PORT ANGELES — Olympic National Park’s Perspectives Winter Speaker Series will be presented in a hybrid format via Zoom and in person once a month from January through April.
The free presentations will be hosted by the North Olympic Library System at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St. The talks begin at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month in January, February and April. The talk will be conducted on the third Tuesday in March due to the speaker’s availability.
No registration is needed. The livestream can be joined using the link at NOLS.org/ONP or people can attend in person.
The series is made possible through the work of Olympic National Park, the North Olympic Library System, Discover Your Northwest and the Friends of Olympic National Park.
Schedule
• Jan. 9 — The History of Skiing in Olympic National Park
Retired physician Dr. Roger Merrill Oakes is a founder and past president of the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club, which operates a small ski area within Olympic National Park.
This presentation will highlight the history of recreational skiing in the park that Oakes researched to create his book, “Skiing in Olympic National Park.”
This book was completed with support from the cultural resource group at Olympic National Park and with the cooperation of many local skiers.
• Feb. 13 — In Search of the Rarest Plants on the Olympic Peninsula
Patrick Loafman, a biological technician with Olympic National Park, hikes to mountaintops, sloshes through bogs and kayaks lakes in a quest to find the rarest of plants in the Olympics.
The presentation will be full of close-up pictures of plants, including many not seen before.
• March 19 — Olympic Hiking Trails and Tales
Craig Romano.
Drawing from his bestselling “Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula Second Edition,” Romano will introduce the audience to a diverse array of trails on the Olympic Peninsula.
He hiked more than 2,000 miles researching the book, from easy nature trails to wilderness romps.
The revised volume contains 136 hikes, including many found in no other guidebooks. Many of the hikes from the previous edition have been greatly expanded, providing for even more hiking opportunities.
Romano has penned more than two dozen books covering the region. His “Columbia Highlands: Exploring Washington’s Last Frontier,” was recognized in 2010 by Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed and State Librarian Jan Walsh as a Washington Reads book for its contribution to Washington’s cultural heritage.
Romano has hiked more than 33,000 miles in Washington alone and is an avid ultra runner, recently completing the challenging Cuyamaca 100K Adventure Run.
• April 9 — Bat Research on the Olympic Peninsula
Bats are a key part of the Pacific Northwest ecosystems, yet relatively little is known about how they are using forest, mountain and coastal habitats.
Bats also are under threat due to the spread of a fungal pathogen called white-nose syndrome and are challenging to study because they are small, nocturnal and cryptic.
In this talk, Rebecca McCaffrey, a research biologist with USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, will discuss efforts to overcome these challenges in the Pacific Northwest and present results from studies conducted in and around Olympic National Park.
For more information about Olympic National Park, visit www.nps.gov/olym.
