glacier Conservancy Executive Director, Doug Mitchell. The article is titled, “Everyone Is Flocking to National Parks—But Should They? Is It a Bad Idea?“.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Alex Schnee here.
June 2021
Glacier’s Native Plant Nursery
Details: Join us virtually as we visit Glacier’s Native Plant Nursery, where hundreds of native plants are cultivated from a variety of habitats found within the park and used in various restoration efforts. Glacier Conservancy Executive Director, Doug Mitchell, will meet with with Glacier National Park’s Vegetation Program Manager, Dawn LaFleur.
Thanks to our event partner, Center for Native Plants, we’ll be giving away a $50 gift certificate, plus a shirt and hat to one participant during the event.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Dawn LaFleur here.
May 2021
The Last Glacier: Images of Our Changing Landscape at the Hockaday Museum of Art
Details: Join the Glacier Conservancy’s Executive Director, Doug Mitchell, and the Hockaday Museum of Art’s Executive Director, Alyssa Cordova, as well as featured artists as we explore the Hockaday’s new exhibition The Last Glacier: Images of Our Changing Landscape. The exhibition is currently on view to the public through June 19th and features the work of artists Bruce Crownover and Todd Anderson and photographer Ian van Coller. We’re incredibly honored to give you a sneak peek into the collection through this special virtual event.
For more information about the exhibition, please visit the Hockaday Museum of Art’s website.
Watch the Zoom conversation with the Hockaday Museum of Art’s Alyssa Cordova as well as featured artists Bruce Crownover, Todd Anderson, and Ian van Coller here.
April 2021
40 Years of Wolf Recovery in Montana
Details: Dr. Diane Boyd will talk about her work in wolf recovery from the first wolf to return to Montana in 1979 to the present population of approximately 850 wolves. This very successful recovery has had many bumps in the road, but wolves are resilient and here to stay.
Diane Boyd has worked with wolves for more than 40 years. She retired from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in December 2019, as the Wolf Specialist for northwestern Montana and now pursues other conservation avenues.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Diane Boyd here.
March 2021
Rangers Michael Faist & Andrew Smith
Details: Join Park Rangers Michael Faist and Andrew Smith for a conversation about Glacier’s new podcast, Headwaters. Michael and Andrew recorded, edited, and co-hosted the show. This brand new podcast, made possible thanks to your donations to the Glacier Conservancy, travels to every major region of Glacier to tell stories how nature and culture come together in unexpected ways.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Michael and Andrew here.
February 2021
Climate Ride: Caeli Quinn and Leticia Romero
Details: Climate Ride is a nonprofit organization that organizes life-changing charitable biking and hiking events to raise awareness and support sustainability, active transportation, and environmental causes, including the Glacier Climate Ride, which funds renewable energy projects in Glacier National Park. Join Co-Founder and Executive Director, Caeli Quinn, and climate runner and community activist, Leticia Romero, for a conversation about climate activism in Montana.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Caeli Quinn and Leticia Romero here.
January 2021
Sarah Williams
Details: Sarah Williams thru-hiked the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) in 2020 during the pandemic. The route through Glacier National Park changed this year due to closures on the east side of the park.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Sarah Williams here.
This event is sponsored by
December 2020
Team Onyx
Details: Team Onyx is the first all-Black team in expedition racing, representing the best qualities and strength that come from diversity. They are a mixture of gay and straight athletes in their 20s, 40s and 50s from around the world. Team Onyx was featured on Amazon’s World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji. Our event sponsor, Bedrock Sandals, will be giving away two free pairs of sandals to two participants during the event.
Watch the Zoom conversation with Captain Clifton Lyles here.