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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #55150 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55150)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Many-Storied Mountains, by Greg Beaumont
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Many-Storied Mountains
-       The Life of Glacier National Park
-
-Author: Greg Beaumont
-
-Release Date: July 19, 2017 [EBook #55150]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MANY-STORIED MOUNTAINS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, MFR and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-
-
-
-
-
-  ★GPO:1978-261-215/3
-  For sale by the
-  Superintendent of Documents,
-  U.S. Government Printing Office,
-  Washington, DC 20402.
-  Stock Number 024-005-00709-1.
-
-  Library of Congress Cataloging In Publication Data
-
-  Beaumont, Greg, 1943-
-  Many-storied mountains.
-
-  (Natural history series)
-  1. Natural history—Montana—Glacier National Park.
-  2. Glacier National Park. I. Title. II. Series: Natural history series
-              (Washington, D.C.)
-  OH105 M9B43    500.9′786′52    78-606071
-
-
-
-
-                         Many-storied Mountains
-                   The Life of Glacier National Park
-
-
-                              Written and
-                            photographed by
-                             Greg Beaumont
-
-                                  1978
-                         Natural History Series
-                        Division of Publications
-                         National Park Service
-                    U.S. Department of the Interior
-
-    [Illustration: The landform of Glacier National Park is a monument
-    to the power of moving ice. This view from Stoney Indian Pass  is
-    startlingly different from the scene of a million years ago, when
-    the glaciers of the Pleistocene were sculpturing the land. Only the
-    higher peaks would then have been visible above the blanket of ice
-    that flowed like a slow-moving river down into the Mokowanis Valley
-    and out into the Great Plains beyond.]
-
-
-About This Book
-
-This natural history of the mountain wilderness called Glacier National
-Park is not a guidebook, but provides an overview of the ecology of the
-region. At the same time, it is a personal statement, revealing one
-individual’s response to this rugged, delicate land.
-
-For their consistent cooperation and helpfulness, I wish especially to
-thank Chief Naturalist Ed Rothfuss and his capable staff. Technical and
-field assistance came from many; for special thanks, I would like to
-single out Art Sedlack, Francis Singer, Bert Gildart, Walt Martin, Craig
-Kuchel, and Danny On. The manuscript profited greatly from the criticism
-of Douglas Chadwick, to whom I am deeply grateful.
-
-                                                                   —G.B.
-
-
-The National Park Service Division of Publications gratefully
-acknowledges the financial support given this book project by the
-Glacier Natural History Association, Inc., West Glacier, Mont.
-
-
-
-
-                                Contents
-
-
-  Song of the High Peaks                                                1
-  Cycles and Seasons                                                    5
-      Bedrock: The First Story                                          6
-      The Rising of the Sun and the Running of the Deer: A Glacier
-          Year                                                         39
-  Plant-and-Animal Communities                                         43
-      Over Going-to-the-Sun Road                                       44
-      Groves and Grasslands: The Prairie Sea                           46
-      The Forest                                                       70
-      Scrub Forest                                                    105
-      Tundra                                                          109
-      Water Communities                                               114
-  Shooting Stars                                                      121
-  Appendix                                                            125
-  Pictorial Features
-      The Mountains of Glacier                                         10
-      The Forests of Glacier                                           48
-      The Vital Predator                                               78
-      Protective Coloration                                            84
-      _Ursus arctos horribilus:_ The Vulnerable King                   88
-      Bald Eagles and Kokanee Salmon: A Recent Gathering               92
-      A Triumph of Many Colors                                         96
-      Fire Succession: Key to Continuity                              100
-
-
-Illustrations by Celia Strain/Morgan-Burchette Assoc.
-
-    [Illustration: Soaring eagle]
-
-
-
-
-                             Song of the High Peaks
-
-
-April again and the wind turns on the Great Plains. Wedges of geese,
-high and determined, began this storm of spring, their voices sharp as
-the morning frost. Sicklebills cry to claim the land, sandhill cranes
-wheel and talk overhead, and everywhere the killdeer shout.
-Pasqueflowers push the bleak soil aside, beginning the westward rush
-that I must join, seeking again the sight of mountains.
-
-In Glacier National Park the land is folded up. On the east, Chief
-Mountain, Curly Bear, and Rising Wolf break the prairie’s hold. When the
-early French fur trappers saw these peaks glistening in the distance
-with summer-long snows and perpetual ice, they named this region “the
-land of shining mountains.” But for all the ice and snow that reflect
-the summer sun, the park’s present glaciers are but snowflakes compared
-to the mighty rivers of ice that carved this land. Glaciation, the
-magnificent sculptor, left its bold signature everywhere, and this park
-honors with its name the force that shaped it.
-
-But the essential excitement of this land is more than cliff face,
-spire, and sudden storm. It comes to you when you realize that here is
-an aggregation of dramatically differing life zones, where a day’s walk
-can easily take you from prairie and forest to treelimit and tundra;
-where a dense forest of redcedar and hemlock, similar to the rain
-forests of the Pacific coast, exists a score of kilometers from the
-great prairie sea.
-
-Or it comes when you discover that these mountains—young and sharp with
-shadows, snow-jeweled and newly gowned with forests—are chiseled from
-the oldest unaltered sedimentary rocks on earth.
-
-I come from the prairie and love its broad strokes; I’ve learned to hear
-the singing in the grass and to see those long, slow seasons soar the
-level horizons like gliding hawks. But here I learned to match my days
-against a wild earth, and in me grew the mysterious need to know a
-mountain from its every side. Mountains that wear the dawn like yellow
-hats, repeated in the named and nameless lakes. Mountains that stretch
-the storms between them and balance rainbows ridge to ridge.
-
-I must see again the secret forest places, where the paleflowered
-wood-nymphs hover like a breath, and know once more the endless meadows
-painted camas blue.
-
-I need the perfect freedom of this land, to be able to say, _today I
-will climb Siyeh_: to stand, for a time, on the rugged shoulders of this
-upright earth.
-
-    [Illustration: The sharp spire of little Matterhorn and the broad
-    face of Mt. Edwards loom above Going-to-the-Sun Road in the upper
-    McDonald Valley. During warm days in spring the valleys of the park
-    resound with the thunder of avalanches.]
-
-    [Illustration: Twilight view.]
-
-
-
-
-                               Cycles and Seasons
-
-
-Bedrock: The First Story
-
-On the trail that connects the Logan Pass visitor center to Hidden Lake
-overlook there is a shallow pond. Near Hidden Pass, it collects its
-meltwater from the Continental Divide and sends it down the shallow
-gorge that drains the Hanging Gardens; as a waterfall it plunges into
-the upper St. Mary Valley where it becomes Reynolds Creek; joined by
-other tributaries, it continues its long journey to Hudson Bay.
-
-The surface of this pond is seldom still, for the wind treats it like a
-sea. Because the water is shallow, the wave action wrinkles the bottom
-mud into ripple patterns, mimicking the churning waves.
-
-I like to come here early in the morning. Sometimes, arriving before the
-wind awakes, I catch reflections of the surrounding mountains. Beyond
-the low bench of Logan Pass the Garden Wall begins, running northward
-with the Divide. In the eastern valley the pitched peak of
-Going-to-the-Sun hunkers in the morning light like a tensed warrior. To
-the south, the incisor Bearhat, beautiful cloud cutter of Hidden Lake
-Valley, juts above the nearby saddle of the pass. But over this place,
-standing as fresh monuments to an age of ice, tower the cliffs of
-Clements and the pyramid Reynolds.
-
-I am sitting on a wedge of red rock. Its surface exhibits a wrinkled
-pattern identical to the ripples in the soft mud of the shallow pond.
-The distance is not great; with a stick I could reach out and touch the
-mud. Yet this represents a gulf no bird can fly, for between the ripples
-of this rock and the ripples of this mud lie billions of vanished
-mornings, a constellation of years.
-
-These red, green, tan, white, black and purple bands of rock that layer
-Glacier’s mountains comprise the oldest unaltered sedimentary rocks on
-Earth. They were laid down in Precambrian time, more than a billion
-years ago, when life was just beginning, as the deposits of an inland
-sea.
-
-For millions of years, sand, mud and carbonates washed into the ancient
-sea, compressing the lower layers into mudstones and limestones,
-building up a sediment thickness that may have been as much as 10,000
-meters (_see_ metric conversion table on page 136).
-
-When we look at the sharp contours of Glacier’s mountains, we see the
-evidence of uplift, overthrust and glaciation. But on the geologic clock
-these are recent events, a mere eyeblink of time ago. For the vast
-majority of years, the rocks lay undisturbed and level beneath the sea
-and land.
-
-To understand better the tremendous time scale these rocks represent, we
-need a way to visualize the vast collection of years. If we were to make
-a movie of these geologic events, we would first need to determine how
-many years each minute should represent. Since the Pleistocene lasted
-about 3,000,000 years (its four ice ages sculpting the present muscle of
-this land), let us make each minute portray a million years. To
-chronicle these rocks we will then need a film 60 hours long!
-
-Not until the fifty-seventh hour of our film will the Mesozoic lowlands
-begin to bulge with the coming Rocky Mountain chain. During the long
-preceding hours we would have seen little else but sea—withdrawing,
-advancing, deep and shallow; yellow, green, and brown with great
-colonies of algae. Unseen below the water, lava has spilled out
-occasionally on the sea bottom; once, it intruded between the rock
-layers below, forming the conspicuous, 60-meter-thick band of black
-diorite that we see today on many mountain faces in Glacier.
-
-During this time of initial uplift an amazing process is going on deep
-underground. A major fault has developed, fracturing the buckled layers
-of rock. A vast mountain plate begins to slide eastward, over-riding and
-submerging the rock layers to the east and opening the wide trench that
-is today the North Fork Valley. Known as the Lewis Overthrust, this
-gigantic earth-force has created an unusual situation: ancient rock
-strata lying atop recent rock strata.
-
-Now less than 3 minutes of film remain. The arrival of the ice is
-imminent. We look at the landscape of featureless mountains and wonder
-at the dramatic difference that this last 3 million years will make. We
-do not see the familiar forests and lakes, the savage peaks, and the
-broad, deep valleys of this present land. These mountains are gentle,
-arid, and shallow-valleyed. The vague outlines are there; we recognize
-the general alignments of the drainage systems, the bloated domes from
-which sharp peaks will be cut. The mountains are connected to one
-another by blunt ridges and smooth saddles, and the shadows they cast
-are dull, dunelike.
-
-Suddenly the ice is there, filling the landscape, with only the
-mountaintops protruding. Four times in these last 3 minutes of film the
-ice sheets advance and retreat, each time leaving an altered landscape.
-Strange lakes and forests fill the gaps between the glacial invasions.
-Then we see the mountains we now know come into being rapidly, as if the
-land were being hacked into shape by giant cleavers.
-
-After this flicker of Pleistocene time, the film ends, the forests
-return, and familiar lakes shine beneath the sun again—these lakes and
-forests we had thought to be timeless.
-
-
-■
-Up springs the morning wind from Hidden Valley, making the nearby alpine
-fir branches whiz with its passing and shattering the perfect reflection
-of Bearhat Peak on the pond. From where I sit, it is a short distance to
-Hidden Pass; so I leave the pond and walk to the overlook to see again
-the fine basin quarried by an ancient glacier.
-
-Hidden Lake, deep, far below, so blue, fits into its cliffed, crooked
-valley like a polished boomerang. Closely ringed by ridge and
-peak—distant Sperry Glacier and pointed Gunsight peering up from the
-southern jumble, and broad Bearhat impossibly close—this lovely lake is
-almost lost amid such sharp proclamations of rock. Its outlet gorge
-gives a narrow view across the angled, hidden valleys of Avalanche and
-McDonald, past the pyramid of Stanton, to the low, faraway undulations
-of the Whitefish Range.
-
-Glaciation is a cruel master of mountains, biting deeply into their bulk
-and leaving sheer, spectacular contours when the glaciers disappear. The
-landforms here attest to their power, everywhere exhibiting the effects
-of glaciation.
-
-In eating back the mountain headwall, alpine glaciers formed rounded
-depressions, called cirques. Unlike the narrow clefts left by running
-water, these broad, deep basins look as though they were made by
-ice-cream scoops gouging into the rock. Hidden, Ptarmigan, Iceberg, and
-Avalanche Lakes sit in well-developed cirque basins, and many mountains
-are dimpled by the beginnings of other cirques—the conspicuous
-amphitheater on the south shoulder of Heaven’s Peak, for example.
-
-Occupying all major drainage systems, glaciers modified the contour of
-the valleys, changing them from their narrow, stream-cut V-shapes into
-broad U-shapes. Into these wide main valleys, waterfalls plunge from
-higher, smaller valleys. Like rivers, flowing glaciers have tributaries.
-Lacking the ice mass and cutting power of the main glaciers, these
-tributary ice fingers could not bite as deeply into the bedrock. When
-the ice melted, hanging valleys were left stranded high above the main
-valley floor. Hidden Lake sits in one of these hanging valleys, and from
-it Hidden Creek plunges 750 meters into Avalanche Basin toward McDonald
-Creek.
-
-On my many previous visits to this pass I have been too busy enjoying
-the wildflowers, the weather, or the scenery to realize what an open
-textbook of glaciation is everywhere displayed.
-
-I stand here on a small saddle of a pass. Wherever glaciers met, passes,
-or cols, were created. A high, notched pass like this one (or
-Swiftcurrent or Gunsight) reveals recent connections. Broad, lower
-passes, such as Logan, resulted where the ice early overran the mountain
-ridge and had a chance to work longer.
-
-Where two glaciers worked on opposing sides of a ridge and failed to
-meet, they formed an arête—a thin, steep-walled remnant resembling a saw
-blade. Another ice age would probably consume the park’s many thin
-arêtes, such as the Garden Wall and Ptarmigan Wall; but it would also
-create new ones from existing ridges.
-
-Further testimony to the sculpting power of ice is presented by Mt.
-Reynolds, looming to the east. The most dramatic feature of a glaciated
-landscape is the pyramid-shaped mountain called a horn—and Reynolds is a
-perfect example. Horns were formed when three or more glaciers cloaked
-the mountain, excavating its sides toward its core and gradually
-transforming its original domed shape into a sheer-sided peak. Glacier
-has many remarkable horns, from the sleek spire of St. Nicholas in the
-south to exquisite Kinnerly in the northern Kintla valley.
-
-Sperry Glacier stares back at me from the flank of Gunsight. Glaciers
-found in the park today are not remnants of the last ice phase, which
-ended here about 8,000 years ago, but are newly formed, having come into
-existence some 4,000 years ago. They reflect a cooling trend in the
-present climate.
-
-Shrinking steadily from their period of greatest extent in the middle of
-the last century, these modern glaciers finally stabilized in the late
-1940s and since then have shown only a slight increase in area.
-
-Movement distinguishes glaciers from icefields, and the movement of ice
-is a force on as well as a feature of a landscape. A glacier excavates
-by abrading and plucking at the rock. Alternately melting and freezing,
-ice at the headwalls plucks out blocks of rock. Ultimately the rocks are
-deposited along the sides or at the feet of the glacier as moraine
-debris. But as they move in the grip of the ice, they constantly abrade
-the rock surfaces they encounter. Polished rock beds of past glaciers
-show striations—grooves gouged by rock fragments imbedded in the moving
-ice.
-
-Flow rate of a glacier depends upon the thickness of the ice and the
-degree of slope. Under tremendous pressure, ice becomes plastic, like
-thick taffy. Unlike kilometer-thick continental glaciers, which may move
-a hundred meters a day, small alpine glaciers seldom progress more than
-two or three centimeters per day.
-
-Although a glacier moves, it gets nowhere if in a state of
-equilibrium—when annual melting equals annual accumulation. Snow mass
-gained at the sun-shielded headwall is usually lost as melt at the
-exposed snout. Glaciers such as Sexton or Weasel Collar, whose snouts
-perch on cliff edges, also lose mass by calving. Thunder you hear on a
-late-summer day near such a glacier may actually be the sound of ice
-pushed off from the lip of a cliff.
-
-Walking back to the visitor center, I suddenly stop where the trail
-skirts the steep moraine of Mt. Clements. From the opposite side of the
-moraine five mountain goats have appeared. Spotting me on the trail
-below, they also halt. But before I can get to my camera they are off in
-a stiff-legged gallop, running in single file along the crest of the
-moraine to the distant safety of the mountain face.
-
-Moraines are ridges of rock debris piled up along the edges and
-terminuses of glaciers. Like a bracelet lying against the wall of this
-mountain, the circle of steeply piled debris marks the extent of a
-small, recently vanished glacier. Ghost of the power that once resided
-here, a stagnant icefield lies beneath the confining walls of the
-moraine. The recent accumulation of these rock fragments is a mighty
-accomplishment, attesting to the force of moving ice.
-
-                                                     _continued on p. 38_
-
-    [Illustration: The Mountains of Glacier
-
-    Lying astride the Continental Divide in the Northern Rockies,
-    Glacier is above all else a mountain park. The special beauty of its
-    lakes, streams, and forests derives from the microclimates and
-    varied topography and soil produced by mountain-building and
-    mountain-eroding forces.]
-
-    [Illustration: Overthrust Mountains
-
-    1 A hypothetical block of the Earth’s crust in the region of Glacier
-    National Park as it existed more than 60 million years ago. The two
-    layers shown actually represent many strata of sedimentary rocks.
-
-    2 Lateral pressure begins to force the rock layers to buckle.
-
-    3 A large fold has been created, forcing the rock strata to double
-    over and overturning some layers. A break, or _fault_, is forming at
-    the plane of greatest stress.
-
-    4 The break has been completed and the strata west of the fault have
-    slid eastward, up and over the rocks east of the fault.
-
-    5 The Glacier landscape today. Throughout the millions of years
-    during which the folding, faulting, and overthrusting have been
-    taking place, the process of erosion has continued; a thousand
-    meters of stratified rocks have been worn away, so that only a
-    remnant of the overthrust layers can be seen today. Because
-    Glacier’s eastern slope represents the eroded face of the overthrust
-    block, the mountain range rises precipitously from the prairie, with
-    no foothills breaking the abrupt transition from open prairie to
-    mountain valley.]
-
-    [Illustration: The peaks in this photograph (a view to the northwest
-    from Marias Pass) are remnants of the overthrust block, which moved
-    eastward. The dividing line between the light-colored rocks and the
-    gray talus slopes beneath them is the Lewis Overthrust Fault.]
-
-    [Illustration: Glaciation
-
-    1 This is how the landscape in this region might have appeared
-    before the onset of the Pleistocene, millions of years ago. Note the
-    stream-eroded, V-shaped valleys. The climate at that time was dry.
-
-    2 Glaciers began to form high on the peaks, crept downward, and
-    joined to form larger glaciers.
-
-    3 After many centuries of glaciation, tributary glaciers have cut
-    back into the peaks, forming basins called _cirques_. Thick
-    glaciers, moving rapidly and carrying rock fragments, have abraded
-    the main valleys’ floors and sides, widening and deepening the
-    valleys into characteristic U-shapes.]
-
-  V-shaped Valley
-  Tributary Glacier
-  Unglaciated Peak
-  Headwall
-  Meltwater Stream
-  Nose of Glacier
-  Crevasse
-
-    [Illustration: 4 In the present landscape, free of all but remnant
-    glaciers, small lakes called _tarns_ occupy many of the cirque
-    basins; and waterfalls plunge into the main valleys from higher,
-    shallower, tributary valleys, called _hanging valleys_. _Alluvial
-    cones_—recent accumulations of rock debris—have begun to build along
-    the valley walls. In the main valley, a _moraine_ (a deposit of rock
-    materials left by the retreating glacier) has formed a dam that
-    holds back a large lake.
-
-    During all this time, all parts of the terrain not buried under ice
-    and snow have been weathered and eroded by nonglacial forces. Thus
-    the contours of the jagged peaks and sheer cliffs have been
-    softened.]
-
-  Unglaciated V-shaped Valley
-  U-shaped Valley
-  Hanging Valley
-  Cirque
-  Tarn
-  Alluvial Cone
-  Moraine
-  Morainal Lake
-
-    [Illustration: Glacial landforms can be identified in this view of
-    the Mokowanis Valley.]
-
-    [Illustration: A Divided Climate
-
-    Because of an eastward flow of cool, moist Pacific air masses, the
-    climate of northwestern Montana, including the western portion of
-    Glacier National Park, differs from that of other portions of
-    Montana. As a result of increased precipitation, Glacier’s western
-    valleys support a rich flora, more typical of the Pacific Northwest.
-
-    West
-
-    Moist Pacific air
-
-    As the moisture-laden Pacific winds are pushed up the windward
-    slopes of Glacier’s mountains, the air cools and water vapor
-    condenses, forming fog or clouds. Rain or snow begins to fall as the
-    air continues to rise and cool. By the time the air mass reaches the
-    crest and flows down the leeward slopes, most of the moisture has
-    been lost.
-
-    Western slopes average about 70 cm. of precipitation at elevations
-    between 900 and 1,100 m. Upper elevations average 200 to 250 cm.,
-    mostly in the form of snow; and 300 to 500 cm. is common.
-
-    East
-
-    Dry chinook winds
-
-    Eastern slopes, under the influence of Continental air masses,
-    receive less annual precipitation. West Glacier’s annual average is
-    66.5 cm. Babb, a small town east of the park, averages 49.3 cm.
-    Frequent high winds east of the Divide further reduce moisture
-    through evaporation.
-
-    Exposed to Arctic air masses flowing down from Canada, locations
-    east of the Divide also suffer more severe winter conditions than do
-    protected western valleys. Average January temperature is -5°C at
-    West Glacier, -8° at Babb.
-
-    Moreover, 80 percent of the winter days in the western portion of
-    the park are overcast, a condition almost identical to that of
-    Seattle, Wash. This serves to moderate winter temperatures and to
-    minimize evaporation.]
-
-    [Illustration: Moss campion and mountain forget-me-not colonize a
-    fellfield. Fellfields are rocky alpine sites that are slightly less
-    than 50% bare rock, interspersed with such plant pioneers as cushion
-    plants, mosses, and lichens.]
-
-    [Illustration: High lakes generally occupy cirque basins. These
-    depressions in the valley bedrock, quarried by glaciers, are deepest
-    near the headwall where ice thickness was greatest. Cold and deep,
-    and ice-free only weeks each year, tarns cannot support vascular
-    plants or vertebrates. Iceberg Lake, shut off from the sun most of
-    the year by the encompassing 1,000-meter walls of Mt. Wilbur and the
-    Ptarmigan Wall, is never completely free of ice.]
-
-    [Illustration: Lake McDonald, 16 kilometers long, 2 kilometers wide,
-    and 134 meters deep, is the largest lake in the park. Its basin is
-    the classic U-shaped glacial valley. Forested lateral moraines on
-    either shore gently rise 600 meters above lake level.
-    Going-to-the-Sun Road snakes along the eastern shore, and Logan Pass
-    lies near the center of the photograph, behind the peaks of the
-    Lewis Range.]
-
-    [Illustration: Subjected to the drying and shaping effects of wind
-    both winter and summer, this Douglas-fir, growing in the prairie
-    community near St. Mary, will attain neither the symmetrical shape
-    nor the great size of the Douglas-firs growing in moister, more
-    sheltered sites on the western slopes of the Continental Divide.]
-
-    [Illustration: Freeze-and-thaw cycles continually fracture and
-    loosen rocks along joints, making them subject to removal by the
-    actions of water, gravity, and avalanche. The resulting fans of rock
-    debris (talus cones) indicate the extent of erosion since the
-    withdrawal of the Pleistocene glaciers.]
-
-    [Illustration: Although moving water is an agent of erosion—the
-    primary destructive force of mountain masses—it also permits life.
-    Even small watercourses, such as this freshet, abound with plant and
-    invertebrate life.]
-
-    [Illustration: Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, towering above the St.
-    Mary Valley, from the trail to Siyeh Pass. The coniferous forest at
-    its base and the alpine tundra plants at its summit are closely
-    juxtaposed in space; but if these two communities grew at the same
-    elevation they would be separated by thousands of kilometers. Hiking
-    from St. Mary Lake up to Siyeh Pass is going, in effect, from
-    Montana to the Arctic Circle; but here the life zones are compressed
-    and sharply divided rather than extended and overlapping.]
-
-    [Illustration: Setting moon and snow shelf near the summit of
-    Heavens Peak. Note stratification of Precambrian sediments.]
-
-    [Illustration: Western redcedars line the shores of Lake McDonald.
-    Because of prevailing air currents from the Pacific coast, winters
-    in the protected western valleys are moist and comparatively mild,
-    and this deep body of water freezes over an average of only one
-    winter in four.]
-
-    [Illustration: Moose often follow the spring snowmelt upwards to the
-    headwaters of drainages. This bull will remain at Thunderbird Pond,
-    at the base of Brown Pass, until autumn, when it will return to its
-    Waterton Valley wintering ground.]
-
-    [Illustration: Because of the high reproductive capacity of insects
-    and small mammals, if all their offspring survived the earth’s plant
-    life would be consumed within one year. This is prevented by natural
-    controls such as predation and parasitism. The American kestrel
-    (“sparrow hawk”) feeds primarily on large insects and on small
-    rodents such as the meadow vole here.]
-
-    [Illustration: Gray jays are found in the deep coniferous forests of
-    the park. In some parks gray jays, or “camp robbers,” loiter about
-    campgrounds and picnic areas begging or stealing food. In Glacier,
-    however, they are seldom noticed as they search out seeds, berries,
-    and insects.]
-
-    [Illustration: A generalized predator, the coyote will eat almost
-    anything, from berries to carrion. When man eliminated most of the
-    coyote’s enemies and competitors, including the wolf, grizzly, and
-    cougar, it enlarged its range to fill the void. Intelligent and
-    social, the coyote thrives despite man’s persecution. Although most
-    numerous in the prairie community, it ranges up to timberline.]
-
-    [Illustration: The spruce grouse is a year-round resident of the
-    spruce/fir and lodgepole communities. It forages on the ground for
-    seeds and insects, in winter turning to needles. Several other
-    species of grouse occupy different habitats in Glacier.]
-
-    [Illustration: Chipmunks are found in every community, from prairie
-    to tundra, in Glacier. Each of the park’s three very similar species
-    has its preferred habitat. The diurnal counterpart to nocturnally
-    active mice, which have the same diet of seeds, berries and
-    occasional insects, chipmunks adapt easily to the presence of people
-    and become nuisances if encouraged by handouts. Feeding rodents is
-    dangerous and is harmful to them. By altering their diets and
-    blunting their cautious instincts, daily exposure to “free lunches”
-    makes the animals less fit to face the harsh realities of their
-    natural environment.]
-
-    [Illustration: Unlike whitetail deer, which remain in lowland areas
-    all year, mule deer range upward into high meadows during the
-    summer. The bucks, especially, are wanderers and travel together.
-    Velvet antlers, worn during the time of summer sociability, presage
-    the autumn contests to come.]
-
-    [Illustration: The checkerspot butterfly belongs to the most diverse
-    group of animals on the planet—the insects, whose importance can
-    hardly be overestimated. They not only help recycle nutrients in the
-    living community and provide an abundant food base for other
-    lifeforms, but are instrumental in pollinating most of the earth’s
-    terrestrial plants.]
-
-    [Illustration: Alpine vegetation must be able to survive freezing
-    temperature during the growing season, since winter conditions are
-    possible even in summer. Early bloomers, such as the glacier lily,
-    endure repeated snowfalls during the unstable weather conditions of
-    June.]
-
-    [Illustration: Unlike mountain goats, these bighorn rams will desert
-    the alpine zone at the approach of winter; they will join other
-    bighorns congregating in the lower valleys.]
-
-    [Illustration: In November bighorn sheep rams end their summer-long
-    isolation from the ewes, move down from the higher slopes, and begin
-    a bloodless but taxing ritual of strength and endurance to determine
-    the harem master. The sharp reports of clashing horns may carry for
-    kilometers, and the contests continue for weeks until the dominant
-    ram emerges. (Note the Many Glacier hotel complex in the valley
-    below.)]
-
-    [Illustration: Hummingbirds, like shrews and other small-bodied,
-    warm-blooded animals, exist at the theoretical thresh-hold of life.
-    Because of their small size, body volume is not large enough in
-    relation to surface area to prevent a rapid loss of body heat. To
-    compensate for this, metabolic rates must be high; food is rapidly
-    processed and used up. Thus, since fat reserves are not practical on
-    such small animals, they must eat at frequent intervals.
-
-    Two species of hummingbirds—the rufous and the calliope—are found in
-    Glacier. Pictured is a female rufous (which weighs about the same as
-    a dime) landing on its lichen decorated nest to feed its two young
-    on a protein-rich mixture of nectar and small insects.]
-
-    [Illustration: The insect-eating yellowthroat prefers moist
-    habitats. Unlike many of its treetop-dwelling relatives, this tiny
-    (10-11 cm.) warbler is usually seen near or on the ground.]
-
-    [Illustration: Bands of bighorn ewes and lambs do not summer as high
-    as the rams and are often encountered in the scrub-forest zone. Note
-    the gnarled limber pine in the foreground of this photograph taken
-    on the south face of Altyn Peak.]
-
-Reaching the mountain wall, the goats scramble upward to a ledge,
-sending scree streams pouring from several clefts. Encountering a
-narrow, steep snowbank, they do not hesitate but continue across the
-slope. Above the rock fingers of this peak the gathering clouds grow
-black. A sudden crack of thunder hurries me down the trail.
-
-Although geologically young, the Rocky Mountains in Glacier are composed
-of soft sedimentary rocks that are easily assailed by the many agents of
-weathering and erosion. If not rejuvenated by continual uplift, these
-magnificent peaks will glimmer but briefly in the long memory of the
-planet.
-
-Already the sharp countenance of this land is being softened by the
-ongoing forces of erosion. Chief among these is water, which attacks the
-mountains everywhere. In addition, frost action continually exploits
-rock fractures, breaking down blocks of rock into talus and scree.
-Avalanche and rockfall sweep down the slopes. Layers of softer rock
-erode quickly, undercutting more resistant rock and creating overhangs
-which gravity, in time, will collapse.
-
-The lashing rain catches me on this sun-and-storm-contested pass. Ice,
-gravity, wind, and especially water—all attack a land that dares the
-clouds.
-
-
-The Rising of the Sun and the Running of the Deer: A Glacier Year
-
-As if to make up for the days-long darkness of this last blizzard, the
-peaks today wear snow plumes—long, graceful trails of white, curving up
-into an ice-blue sky. Yesterday the snow-mad wind raced through the
-forest. Today the motionless trees are cloaked in heavy, glistening
-robes, the leafless aspen and young larch bent down.
-
-Moderate snowfall helps many plants and animals survive the winter. For
-ground dwellers it provides insulation from the wildly fluctuating
-winter temperatures encountered east of the Divide, protecting the
-hibernators and providing cover for the many small mammals that remain
-active during the winter. Wind-swept ground freezes deep; but under a
-mantle of snow life-sustaining heat is trapped, permitting many animals
-to survive and allowing the work of decomposers to continue.
-
-But this has been a winter of too much snow and too many temperature
-extremes. The heavy snowpack has forced the sharp-hoofed deer to yard up
-in great numbers; unable to range freely in deep snow, they are forced
-into smaller and smaller confines where their numbers allow them to
-break and maintain trails. But in time they exhaust the food supply.
-Younger deer, unable to reach the increasingly higher browse line,
-starve first. Then the does, heavy with unborn fawns, grow weak and fall
-to predators. So the imprisoned herds dwindle quickly this year,
-sometimes less than a kilometer from plentiful browse.
-
-Deep snow is also death for many seed-eating birds. As they are unable
-to scratch for food, their body furnaces quickly fail, and during a
-night of cold wind their fluffed corpses drop into the snow.
-
-Exposed to the noon sun, the snow surface thaws; when refrozen, it is
-restructured to crystalline ice. If snow repeatedly thaws and freezes,
-an ice barrier is formed, shutting off vital air exchange. Plants are
-then subject to rot, and micro-animal life is smothered. Travel beneath
-the snow is made more difficult for mice and shrews and they are
-deprived of food and cover. Under such conditions their numbers rapidly
-decline.
-
-But while many starve in a winter of deep snow, others benefit. The
-exposed traffic of small mammals is to the owl’s advantage. Foxes and
-coyotes more easily run down rabbits and hares on crusted snow. Deer
-and, to a lesser extent, wapiti and moose—their hoofs punching through
-the snowpack—swiftly tire in deep snow and become helpless before cougar
-or wolf, whose lighter weight is supported by the crust.
-
-Grim as this winter’s toll becomes, enough will survive to begin the
-process of renewal in spring. Last winter, a season of light snow, was a
-time of hardship for predators. The deer remained strong, the wapiti
-remote on high, windswept ridges, and the small mammals hidden.
-
-Only the water ouzel, winter after winter, seems not to notice the
-hardships of the season. Lord of his small world of open water, he sings
-in February, wading and swimming his diminished stream to find a
-never-failing supply of water insects and small fish. It is a voice of
-spring—glad, wild, continual as the moving water—an incongruous song in
-this winter-shrouded land.
-
-But with the growing stature of the sun, the grip of winter softens. The
-firs and spruce send their loads of snow sliding to the ground. Streams
-begin to sing again and soon the lakes increase, the booming of
-splitting ice breaking the silence of the valleys. Avalanches thunder
-down the steeper slopes, carrying trees to the swollen streams. Rivers
-hiss and rage, speeding the debris along. A spring that comes too
-suddenly will bring flood to lower elevations.
-
-Snow geese thread through the valleys, and ground squirrels tunnel up
-through snow to find invasions of birds returning from the south. Soon
-the three-petaled wakerobins appear, chasing the snowline up the ridges.
-Glacier lilies and Calypso orchids are next, and with the shooting stars
-spring arrives.
-
-The melting snow releases a new group of animals to populate the
-winter-thinned land. Up come chipmunks. Bears reappear. Young red
-squirrels, helpless and blind, squirm in their nest holes. Hidden dens
-rustle with pups and kits. Soon warm days will bring them out and the
-business of learning to cope with their world will begin.
-
-All life responds irresistibly to the growing strength of the Sun.
-Cottonwood, willow, and maple come into flower and unfold new leaves;
-green needle clusters spot the limbs of larches that in winter had
-seemed lifeless snags among the other conifers. Beneath the soil of
-prairie, meadow, and forest, in the mud of lakes and ponds, other life
-stirs; armies of insects, spiders, crustaceans, amphibians, and fish
-will strive to complete their life cycles against the formidable odds of
-a predatory world.
-
-Spring reaches higher up the mountains, the lowlands passing into
-summer. Wapiti and mountain sheep follow the rising tide of succulent
-browse up to the high meadows. In forest, grove, and meadow and along
-the stream new fledglings appear—thrush, vireo, hummingbird, waxwing,
-harlequin duck, bluebird, osprey, and flicker—as holes, nests, and
-cavities brim with begging mouths.
-
-In the alpine meadows, where snow overlaps the spring and winter follows
-hard behind the summer, the growing season is short and the climate
-unstable. Sensing the stronger light, flowers push up impatiently
-through the snow and hasten into bloom. Pikas and marmots scurry and
-sunbathe among the rocks of scree slopes.
-
-Summer matures in ripening huckleberries, and the bears that grazed the
-spring grasses now gorge themselves fat. Dry days of August bring
-probing lightning, threatening the forests with fire.
-
-Sweeps of beargrass reach their climax now in the highest meadows. In
-dizzy succession wildflowers set seed. Fat and sluggish, marmots and
-ground squirrels disappear beneath the rocks. The golden eagle must
-search longer each day to find prey within its vast domain.
-
-Autumn lingers in the valleys and on the flanks of low ridges. The
-morning sun glints on hoarfrost, firing the yellow leaves of larch,
-aspen, birch, maple, and cottonwood, and shines on the blood-red berries
-of mountain-ash. Soon a night of killing frost will bring down the
-corpses of insects and spiders by the millions. The reptiles and
-amphibians, being cold-blooded animals, seem out of place in this
-long-wintered land. Unable to maintain body temperatures appreciably
-above their surroundings, they are the first to seek the protection of
-hibernation, collecting in dens or burying themselves beneath the ooze
-of pond bottoms.
-
-Songbirds gather and leave the valleys. The harsh cries of jays sound
-ominous now in the forest. Only the chickadees seem to ignore the long
-tree shadows; their ceaseless conversations carry through the leafless
-underbrush as they busily search for seed.
-
-Velvet has gone to bone, and in these final noon-warm days the rut runs
-through the land. It begins in the valleys in September with the
-joustings of deer and moose and the buglings of bull wapiti puncturing
-the forest silence. By November the higher meadows ring with the
-collisions of bighorn rams who compete for ewes by smashing together
-their massive, curled horns. On high slopes mountain goat billies
-posture and swagger; head to tail, they circle, threatening each other
-with dagger-like horns.
-
-From Flathead Lake, 100 stream kilometers to the south, kokanee salmon
-return to spawn in the clear, cold shallows of McDonald Creek. Gathering
-bald eagles surround the stream, again and again lifting vulnerable fish
-from pool and riffle. Perched by the hundreds along the stream course,
-their white heads and tails glistening against the dark trees, they
-stand out like lanterns strung for a banquet.
-
-Now the stinging wind comes down from the peaks and shuts the lakes.
-Life slows or sleeps. Ptarmigan, snowshoe hare, and longtail weasel, all
-wearing winter white, seek shelter and food in a silent land where
-spring and yellow lilies seem forever lost.
-
-
-■
-All life faces one ultimate challenge: to survive or not, to reproduce
-or fail, to bring one’s kind to tomorrow’s sun or vanish forever. This
-land is harsh. To survive in nature demands skill in the individual,
-excellence in the species, and a chance from the environment.
-
-    [Illustration: The mink, a solitary predator associated with
-    low-elevation watercourses, preys on anything it can catch and
-    subdue.]
-
-
-
-
-                      Plant-and-Animal Communities
-
-
-Over Going-to-the-Sun Road
-
-I like to begin with St. Mary, a lake the whitecaps love to run. From
-the far passes the several winds gather and collect, arranging long
-lines of white waves for the race downlake. Past the purple scree of
-Mahtotopa and Little Chief they go, white as the headdress of
-Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, colliding, collapsing along the promontory
-snares about the Narrows. Onward they press, spreading out and setting
-sail for the straight rush to the final shore where a line of
-cottonwoods sings with a sound like applause.
-
-Across the lake the timbered ridge starkly contrasts the finger of
-prairie that claims the north shore. This is a flower-glad place, a
-meeting-ground for mountain and prairie plants. Along the road the
-grassland holds the conifers back, allowing only scattered clumps of
-aspens.
-
-Finally, at Rising Sun, beneath the shadow of Goat Mountain, the prairie
-ends and wind-seasoned Douglas-firs announce the coming forest.
-
-There’s excitement now, with the prairie heat gone, the wind scent raw
-with fir and high meadows, honed by waterfall and tall, dank rock. Our
-mountain thirst is never extinguished, and a road that tightens down to
-cliff face and sudden turn brings back to our blood the ancient need to
-go to the highest place.
-
-There is sword-edged Citadel, and the snow-flanked spike of Fusillade
-holding court like a queen in this valley of peaks; then the dome of
-Jackson and the Gunsight notch. Our eyes are kept high, transfixed at
-last by looming Heavy Runner and the distant promise of Reynolds.
-
-Looking for mountain goats, we scan the walls around the sweep of Siyeh
-Bend, catching a glimpse of the trail that crosses the scree to hidden
-Piegan Pass.
-
-Beargrass heads lean out above the road like old men conferring on the
-view. The purple trumpets of penstemon crowd the rocks, and spots of
-Indian paintbrush lead like a blood-trail to the higher slopes.
-
-Intoxicated now, feeling the fresh full force of the wind from Logan
-Pass, we race on. We hardly notice the struggle of the forest in
-Reynolds Creek far below, how it thins and loses strength in its own
-hard climb. We sweep past it on the broad magnificence of this pass.
-
-Level but a moment, the road dips to a shelf on the headwall above Logan
-Creek and swings over the great sculptured cliff of the Garden Wall. For
-several kilometers this masterpiece of a road glides down a constant
-grade, squeezed between rock face and space, twisting into tight
-drainages—a road for storm lovers, wet with spray and snow-seep, its
-quick turns concealing sudden winds.
-
-Mighty, snow-robed Heaven’s Peak appears, taking our attention from the
-Pass-group mountains and the hanging valley that spills Birdwoman Falls.
-Northward is the great array of peaks encircling distant Flattop,
-jumbles of mountains and glaciers. How are we to notice the forest far
-below?
-
-Not until we have passed the Loop and are moving past the blackened
-snags of a recent burn do we realize the stature of this forest. The
-long road down will take us into a valley much deeper than any on the
-eastern side. Near Avalanche Creek are trees we have seen nowhere else
-in the park—giant western redcedars, western hemlocks with their nodding
-tops, monstrous black cottonwoods with bark so deeply furrowed that it
-looks hewn by hatchet.
-
-We take a long ride down the valley, past the low pyramid of Mt.
-Stanton, final peak in the Livingston Range. Near the outlet end of Lake
-McDonald, birch and aspen again appear in numbers, and the road enters a
-crowded stand of lodgepole pine.
-
-Our memories cluttered with mountains, waterfalls, and snowfields, we do
-not quite realize the significance of this 80-kilometer journey. We have
-crossed the boundaries of several different plant-and-animal
-communities, spanning a range of climate that would be encountered on a
-5,000-kilometer north-south journey at sea level.
-
-At first glance the various trees, wildflowers, and animals seem
-randomly distributed, scattered about like the distant mountains. But
-mountainous terrain represents an organized high-rise approach to life.
-From the lowest, most protected valley to the highest wind-and-ice-cut
-summit, the life-forms align themselves, each according to its own
-climatic tolerance.
-
-Here too can be seen the great cycles of nature: fire and regrowth, the
-building of soil and its erosion, the incessant duel of the eaters and
-the eaten.
-
-In the following sections we will spend some time in these various
-communities, from prairie to tundra.
-
-
-Groves and Grasslands: The Prairie Sea
-
-There is something about spring on the prairie that gets me up before
-dawn. I like to watch the seasons change their guard over the landscape,
-from the wintry cold of pre-dawn dark to the spring-scented morning air
-to the hot summer-foretaste of the noon May sun.
-
-Hoarfrost surrounds these patches of pasqueflowers, blue goblets on
-downy stems. On this windless night, frost has formed everywhere,
-reclaiming for a time its vast winter range, sparkling over the green
-handiworks of spring.
-
-But the god of the growing grasslands is the sun, and it now proclaims
-itself, stretching out to make the mountains shine. With its assault the
-frost collapses, becoming bright beads on grass tip and leaf joint by
-which a beetle might refresh itself.
-
-Spring is best perceived ant-level, at its ground beginnings, where the
-bright yellow-green tips of new grass shoots reclaim the winter-blighted
-land. I look closely at a drag line of spider silk; a necklace of
-dewdrops slides down, collects to a moment’s greatness, in which I
-briefly see a curved horizon, the morning sunburst, and myself, before
-it falls away.
-
-Getting up from my prone position, my belly damp from the prairie earth,
-I startle a whitetail jackrabbit; bounding high, it zigzags off. The
-commotion disturbs a distant badger, which faces about from its diggings
-to confront danger in whatever form it might take. It swings its snout
-to scent the air. Somewhat uncertainly, it returns to the business of
-hunting, then hesitates, swings about once more and waits, myopic,
-patient.
-
-Satisfied at last, the spurt of the now distant rabbit lost in its
-brain, the creature snorts a defiance at the mystery and resumes its
-morning gopher hunt.
-
-Overhead a marsh hawk skims past, its flight erratic as a butterfly’s.
-Far away a magpie rattles at the passing hawk and takes flight, briefly
-flashing black and white.
-
-
-■
-It is easy to see only pieces in the natural puzzle—a badger throwing
-dirt, horned larks dipping into wind, black ants dragging the rosette of
-a dead spider—and be satisfied with the scattered scenes. But at last,
-to make it meaningful, we must complete the picture. There is that
-special joy in discovering larger schemes: green plants utilizing
-sunlight; a rabbit building its days at the plants’ expense; the falcon
-tearing the rabbit meat for its young; magpies picking at the fallen
-falcon; and then, in the end, all returning to the earth.
-
-Here on the prairie, as in every plant-and-animal association, the
-ancient drama repeats itself over and over; the distant tundra is a
-drastically different stage with different actors, but the cycle is the
-same. Life depends upon the interaction of all its many forms. Unseen
-bacteria are as necessary to the land as green grass; the meadow vole
-and the coyote are as much a part of the prairie as the grasses.
-
-The secret of life rests in the wonder of photosynthesis. Only green
-plants can manufacture food from the earth’s raw minerals. This is the
-vital first step upon which the great pyramid of animal and plant life
-is built. Using energy from the sun, green plants combine water and
-carbon dioxide to synthesize sugar, and give off oxygen as a by-product.
-The caterpillar takes its energy from the plant tissue, converting to
-protein the sugar and minerals in its body. The caterpillar is then food
-for a spider or other predator. A yellow warbler may take the spider and
-in turn be ambushed by the prairie falcon. Thus the energy produced by
-the plant travels through the food chain. When the prairie falcon dies,
-scavengers—including insects and other invertebrates, birds, and
-mammals—redistribute its wealth among themselves; the rest is decomposed
-by bacteria. Thus, eventually, the nutrients on which the plants depend
-return to the soil.
-
-When we look at any living organism, whether it is plant, herbivore,
-carnivore, parasite, scavenger, or decomposer, we are soon made aware of
-its associations with other living things, each puzzle piece leading us
-to another and another. We begin to see a picture whole—the fox, meadow
-mouse, grasshopper, bunchgrass, and sparrow hawk—all interlocked.
-
-Geologically speaking, grasslands are a recent development. As the Rocky
-Mountains were being uplifted, the prevailing warm, moist climate began
-to change. The rising mountain mass intercepted moisture-laden winds
-that blew in from the Pacific, creating a rain shadow that lengthened
-eastward as the mountains rose higher. A continental climate,
-characterized by severe winters and dry, wildfire summers gradually took
-shape, extinguishing the great forests that had grown across the
-continent’s interior. Herbaceous plants, which had been evolving amid
-the forests, inherited the land.
-
-Unlike trees, grasses die back to the ground each winter, hoarding their
-life-germ beneath the protecting soil. Growing not from the tip but from
-the joints, grasses regenerate quickly after fire or grazing. Suspension
-of the normal metabolic processes enable the grasses to go dormant and
-thus survive periods of severe heat and drought.
-
-Although the great prairie sea washes up against Glacier’s eastern
-boundary, with estuaries probing into the mountain valleys on the drier,
-south-facing slopes, the grassland community comprises less than 5
-percent of the land area of Glacier National Park. This includes the
-puddles of prairie west of the Divide that interrupt the dense
-coniferous forests along the North Fork of the Flathead River.
-
-From the pasqueflowers that bloom in early May to the asters and
-goldenrod of September, these summer-long gardens of grasses and flowers
-lean with the wind. Here are timothy, oatgrass and the
-bunchgrasses—rough fescue, bluebunch fescue, and bluebunch wheatgrass.
-Among the grasses bloom bitterroot, blue camas, lupine, gaillardia,
-balsamroot, cinquefoil, sticky geranium, and wild rose.
-
-                                                     _continued on p. 68_
-
-    [Illustration: The Forests of Glacier
-
-    From the lush redcedar-hemlock forest in the McDonald Valley to the
-    subalpine fir, whitebark pine, and Engelmann spruce struggling for
-    existence near treeline, the forests of Glacier reflect the
-    conditions of temperature, exposure, soil, and drainage prevailing;
-    and each forest has its characteristic association of understory
-    trees and shrubs, herbaceous ground cover, and vertebrate and
-    invertebrate animal life.]
-
-    [Illustration: Life Zones
-
-    Many physical and climatic factors determine the range of Glacier’s
-    plant-and-animal communities. Boundaries between communities are
-    seldom sharply defined, but rather merge together in broad zones of
-    transition.
-
-    With elevation gain, average daily temperature drops at the rate of
-    5° per 900 meters. Precipitation, wind velocity, and evaporation
-    loss increase. Soil thins. These factors, along with others such as
-    fire frequency, north or south exposure, and availability of
-    moisture, combine to determine the range of each community.
-
-    In the forest community below 1,800 meters, Douglas-fir, lodgepole
-    pine, and western larch predominate. In the valleys, Engelmann
-    spruce and subalpine fir are found. The somewhat lower and much
-    better watered western valleys of the park support western redcedar
-    and western hemlock.
-
-    Treeline is the upper limit to which the tolerances of trees to
-    environmental conditions permit them to grow. Because there are so
-    many controlling factors (wind, temperature, exposure to sunlight,
-    snow cover, etc.) treeline in the diagram is only approximate. In
-    Glacier it averages 2,000 meters. Avalanche chutes or sheer cliff
-    walls may suppress it to below 1,500 meters; on protected slopes it
-    may be as high as 2,150 meters.
-
-    At the eastern edge of the park below 1,200 meters, the forest gives
-    way to the prairie community, composed mostly of soft-stemmed plants
-    adapted to the conditions of low precipitation that prevail here in
-    the rainshadow of the mountain range. Clumps of aspen, found in the
-    prairie in sheltered spots, occur here in the transition zone
-    between prairie and forest.]
-
-    [Illustration: A Mountain Profile
-
-    This diagram represents the eastward-facing slope of a hypothetical
-    mountain near the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park. Its
-    life communities are somewhat different from those of mountain
-    slopes at the western edge, chiefly because of the differential in
-    annual precipitation.
-
-    Illustration: Here, above approximately 2,750 meters, in a realm of
-    ice, snow, and barren rock, there is little life.
-
-    Alpine tundra
-
-    Below 2,750 meters and above 2,000 meters, depending on other
-    factors such as exposure to sun and wind and steepness of terrain,
-    exists the alpine tundra community, with vegetation similar to that
-    of the vast, essentially level, treeless zones of the Arctic.
-
-    Scrub-forest
-
-    Roughly between 1,800 and 2,000 meters, the dominant vegetation is
-    scrub-forest. Trees here are stunted; except in sheltered spots they
-    are more or less prone rather than upright. Net growth is slow, not
-    only because of the short growing season but also because of the
-    pruning effect of icy mountain winds. Very few tree species can
-    survive in this harsh habitat.
-
-    Coniferous forest
-
-    In the forest community below 1,800 meters, Douglas fir, lodgepole
-    pine, and western larch predominate. In the valleys, Engelmann
-    spruce and subalpine fir are found. The somewhat lower and much
-    better watered western valleys of the park support western redcedar
-    and western hemlock. See page 54
-
-    Prairie
-
-    At the eastern edge of the park below 1,200 meters, the forest gives
-    way to the prairie community, composed mostly of soft-stemmed plants
-    adapted to the conditions of low precipitation that prevail here in
-    the rainshadow of the mountain range. Clumps of aspen, found in the
-    prairie in sheltered spots, occur here in the transition zone
-    between prairie and forest.]
-
-    [Illustration: The Forest Community
-
-    A forest is organized vertically like an apartment house or office
-    building, with layers corresponding to stories. The _canopy_ is the
-    branches and foliage of tall trees that form a roof over the
-    community. Below the canopy are the _understory_ trees: young
-    individuals of the canopy species; and small, shade-tolerant trees
-    that will never become part of the canopy. Beneath the understory
-    branches is the _shrub layer_, occupied by knee-high-to-man-high
-    woody plants; beneath that is the _herb layer_, where most of the
-    ferns, wildflowers, grasses, and smaller woody plants grow. The
-    _forest floor_ is the zone of mosses, mushrooms, creeping plants,
-    and forest litter (leaves, twigs, needles, feathers, bits of bark,
-    animal droppings, etc.). The forest has a “basement,” too,
-    interlaced by plant roots, mycelia of fungi, and tunnels of myriad
-    animals.
-
-    Each layer of the forest has its characteristic animal species, but
-    most forage over more than one level. Some nest in one story and
-    feed in another. The red squirrel races back and forth from the
-    forest floor to the highest branches.
-
-    The forest community also has a socio-economic organization. Every
-    animal (and plant) takes up space and consumes a portion of the
-    available nutrients. Each has a place in the community food
-    chain—as, for example, _herbivore_, _carnivore_, or _scavenger_.
-    Each directly or indirectly affects all the other organisms.
-
-    The Forest Community
-
-    The role of a species in the community, like the job and social
-    function of a person, is its _niche_. Similar species of animals
-    have different niches, thus lessening competition for food and
-    living space. Thrushes hunt close to the ground; vireos and kinglets
-    hunt among the branches; flycatchers snap up airborne insects. The
-    flicker feeds upon insects, excavates nesting holes that are later
-    occupied by other species such as squirrels and owls, and is preyed
-    upon by the great horned owl; its niche is _insect exterminator /
-    food for carnivores / homebuilder_. The great horned owl, hunting
-    mammals, birds, and reptiles by night, preys on species different
-    from those hunted by the goshawk, and thus occupies a parallel
-    niche. When it dies, its remains, like those of other animals, are
-    decomposed and return to the soil.]
-
-  Canopy
-    Great Horned Owl
-    Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
-  Understory
-    Flying Squirrel
-  Shrub Layer
-    Ruffed Grouse
-  Herb Layer
-    Red Squirrel
-    Western Toad
-  Forest Floor
-    Shorttail Weasel
-    Scavenging Insects
-    Deer Mouse
-    Garter Snake
-  Soil Layer
-    Ground Squirrel
-    Earthworm
-    Masked Shrew
-
-    [Illustration: Sun, Green Plants, and Animals
-
-    The sun is the source of energy for any plant-and-animal community.
-    Green plants draw nitrogen and minerals from the soil, and in a
-    process called photosynthesis use sunlight to convert raw materials
-    (carbon dioxide and water) into carbohydrates (sugar, starch,
-    cellulose), giving off oxygen as a by-product. Besides burning
-    oxygen, animals depend on plants for food.
-
-    Green Plants, trees and shrubs, grasses and sedges, wildflowers,
-    ferns, mosses, algae and lichens—are fed upon by animals, which are
-    unable to manufacture their own food.
-
-    The Redback Vole, like other rodents, pikas and hares, seed-eating
-    birds, grazing and browsing hoofed animals, and herbivorous insects,
-    derives its energy from the seeds and other parts of green plants
-    that it eats.
-
-    The Garter Snake, feeding upon the vole, is dependent upon plants
-    even though it does not eat them.
-
-    The Great Horned Owl, preying upon the garter snake, is one more
-    step removed from the green plants—but still dependent on them.
-
-    Scavengers such as carrion beetles feed upon the carcass of the owl;
-    the remains are then attacked by Decomposers, primarily bacteria,
-    that break down the animal tissues into basic organic compounds.
-
-    The Soil, enriched by the minerals and carbon and nitrogen compounds
-    added to it by the decomposers (and by other processes such as fire)
-    supports new green plant growth.
-
-    Thus energy derived from the sun flows through the ecosystem in a
-    food chain. A plant-and-animal community is a complex, interlocking
-    web of such food chains.]
-
-  Sun
-    Green Plants
-    Redback Vole
-    Garter Snake
-    Great Horned Owl
-    Scavengers, Decomposers
-    Soil
-
-    [Illustration: A Pyramid of Numbers
-
-    Necessarily, the number of plants in an ecosystem far exceeds the
-    number of plant eaters, and the number of prey species must exceed
-    the number of predators. During its lifetime, a golden eagle will
-    consume a vast number of lesser animals. The combined mass of prey
-    animals necessary to sustain an eagle greatly outweighs the eagle
-    itself. Ecologists refer to this proportional relationship of mass
-    between each link in the food chain as the _pyramid of numbers_.
-
-    The diagram represents a numbers pyramid for the alpine zone.
-    Because of its limiting environment, the alpine zone supports a
-    lesser plant mass than the forest zone. As a result, the carrying
-    capacity of the alpine is less than that of the forest.
-
-    1 Kilo
-
-    _Tertiary_ (third-order) _consumers_ are the predators (Golden
-    Eagle, Swainson’s Hawk, etc.) that feed upon other predators.
-    Because of the 90% loss of energy at each level of the food chain,
-    there will be very few hawks and eagles in comparison to the numbers
-    of marmots.
-
-    10 Kilos
-
-    _Secondary consumers_ are the predators (weasels, shrews,
-    carnivorous insects and birds, etc.) that eat herbivores. The
-    animals at this level of the pyramid are often—though not
-    always—larger than the animals they feed upon. But they are much
-    less numerous, because it takes many prey animals to sustain one
-    predator.
-
-    100 Kilos
-
-    _Primary consumers_ (plant eaters, or herbivores) convert plant
-    tissue into animal flesh. In the process about 90% of the energy
-    stored as plant food is lost, mostly as heat energy. In the alpine
-    community the herbivores include pikas, marmots, ground squirrels,
-    and ptarmigan, as well as herbivorous insects.
-
-    1,000 Kilos
-
-    _Producers_ are the green plants at the base of the food pyramid,
-    manufacturing food for the animals of the alpine community. The
-    _biomass_ (total weight) of each level of the food chain is ten
-    times (more or less) the weight of the stage above it: 1,000 kilos
-    of green plants will produce only 100 kilos of primary consumers.]
-
-    [Illustration: Great horned owls are the nocturnal equivalent of
-    Cooper’s hawks and goshawks in the low-elevation forests of the
-    park. Large and powerful, they are capable of taking prey as big as
-    skunks. This young bird, disturbed on its day roost, clacked its
-    bill and fluffed its feathers in a menacing manner.]
-
-    [Illustration: The only sizable mature stand of ponderosa pine found
-    within the park is along the North Fork truck trail. A scattering of
-    old ponderosas growing at the lower end of Lake McDonald suggests
-    that at one time ponderosa forests were more extensive in this
-    region than at present.]
-
-    [Illustration: A black bear near treelimit. Bears will eat almost
-    anything, from ants to carrion, grass to garbage. Color phases
-    include brown and blonde bears. Unlike the larger, more aggressive
-    grizzly, which ranges out onto the plains, black bears are strictly
-    forest creatures.]
-
-    [Illustration: The water ouzel, or dipper, a creature of fast
-    mountain water, is admirably outfitted to cope with its demanding
-    environment. Stubby wings, chunky body, short tail, and oily plumage
-    allow it to walk under water, where it scavenges for aquatic insect
-    larvae and small fish. In flying up- and down-stream, ouzels never
-    shortcut but follow the winding streamcourse.
-
-    As long as there is open water, the dipper suffers no hardship from
-    the mountain winter. Then, when the land is shut down and lakes are
-    frozen over, this little bird carries on in its mountain-stream
-    habitat, plunging into the cold water to find food, and pausing
-    occasionally to sing.]
-
-    [Illustration: Ouzels construct their nests of living moss on cliff
-    faces or ledges where constant spray keeps the moss moist. At
-    fledging, the four young of this nest in Avalanche Gorge tumbled one
-    by one into the torrent below, to be collected by the adults in
-    quieter water downstream. Within a day they appeared to have
-    mastered the underwater gymnastics and were feeding on their own.]
-
-    [Illustration: From their lowland wintering grounds, wapiti move up
-    to higher elevations in spring. Summer range in the park is
-    abundant, but winter range is limited; as a result, wapiti have a
-    tendency to increase their populations beyond the carrying capacity
-    of available winter range. In a severe winter many starve. But in a
-    balanced ecosystem such loss is not waste, for the carrion helps
-    sustain scavengers; it is an important initial food source for bears
-    emerging from hibernation.]
-
-    [Illustration: Cedar waxwings nest in moist areas of low valleys
-    where fruits and berries are abundant. Although they also subsist on
-    insects (which they can capture on the wing), their weakness for
-    fruit is so pronounced that the birds will sometimes gorge
-    themselves until rendered incapable of flight.]
-
-    [Illustration: The Columbian ground squirrel is found at all park
-    elevations, from prairie to alpine meadow. Hibernation occupies
-    almost three-quarters of its five-year lifespan. Unlike other park
-    ground squirrels, it lives in colonies. Although not as tightly
-    structured as a prairie dog town, the association is beneficial to
-    all members in that danger is readily detected.]
-
-    [Illustration: The tundra community is encountered above Preston
-    Park on the Siyeh Pass trail. Mt. Reynolds, a classic example of a
-    horn, dominates the distant Logan Pass area.]
-
-    [Illustration: Camas blooms in the prairie community along the Red
-    Eagle road. An important staple, camas bulbs were gathered as food
-    by Indians.]
-
-Conspicuous also are many insects—including grasshoppers; flies; ants,
-wasps and bees; butterflies and moths; bugs; and beetles—which fulfill
-important roles as herbivores, carnivores, and scavengers while also
-acting as pollinators for flowering plants and providing an abundant
-food source for other animals.
-
-Below the ground are the tunnels. Burrowing is an important means of
-survival on the open prairie, and life underground is extensive. Some of
-the animals are rarely seen—the northern pocket gopher, for example,
-with a diet of underground insects, grubs, worms, and roots, spends most
-of its life tunneling just below the surface. Others, like the badger,
-leave their burrows during the day to dig for rodents. Most conspicuous
-of the burrowing animals in the park’s grasslands is the Columbian
-ground squirrel. Its alert upright stance has earned it the nickname
-“picket pin.” When danger approaches from the air or on land, its shrill
-alarm whistle passes the warning to others of its kind.
-
-Where prairie and forest meet, a never-ending struggle for dominion is
-waged. The isolated patches of prairie that dot the North Fork Valley
-near Polebridge hold the great forest of the park’s northwest region at
-bay.
-
-This broad valley, floored with coarse glacial outwash and terraced
-downward to the deep channel of the North Fork River, presents a graphic
-battleground between grass and tree. Lining the upper terraces, from
-which they glower down on the dry, well drained grass flats like a line
-of warriors, are the Douglas-fir, western larch, and ponderosa pine.
-Seedling trees continually invade the prairie. But most perish early,
-their shallow roots no match for the extensive root systems of the
-fast-growing, moisture-greedy grasses. If encouraged by a series of wet
-summers, however, the young lodgepoles quickly gain stature. They had
-made significant inroads at Big Prairie when the disastrously dry summer
-of 1967 killed most of these 15-year-old pioneer trees.
-
-These North Fork grasslands and the immediately surrounding lodgepole
-pine forests are an important spring range. Deer, wapiti, and
-grizzly—and, in the wetter areas, moose—graze or browse here. And here,
-low on the western slopes of the Livingston Range, are the park’s only
-stands of ponderosa pine, a tree that prefers warm, dry habitats. As a
-result, at low elevations it often merges with the prairie community.
-
-Groves of aspen colonize the eastern prairies in areas where there is
-sufficient water and protection from wind. These aspen parklands are
-important havens for animals. Wherever two differing communities
-interact, a phenomenon known as “edge effect” occurs. Here wildlife
-exists in abundance; the animals that favor forest cover mingle freely
-with those that prefer open areas. Aspen groves—supporting grasses,
-herbs, and shrubs beneath their thin canopies—are favored haunts for
-grouse, varying hare, deer, and wapiti, all of which find among the
-trees abundant food, shelter and concealment. Populations of insects,
-small mammals, and birds, which are high for the same reasons, attract a
-wide range of predators.
-
-Isolated aspen groves are characteristically dome-shaped. Because aspens
-are capable of reproducing themselves vegetatively, the grove slowly
-expands outward from the parent tree. As a result, most of these groves
-are either exclusively male or exclusively female.
-
-Since quick-growing aspens provide a bountiful food source for beaver,
-streams near these trees are often dammed by the rodents flooding
-lowlands and creating additional habitat in the form of willow flats.
-Another “edge effect” is established, attracting animals found near
-water. Waterfowl, marsh birds, moose, mink, muskrat, skunks, amphibians,
-and many others find such areas to their liking.
-
-
-■
-Before the appearance of the white man, these eastern prairies were a
-paradise for animals. Once, on the summit of Rising Wolf, light-headed
-from the climb and the view of endless prairie, I fancied that I saw
-that vast, undisturbed animal panorama spread before me.
-
-Principally there were the bison, darkening the uneven land. Pronghorn
-bands flashed white on ridgetops, and moose moved through the long
-fingers of willow that extended eastward with the rivers. Caribou and
-wolves inhabited the shadows. Among vast cities of prairie dogs, swift
-fox and grizzly roamed. There were the clamorings of sandhill crane, and
-white clouds of trumpeter swans.
-
-This land, endowed with a wealth of wild grass, wore its wilderness
-well.
-
-
-The Forest
-
-On Gunsight Pass, the rain lancing down, I found a sharpedged rock that
-split the continent in two. On both sides the rain rivulets ran down, a
-fraction of an inch determining the stream’s destination: Pacific or
-Atlantic.
-
-The Continental Divide is a mighty barrier, a line of consequence that
-does more than determine watersheds. Its effect in Glacier is dramatic,
-as a look at the forests will reveal.
-
-Obstructing the eastward flow of the moisture-laden Pacific winds, the
-Divide extracts a heavy annual tribute of precipitation from the air
-mass, forcing it to rise up the mountain chain, where it cools and
-condenses. Chief benefactors are the low western valleys, which respond
-with a lush growth of Pacific coastal-type forests.
-
-The eastern valleys, however, deprived of abundant annual moisture and
-exposed to the wind and temperature ravages of the prairie’s continental
-climate, support a dramatically different kind of forest. Here Engelmann
-spruce and subalpine fir are the climax trees, contrasted with such
-trees as the western redcedar and western hemlock of the mild and moist
-McDonald valley.
-
-Elevation exerts an additional restriction on the distribution of tree
-species. Since climatic conditions vary with change in elevation—lower
-temperatures resulting in shorter growing seasons, and increased wind
-exposure resulting in greater loss of moisture through evaporation—we
-would expect to find the forest composition change as we ascend a
-mountain slope. In Glacier, eastern valleys average 240 meters higher
-than western, and thus even if they had more moisture they would not
-sustain the redcedars and hemlocks. All plants have range limits, some
-narrow, some broad; and they excel where their particular set of
-preferences as to moisture, soil, sunlight, and wind exposure are best
-met. On sites that do not meet their optimum requirements, they face
-being crowded out by species better adapted to the prevailing
-conditions.
-
-Physical features of the land determine vegetation also. Certain trees
-prefer the moist areas along a streambed—the great black cottonwoods,
-for example. And on steep hillsides, avalanches prevent the growth of
-climax trees, permitting instead only shrubby, pliant
-growth—mountain-ash, mountain maple, alder, menziesia.
-
-Forest communities are named for their dominant tree species. Thus, an
-area in which Douglas-fir dominates is called a “Douglas-fir forest.”
-Glacier does have forests in which Douglas-fir is the climax species;
-these are chiefly dry areas, below 1,800 meters, with south and west
-exposures. But we usually associate the park with its Engelmann
-spruce-subalpine fir forests, found extensively between 1,200 and 2,100
-meters, and with the western redcedar-western hemlock forests in the
-McDonald valley.
-
-Because forests mature slowly and change is usually imperceptible, we
-are tempted to think of them as static and eternal. But since a forest
-is a community of living things, it responds to changes in the
-environment. Subtle physical or climatic changes, such as a rising or
-falling water table or a slight increase or decrease in annual
-precipitation, will favor some species of trees and hinder others,
-eventually altering the composition of the forest.
-
-Other changes are more dramatic. Most notable of these is fire.
-
-
-                          From Fire to Forest
-
-Heat lightning, glimmering soundless behind the western peaks. Then the
-first low rumble. At first the flashing had been from cloud to cloud,
-but now, as the storm nears, the first ground-spears appear, lighting up
-the night. Here is a big storm, many-celled, engulfing more and more
-territory beneath its angry bulk. Lightning dances into the dry August
-forest. In their towers the lookouts stay awake.
-
-Close strike and a flare-up! The ridge snag burns like a Roman candle,
-sending bright embers down. Valley, ridge, and peak blink on and off
-with blue light as the storm roars like night-firing artillery.
-
-Passing overhead, the low cloud belly brings a sudden lash of rain. But
-it is not enough: tomorrow will mean long hours of fire watch.
-
-The next day dawns clear, a morning of heavy dew. The ridge strikes did
-not ignite the forest. Inspecting the storm path, aircraft and lookouts
-find no evidence of fire.
-
-But two days later, in a morning of high wind, thin smoke plumes rise
-upward. Smoldering in the thick duff of the forest floor, a lingering
-hot spot explodes with the fanning wind. It quickly spreads from a
-hectare to ten while the quadrants are called in and the hot-shot crews
-dispatched; then to a hundred, bringing in the smoke jumpers and
-mobilizing the vast fire-control network. A thousand hectares, perhaps
-ten thousand might burn this week of big fires.
-
-In the resulting skeleton forest, the scene of devastation is almost
-overpowering: life seems forevermore excluded from this blackened ruin.
-But fire is nothing new to forest communities. We may think fire demonic
-because it takes from our life span this block of mature forest, a sight
-we will never again see in this place. But nature does not operate in
-terms of human time scales. This forest is simply pushed back closer to
-its starting point, to begin again its long progression toward a climax
-vegetation cover.
-
-
-                           Forest Succession
-
-Through a series of complex vegetation stages, each characterized by
-different herbs, trees, and shrubs, the forest slowly returns to the
-type of vegetation best suited to the physical and climatic conditions
-of the site; this is called a climax community. The fact that most of
-Glacier’s forests are in some stage of recovery from fire accounts in
-part for the mosaic of forest cover found here.
-
-The forest of Huckleberry Mountain on the Camas Creek road was consumed
-in the 1967 fire. By 1969, among the charred, lifeless trunks of the
-former forest, lush grass and sunloving fireweed, thistle, and
-paintbrush were growing. And by 1974 lodgepole pine seedlings along the
-road were a meter or two high. Lodgepole is a fast-growing tree that
-requires full sun to germinate. Forest fire is necessary for the
-regeneration of these trees: the intense heat causes the tightly closed
-cones to open, releasing the seeds that will establish the forest. So
-young pines developed among fireweed, spiraea, willow, and mountain
-maple shrubs.
-
-The lodgepole forest near the western entrance to the park has been
-developing since 1929, when fire destroyed the redcedar-hemlock forest
-in the area between Apgar and West Glacier. Beneath the scattered spires
-of old larch that survived the burn, the lodgepoles have now grown up,
-forming a canopy that shades the forest floor. Because lodgepole live
-only about 80 years and will not germinate in shade, this forest will
-not exist long. Shade-tolerant Douglas-fir, white pine, Engelmann spruce
-and western redcedar seedlings are now taking hold. But the physical
-characteristics of this area—the climate, terrain, and soil—are
-ultimately most favorable for western redcedar and hemlock; and unless
-other disruptions intervene, this area will eventually again become a
-dense redcedar-hemlock forest.
-
-But this will not happen quickly. The soil after hundreds of years of
-collecting debris will again become rich and moist. Young hemlocks will
-germinate on and near decaying logs. When old larches, firs, and pines
-fall, the slow-growing redcedars and hemlocks will take their places in
-the canopy.
-
-Forest succession is a more complicated story than this; it is a
-fascinating study involving herbs, shrubs, small and large trees, and
-animal populations. From location to location it will vary; only in its
-broad outlines is it predictable. It is based on the observation that,
-given time, a forest—or any other plant community—will progress until it
-reaches climax—that is, the stage that will perpetuate itself.
-
-
-■
-How then are we to think about fire? Increasingly, experts are concerned
-not so much with fire suppression as with fire management. For
-suppression has at least three disadvantages: it allows the accumulation
-of unburned fuels that can result in “fire storms” when they are finally
-ignited; an undiversified climax forest is more vulnerable to disease
-than is a mixed forest; and a dense forest canopy discourages shrub
-growth, an important food source for deer, wapiti, moose, and smaller
-animals.
-
-As the well-being of the deer herd depends on the predators that thin
-its numbers, so the long-term well-being of the forest depends on fire
-to rejuvenate it periodically. We must realize that wilderness is
-identified with fire, landslide, avalanche, windfall, and flood. Nature
-not only has learned to cope with these agents of change—she depends
-upon them for maintaining the delicate balances between landscape and
-life. There is in the business of nature, after all, more than the
-pleasing of man’s eye.
-
-
-                             Spruce Morning
-
-Of all times to get a rock in my boot! I had just started out, the
-morning was still cool in this eastern valley, and the heavy pack was
-not yet biting into my shoulders. Sitting down beside the trail, I
-leaned the pack against the base of an old spruce and began unlacing.
-
-I could hear the scratching of the red squirrel descending to
-investigate, but I didn’t look up until it let go with long indignant
-chatter at finding its territory invaded. I plunked out the pebble and
-began relacing my boot. Cautiously the squirrel came down, pausing
-frequently to scold, its lower jaw quivering with rage and exposing
-yellow rodent teeth. Neighboring squirrels joined in and soon the trees
-danced with flicking tails.
-
-Down the squirrel came, almost to the ground, then raced back up the
-tree, stopping at each lateral branch to deliver a vocal broadside.
-Finding no danger to themselves, the other squirrels soon quit the
-uproar and went about their morning business. I was beginning to suspect
-that I was committing some graver offense than the mere exercise of
-squatters’ rights—perhaps I threatened its cache of fir cones. Then into
-the corner of my vision shot another form, streaking soundless as a
-shadow; the squirrel also saw it—but too late. With a thin terrified
-squeak, the rodent started to go higher; but the pine marten was above
-it. The squirrel quickly reversed itself, sending bits of bark showering
-down.
-
-As the squirrel leaped from the tree in desperation, the marten overtook
-it in mid-air; they came down together. Clamping the limp creature
-firmly in its jaws, the marten strode up the incline of a fallen spruce.
-Before it hopped off onto a shelf of higher ground to disappear, it
-looked briefly back at me. I fancied I could read, fixed in its eyes, a
-certain recognition of my having distracted its prey.
-
-A breeze made me shiver, snapping me back from that swift vision of
-luxuriant fur, that blinding grace which flashed its orange throat-patch
-through the trees, and I realized I was sweating. For a moment I had
-been that squirrel, eyes wide with terror, seeing fate bear down, and
-powerless before the natural order of things.
-
-The incident got the other squirrels singing again; but the confidence
-was gone, and soon it was quiet. What dreams do squirrels dream, I
-wondered, looking around. I saw that place more clearly then, having
-been caught between a marten and its prey. I saw each spruce: its age,
-its condition, the onslaughts it had borne; the beargrass coming up in
-an opening; and down the trail a meadow that was yellow, white, and red
-with sulphur plant, mariposa, and Indian paintbrush. Bees, flies,
-spiders, and butterflies worked that little garden tucked among the
-crowding trees. Countless forms of life beneath the soil and bark, in
-tunnel, crevice, hole, and pocket, working unseen to sustain their
-lives, and somehow, when all were added up, maintaining the forest as
-well.
-
-A flicker called, its loud _Klee-yer_ breaking the forest hush. Birds,
-mammals, plants, insects—all hide together here, their lives so
-skillfully embroidered that no loose thread exists that my mind might
-grasp to unravel and understand the work.
-
-The forest had once been a place that obstructed my view, a great blank
-to stride through, a few hours of necessary blur before the high lake or
-pass was reached. Now I was quite content to remain awhile beneath these
-great-boled trees.
-
-
-■
-A forest, like the mountains themselves, supports various levels of
-life. The floor and substratum are a great processing plant where
-bacteria, fungi, and insects work, decomposing the plant and animal
-litter, recycling dead and discarded tissue back to simpler organic
-compounds, gases, and minerals, thereby providing sustenance for growing
-plants. As spiders, shrews, wrens, and thrushes seem to know, there is
-good hunting on the forest floor.
-
-Just above the forest floor is the herb layer, a seasonal layer of
-growth including flowers, mushrooms, grasses, and other small plants.
-
-Above that grows the shrub layer, then the understory of young trees
-awaiting their chance to take a place in the forest’s canopy high above.
-From the swaying canopy, exposed to the full force of sun and wind, to
-the dim, moist floor, the forest provides a wide range of habitat.
-
-Relatively few animals live in the treetops. The almost incessant motion
-makes nesting too hazardous for birds. Red squirrels venture up to cut
-cones in the canopy, but store their booty and make their nests farther
-down.
-
-In the mid-range between canopy and understory, goshawks and Cooper’s
-hawks nest. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and sapsuckers forage on the tree
-trunks and nest in cavities they excavate or appropriate. Red squirrels
-and the nocturnal flying squirrels create a major traffic here, along
-with the martens and owls that hunt them.
-
-The understory and shrub layers house the greatest numbers of nesting
-birds. Here the effects of storm and rain are minimized and protective
-cover is greatest. Vireos, thrushes, warblers, hummingbirds, bluebirds,
-flycatchers, and others can be found among the tangle of this sometimes
-impenetrable layer.
-
-The most populated area, the forest floor, supports an astonishing
-abundance of organisms. Below the busy traffic of mice, shrews, and
-larger animals is a bewildering array of insects and other
-invertebrates. The attrition rate in the litter of the forest floor—a
-continual battleground difficult to comprehend—is enormous. The smaller
-the organism, the greater its numbers are likely to be. This humus-rich,
-moist soil teems with bacteria, and a handful will contain surprising
-numbers of small spiders, pseudo-scorpions and almost microscopic mites.
-
-Each year some two to three thousand kilograms, dry weight, of falling
-material litter an average hectare of forest. All this plant and animal
-waste—twigs, leaves, limbs, fallen trees, feathers, hair, feces, and
-carcasses—is processed by the armies of decomposers that thrive on the
-forest floor. With the aid of larger creatures that break up the plant
-and animal tissue, most microscopic bacteria are able to decompose from
-a hundred to a thousand times their own weight every day.
-
-Few trees die of old age in the forest. The seedling mortality rate is
-necessarily high, since far greater numbers of seeds germinate each year
-than can reach maturity. Of those that do, many fall victim to the
-ever-present dangers of disease, insect infestation, windfall, stream
-erosion, and fire. Insects alone present a formidable threat to trees,
-for they have evolved every means of attack—chewing and mining leaves,
-boring into twigs, eating cambium and heartwood, sucking sap, triggering
-galls. If the insect world did not police itself, aided by spiders,
-insectivorous birds and other animals, forests and other plantlife would
-quickly fade before the chewing, boring, sucking horde.
-
-
-■
-Through the trees the light on Citadel shows the morning slipping by. As
-I start to get up I see a garter snake sliding out into the dusty trail,
-seeking the sun-warmed earth. Moving slowly, alert for danger, it probes
-the air frequently with its sensitive tongue. But against the
-lightcolored duff its dark shape offers a fine target, begging attack. A
-chipmunk, watching from a nearby lookout stump, twitches its tail
-nervously over its back, curious—perhaps suspicious—at the sight of a
-snake. Very slightly the snake’s head goes up, its tongue flickering.
-For a few seconds reptile and rodent regard each other. Then the
-chipmunk drops back soundlessly into its hollow stump, and the snake
-lowers its head onto warm ground.
-
-Some day soon, a sparrowhawk or weasel will interrupt the snake’s
-morning sun-bath. The snake will fuel bird or mammal for a time, as
-mice, fledgling birds, and insects now sustain the snake. The chipmunk
-too, rummaging nearby, lives in shadows of talon and tooth.
-
-Until that time of sharp encounter, each has its own niche, a way of
-life, a shaft of sun, and food enough.
-
-
-                     A Walk in the Redcedar Forest
-
-Climax! The word takes on a true significance here, among these
-broad-based trees. When you enter this forest the road noise does not
-follow far—as, when you walk into a cave and turn a corner, sound and
-light are left behind. There is a surprising spaciousness, a feeling of
-openness in a mature western redcedar forest. With scant understory and
-the canopy so far above and everywhere complete, it seems like some
-vast, high-ceilinged catacomb, pillared by the huge, shaggy-barked
-cedars and the deeply scored trunks of the black cottonwoods. The floor
-is strewn with fallen giants in magnificent disarray, uplifted roots
-still grasping fractured rock.
-
-A rainy day is a good time to walk a cedar trail, when the dull light
-seems to shine from the wet moss, making the underleaves of devil’s-club
-and Rocky Mountain maple glow. Wind and rain, like light, penetrate with
-difficulty the latticework of this canopy; thin lines of fog develop
-over the bogs. The air is fresh with growing plants, snow-cold still
-when the first spring flowers appear.
-
-Fiddleheads of unfolding lady ferns line the trail in May, pushing up
-from the hub of last year’s leveled, lifeless fronds. Beds of trillium
-shine their white, three-pointed flowers like flashlights in the dark
-recesses. Unlike the small, hidden calypso orchid, which bears its
-purple spikes and yellow throat low above the moss, the trilliums make
-no secret of spring growth. They are bold, handsome plants, broad-leaved
-and tall, with waxy white petals that tinge to purple in their
-month-long bloom.
-
-Moss covers everything. Boulders are green and weightless-looking,
-resilient and topped with miniature forests of cedar seedlings. Ancient
-fallen trees are disguised with blankets of moss, sprouting hemlock here
-and there. The rich greens that characterize Glacier’s summers seem to
-begin here amid the moisture-glossed leaves of twinflower, bunchberry
-and bead-lily.
-
-Later, the spiders will spin thousands of kilometers of gossamer
-filament among the trees. The orb-weavers will hang their webs high and
-low, suspended in every opening. Walking through the forest then, you
-will see shafts of sunlight whirling in the higher webs until they seem
-like tops set spinning among the treetrunks.
-
-Indianpipes, the “ghost flowers” that need no light to grow, will break
-through the forest soil. Like mushrooms, with fruiting bodies that are
-nourished by underground mycelia, these saprophytes absorb their
-nutrients from a fungus that covers their roots.
-
-Receiving an average of about 18 centimeters more annual precipitation
-than forests east of the Divide, Glacier’s redcedar-hemlock community
-hoards its moisture. Its dense growth and the surrounding mountain walls
-inhibit the circulation of drying winds. Mosses and ferns transpire
-their moisture, which you can feel; place your hand close, and you will
-sense a coolness like the air exuding from an ice cave. Draped from the
-tree limbs are long filaments of squawhair and goatsbeard, black and
-grey lichen strands that flourish in the damp air.
-
-Except for the black bear, few large animals inhabit the deep forest.
-Grizzlies find better forage in meadows or along the forest edge. Since
-shade discourages shrubby undergrowth, deer and wapiti will search
-elsewhere for browse. In summer, wapiti, grizzlies, and mule deer bucks
-tend to wander up into high meadows.
-
-Contrasted to the noisy, conspicuous birds of the prairie—meadowlarks
-and bobolinks—birds of the forest seem elusive and secretive. Although
-numerous, the varied thrushes, Townsend’s solitaires, and Swainson’s
-thrushes are seldom seen; but when approached, they fly silently off and
-are swallowed by the forest shadow.
-
-There seems to be serenity in a mature forest, as though the struggle
-for life is somehow suspended, the needs of the animals here less
-urgent, muffled. The towering redcedar forest seems to be no battlefield
-at all, but rather a monument to what Earth can do.
-
-
-                        The Perpendicular Night
-
-Behind Avalanche campground a trail leads back toward Lake McDonald
-Lodge. I decided to follow it one June evening, to experience the
-sensation of the deep forest changing into night. With the nearby
-mountain wall intercepting the sun, dusk comes early to this valley. On
-the prairie, night passes across the landscape in an even line,
-forthright as a waxing tide; you can almost feel the globe in its
-turning from the sun. There is reassurance in the night’s coming, its
-steady purple doming over the sky.
-
-But here darkness seems to sprout from the earth. It collects beneath
-the hemlock clumps, bridges the creekbottoms. It seems to flit from
-place to place. You look about, uneasy, trying to catch it here or
-there, but always miss its infiltrations. It captures the narrow
-clearings when you look away; pockets of tree-darkness join together,
-forcing the light upward until the tree-tops seem impossibly bright and
-distant.
-
-Through the trees I could see a dozen fires dance in the growing shadow,
-wood-smoke and camp sounds filling the air. Turning uptrail, I felt a
-reluctance to leave the presence of those fires—a senseless feeling, but
-strong. A growing forest-dread impelled me almost physically backward to
-those circles of firelight. I felt the need to be near a fire, to be
-reassured by heat and light. Fire was our greatest friend, our greatest
-weapon. With it we beat the long ages of ice and held the forest gloom
-away. There was no harm here, only silence; yet the longer I walked,
-with beard-moss hanging down like daggers all around, the more I craved
-the comradeship of fire.
-
-                                                    _Continued on p. 104_
-
-    The Vital Predator
-
-    The merciless law of predation might at first thought seem cruel;
-    but the predator plays a vital part in maintaining the balance of
-    the biotic community. Without the controlling factor of predation,
-    prey species quickly enlarge their populations. If plant eaters are
-    not checked, the resulting excess population exceeds the carrying
-    capacity of the range. Food supply rapidly diminishes. In a damaged
-    range, competition and stress result, usually culminating in a
-    massive die-off through starvation and disease.
-
-    Ironically, predators thus provide a service to their prey. First to
-    fall to the predator are the old, the diseased, the unwary, and the
-    young. By removing many young and old deer from a typical herd,
-    cougars lessen competition among the deer for choice range, thus
-    tending to keep herbivore numbers at parity with the land’s carrying
-    capacity. Only the strongest and wariest deer survive, ensuring that
-    the fittest will continue the species. When man upsets this delicate
-    balance—destroying predators in the hope of increasing numbers of
-    game animals—the result is ecological disaster. In the 1930s, in a
-    misguided attempt to “preserve” the whitetail deer herds of the
-    park’s North Fork area, many coyotes and cougars were exterminated.
-    In 1935 alone, 50 cougars were killed. Relieved of the pressure of
-    predation, the deer flourished. In a few years, however, the
-    normally adequate range was severely overbrowsed. Suffering also
-    from this imbalance were wapiti (“elk”) and moose, ungulates that
-    share the winter range with deer.
-
-    Some predators are more specialized than others. The Canada lynx,
-    for example, has oversize feet, an adaptation that helps it move
-    across deep snow without breaking the surface. As a result, it is an
-    efficient predator of the snowshoe hare, another large-footed
-    animal. Relying on this adaptation, the lynx feeds almost
-    exclusively on snowshoe hares. Consequently, its numbers inevitably
-    fluctuate with the 10-year “boom and bust” cycle of the snowshoe.
-
-    The coyote, on the other hand, is a generalized predator, exploiting
-    whatever prey is currently abundant. Should mice or ground squirrels
-    be in short supply, it will subsist on anything from grasshoppers to
-    berries until favored prey again becomes available. (Animals that
-    normally eat both plant and animal food are referred to as
-    omnivores.) Generalized predators are thus better equipped to
-    survive temporary ecological imbalances, maintaining their numbers
-    at relatively consistent levels from year to year.
-
-    Carnivores all, the animals on these pages illustrate various
-    adaptations for capturing prey.
-
-    [Illustration: The population of the Canada lynx, which is widely
-    distributed in Glacier’s coniferous forests, fluctuates in cycles.
-    The lynx is abundant or scarce depending on the population condition
-    of its chief prey, the equally cyclic snowshoe hare.]
-
-    [Illustration: The cougar, which feeds primarily on deer, requires a
-    large territory. Because of its strength, stealth, and speed,
-    American folklore has given this wary cat a false reputation as a
-    man-stalker.]
-
-    [Illustration: The red fox depends largely on a well-developed sense
-    of smell to locate its prey; it also relies on its keen eyesight,
-    speed, and agility to capture mice, hares, birds, and whatever else
-    it can run down or surprise.]
-
-    [Illustration: To feed its demanding young, the Swainson’s thrush
-    hunts for insects along the forest floor and in the dense
-    underbrush. This thrush relies on its secretive behavior to protect
-    its nest near the ground from detection by other predators.]
-
-    [Illustration: Armed with enlarged forelegs, the crab spider waits
-    on or near flowers to ambush visiting bees, flies, or other insects.
-    Its venom produces a quick kill, allowing it to attack insects many
-    times its own size.]
-
-    [Illustration: The spotted frog is a large-mouthed predator that not
-    only eats water striders and other insects but also gulps down
-    smaller frogs and small fish.]
-
-    Protective Coloration
-
-    To escape extermination, each species must in some manner foil its
-    enemies. Protective coloration is one of the more common adaptations
-    helping to do this. Most animals resemble their environment to some
-    extent. The conspicuous markings of some, like the bitter-tasting
-    monarch butterfly or the striped skunk, seem to function as a
-    warning to prospective predators that it is in their best interest
-    to look elsewhere for a meal.
-
-    Some animals, such as the white-tailed ptarmigan and the snowshoe
-    hare, have seasonal changes in plumage or pelage, wearing white in
-    winter and brown in summer. Even predators, such as longtail and
-    shorttail weasels, benefit from seasonal camouflage. Protective
-    coloration makes them less noticeable to prey species and to larger
-    predators.
-
-    Many insects, too, change coloration with the season. Bright green
-    grasshoppers of early summer become more brown with each molt,
-    matching the changes in the surrounding vegetation.
-
-    _Obliterative shading_ is especially important to animals that
-    frequent more than one habitat. Seen from above, turtles match their
-    dark background; from below, because of their lighter underbody
-    shading they blend into the bright skylight.
-
-    _Disruptive coloration_ aids in breaking up an animal’s outline.
-    Butterflies and moths commonly have disruptive wing markings. The
-    distinctive shapes of eyes can be concealed. Eye coloration may
-    mimic body color—as in the green katydid—or the eye may continue
-    disruptive body markings.
-
-    Ground-nesting birds are especially vulnerable to attack. Their eggs
-    tend to be heavily blotched with earthy colors, making them less
-    conspicuous. Chicks also carry these disruptive colorations on natal
-    down.
-
-    Most mammals, with coats of brown or gray, are inconspicuous when
-    motionless. Deer fawns are endowed with speckled coats, mimicking
-    the sun-flecked forest floor; this disruptive coloration, coupled
-    with absence of scent and their instinctive “freezing” behavior,
-    makes it difficult for predators to detect them.
-
-    The whitetail deer not only uses its white “flag” to warn others in
-    the herd of danger; it also allows a pursuing predator to use it as
-    a target. When the tail is suddenly dropped—abruptly obliterating
-    the bright white patch—the deer seems to disappear into its dim
-    surroundings.
-
-    Since overly conspicuous animals are prone to predation, natural
-    selection favors development of appropriate camouflage.
-
-    [Illustration: For such ground-dwelling birds as the white-tailed
-    ptarmigan, camouflage is an important survival adaptation. The
-    ptarmigan changes its plumage to match its surroundings: it is white
-    in winter, speckled in summer. Moving slowly and refraining from
-    flight, it is less likely than more-active birds to be detected by
-    sharp-eyed, motion-conscious predators.]
-
-    [Illustration: Birds that when hatched are covered with down and are
-    able to move about freely are called _precocial_. They are less
-    dependent upon their parents than are _altricial_ young, which are
-    naked and helpless when they hatch; but they must rely heavily on a
-    resemblance to their surroundings for survival during their first
-    flightless weeks. This spruce grouse chick, which blends into its
-    sunflecked forest-floor habitat, is an example of a precocial bird.]
-
-    [Illustration: The bold disruptive pattern of the killdeer chick’s
-    plumage helps this precocial bird avoid detection in its
-    open-prairie environment. This adaptation, coupled with the chick’s
-    instinct to freeze at the approach of danger, ensures that enough
-    young will survive to perpetuate the species.]
-
-    _Ursus arctos horribilus_: The Vulnerable King
-
-    At the apex of the food pyramid, this great beast is unquestionably
-    the king of Glacier’s biotic community. Yet the long-range future of
-    the grizzly bear is uncertain. With the grizzly exterminated from
-    most of its former range—which once extended into the midcontinent
-    and south into Mexico—its numbers have dwindled in proportion to its
-    diminished range. Present concentrations in the contiguous United
-    States remain in and around Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.
-    Probably fewer than 200 of these magnificent creatures live in
-    Glacier National Park.
-
-    Grizzlies are easily distinguished from the more common black bear.
-    In addition to larger size and heavier build, grizzlies have a
-    characteristic shoulder hump; long, conspicuous claws; and a broad,
-    concave face that gives them a “dished-in” appearance. Fur is
-    usually brown; like the fur of the black bear, however, color may
-    range from black to yellowish. Light tipped hairs make the fur
-    appear frosted, giving rise to the nickname, “silvertip.”
-
-    Grizzlies, popularly considered arch predators, are more accurately
-    described as omnivores. Carrion, grasses, cow parsnip, and several
-    species of berries, bulbs, and tubers make up a grizzly’s diet,
-    along with insects, small mammals, and an occasional ungulate that
-    it can catch. As a result, grizzlies play several roles in the
-    biotic community, functioning as herbivore, scavenger, and predator.
-
-    Ranging widely in all life zones, grizzlies follow the spring
-    snowmelt up to the alpine meadows, returning to lower elevations to
-    hibernate from November until April. One to three cubs are born in
-    midwinter during hibernation. Since the maternal bond lasts two
-    years, a sow will accept a mate only every other year. Mortality of
-    subadults is high, resulting principally from competition among the
-    bears themselves. As with most animals, range—habitat—appears to be
-    the limiting factor of grizzly populations.
-
-    The grizzly is normally shy and fearful of man—but highly
-    unpredictable. Wounded or sick bears, sows defending cubs, young
-    adults, and bears that have become conditioned to human scent are
-    the most dangerous. As humans continue to encroach on grizzly
-    territory, odds of confrontation also increase. Recent fatalities
-    and personal injuries inflicted by grizzlies pose a vexing problem
-    to the National Park Service, which is charged with visitor safety
-    on the one hand and protection of the park’s remaining grizzly
-    population on the other. Continuing study of grizzly ecology and
-    increasingly enlightened bear management programs will, it is hoped,
-    allow man and bear to co-exist in a wilderness both require.
-
-    [Illustration: Grizzlies are fond of succulent spring grasses.]
-
-    [Illustration: Traversing all life zones in the park, the grizzly is
-    a true opportunist, eating anything from ants and berries to
-    wapiti.]
-
-    [Illustration: Seldom will a grizzly exceed 225 kilograms in
-    Glacier. This is a young adult.]
-
-    Bald Eagles and Kokanee Salmon: A Recent Gathering
-
-    In 1916 the kokanee salmon, a small, land-locked form of the Pacific
-    coast species, was planted in the Flathead drainage. With the first
-    planting augmented by additional stockings, the fish thrived in
-    cold, deep Flathead Lake, and, to a lesser extent, in Lake McDonald.
-    The salmon fed almost exclusively on zooplankton.
-
-    By the mid-1930s, salmon runs were becoming established. The outlet
-    of Lake McDonald provides an ideal spawning site for the salmon. The
-    fast-flowing water is clear, cold, and shallow, and the creek bed is
-    gravelly.
-
-    Averaging 0.3 meters in length and weighing less than a half-kilo,
-    the 4-year-old adult salmon cease feeding and begin to migrate. Many
-    thousands swim the 100 kilometers from Flathead Lake to McDonald
-    Creek. Males appear in the creek first, arriving in late September,
-    and are soon followed by the females.
-
-    Using her tail to dig a redd (a shallow nest depression), the female
-    deposits about 650 eggs. After fertilization by the male, the eggs
-    are covered over. The adults die within three weeks after spawning,
-    their bodies exhausted from the rigorous migration journey and the
-    weeks-long lack of sustenance.
-
-    Egg fatalities are high, due to stream erosion and disturbance by
-    other spawning salmon. Hatching in late March, the fry work their
-    way out of the gravel and migrate downstream.
-
-    Attracted to the 75,000-150,000 salmon concentrated in a 3-kilometer
-    stretch of shallow water, bald eagles begin gathering at McDonald
-    Creek in October. It is not known where the eagles come from or
-    where they go after the spawning run. Glacier has fewer than 20
-    summer-resident bald eagles, and these are distributed among the
-    remote lakes of the North Fork area.
-
-    In 1939, 37 bald eagles were counted along the creek. By 1969, 373
-    were reported, representing approximately 10 percent of that year’s
-    estimated winter population for the contiguous United States. Since
-    1960, the count has averaged 240 birds. (In 1977 there were 444.)
-
-    Eagles feed by swooping down to pluck salmon from the water or by
-    wading out to grab a fish stranded on a shallow riffle. An eagle may
-    consume as many as six fish a day. Immature birds are not as adept
-    at catching fish and may harry adults or other immatures into
-    releasing their catch.
-
-    [Illustration: From its vantage point, this mature bald eagle
-    examines the waters of McDonald Creek. Average weight is 5.7
-    kilograms; average wingspan is 2.2 meters. Females are slightly
-    larger than males.]
-
-    [Illustration: This immature bald eagle lacks the familiar white
-    head and tail of the adult birds. It will not acquire those markings
-    until it is several years old.]
-
-    [Illustration: Breeding male and female kokanee salmon are easily
-    distinguishable; as spawning time approaches, they change
-    appearance. The dark gray backs turn red; heads become green, and
-    the males develop humped backs and hooked jaws.]
-
-    [Illustration: Swooping upward with a fish, a mature eagle heads for
-    a convenient perch to consume its catch. A strategically located
-    tree may contain 30 birds.]
-
-    A Triumph of Many Colors
-
-    Grassland, meadow, tundra, or any other area in Glacier suitable for
-    plant growth and supplied with abundant sunlight produces an
-    extravagance of wildflowers. This display of various shapes and
-    colors is neither an accident nor a mere decoration of nature. Nor
-    would Earth’s recent explosion of mammal and bird species have been
-    possible without the evolution of flowering plants.
-
-    Two hundred million years ago, early in the Age of Reptiles,
-    angiosperms (flowering plants) had not yet evolved. Plant
-    reproduction still relied on spores and cones. Then, during the
-    Cretaceous Period, the last sediments were being laid down in the
-    inland sea that covered most of Montana. (It was these sediments
-    that the ancient Precambrian rocks of Glacier’s mountains later
-    overrode, forming the Lewis Overthrust.) During this period the
-    evolutionary miracle occurred: flowering plants—grasses, vines,
-    shrubs, broadleaf trees, wildflowers—inherited the Earth.
-
-    The timing was important. As Earth’s tropical climate gradually
-    changed to temperate extremes during this period, the domination of
-    cold-blooded dinosaurs ended and the moisture-demanding coniferous
-    forests that had covered the earth in green monotony began to
-    shrink. Angiosperms provided a solution to the ecological void:
-    grasses and forbs grew where trees no longer could. Most important,
-    relationships evolved between this new class of plants and the
-    relatively few species of insects then existing.
-
-    Insects began to use the pollen of flowering plants; the
-    angiosperms, in turn, evolved bright petals and nectar that
-    exploited visiting insects for the plants’ own reproductive
-    purposes. This partnership allowed insects to diversify rapidly,
-    evolving new, specialized forms such as bees, moths, and
-    butterflies. As a result, predatory forms of insects and arachnids
-    also rapidly diversified.
-
-    The most dramatic change, however, involved warm-blooded birds and
-    mammals, whose high rates of metabolism required high-energy fuels.
-    Unlike gymnosperm seeds, which contain no protective covering,
-    angiosperm seeds are surrounded by a fruit. The development of these
-    highly nutritious seeds, and the attendant explosion of insect
-    species, ensured survival of the newly evolved birds.
-
-    As birds diversified into seed-eaters, insectivores, and carnivores,
-    mammals, then uncertain little ratlike creatures darting among the
-    feet of dinosaurs, began a rapid rise to dominance; grasslands
-    promoted an explosion of herbivorous and carnivorous species.
-
-    The evolution of angiosperms, and the animal revolution it made
-    possible, came with amazing speed. Most significant, it was a vital
-    first step upon which the meteoric rise of man depended.
-
-    [Illustration: Indian paintbrush is common at all elevations below
-    tundra. It may be white, yellow, orange, pink or red. The actual
-    flowers, inconspicuous and green, are surrounded by brilliantly
-    colored bracts. Semi-parasitic on other plants, paintbrush is
-    normally found growing in conjunction with other wildflowers; its
-    roots steal sustenance from neighboring plants.]
-
-    [Illustration: Yellow stonecrop, widely distributed in forest and
-    scrub-forest zones, is one of the park’s few plants having succulent
-    leaves, an adaptation that helps it survive in such situations as
-    dry, rocky outcrops.]
-
-    [Illustration: The Calypso orchid grows in the cool, shadowed forest
-    where light is dim. It lives in partnership with certain fungi that
-    exist about the orchid’s roots and seem to help nourish it.]
-
-    [Illustration: Silky lupine, a legume, has nitrogen-fixing nodules
-    on its roots, thus allowing it to grow in nitrogen-poor soil. It is
-    widely distributed in grassland and forest communities.]
-
-    Fire Succession: Key to Continuity
-
-    Most of Glacier’s fires are lightning-caused. Strikes may flare up
-    immediately; or fires may smolder in the forest duff for days until
-    fanned into flame by wind. _Ground fires_ may race through the
-    forest understory, causing minor damage; or they may bridge the
-    understory and reach the canopy, thus becoming rapidly spreading
-    _crown fires_. Under certain conditions, uncontrollable infernos may
-    develop, generating terrific winds and heat. These rare
-    conflagrations are called _fire storms_.
-
-    Every type of forest habitat has _climax vegetation_—trees and
-    shrubs that are best suited to the site and thus maintain themselves
-    indefinitely if not disrupted.
-
-    After a major fire, habitat conditions are usually so altered that
-    the site must pass through several _seral stages_ before conditions
-    are such that climax vegetation can return. A _sere_ is a series of
-    plant communities that follow one another in orderly fashion until
-    climax conditions are again reached.
-
-    [Illustration: Lightning fires occur most often during the hot, dry
-    weeks of late summer.]
-
-    [Illustration: When the forest is dry, lightning often causes quick
-    flare-ups.]
-
-    [Illustration: The forest may continue to burn for days after the
-    main conflagration has passed.]
-
-    [Illustration: After a major fire, sun-loving grasses, shrubs, and
-    wildflowers quickly invade the former forest. Deer and wapiti
-    benefit from these new food sources.]
-
-    [Illustration: Lodgepole pine, a pioneer species quick to take over
-    burned areas at lower elevations, grows rapidly. These trees are
-    five years old.]
-
-    [Illustration: This is a Glacier National Park forest 80 years after
-    a major fire.]
-
-Sudden hammering made me jump. Above the forest darkness, a pileated
-woodpecker leaned out from a high larch snag, braced against the trunk
-by its specialized, stiff tail feathers. This was the first time I had
-seen this big white-and-black bird, the “cock-of-the-woods.” There was
-ample evidence of his work: the deep, oblong excavations in the trunk
-and the pile of large wood chips at its base, both characteristic of
-this species. Again he hammered, and I could see the chips falling.
-After a little edge-work around the hole, he extracted a grub and flew
-off, yammering against the advancing dark.
-
-Near a stream I stopped to sit down, to listen to the water and maybe
-catch sight of some small animal. Across the narrow defile, from a slope
-dense with young hemlock, came the buzzing note of a varied thrush.
-Several notes followed, all on a different pitch, all drawn out, level
-and clear; the quality was pure but songless, disjointed, deliberate,
-like someone testing the reed of a strange woodwind. There seemed no
-gladness in the heart of this thrush. The song was dark, haunting,
-lonely.
-
-On the trail ahead I could make out a bird hopping rapidly along. After
-passing the spot I could hear its song. There couldn’t be a hundred
-meters between us, yet it seemed to be coming from a great distance. I
-listened for as long as it would sing. I tried to hear it for what it
-was, a male Swainson’s thrush proclaiming its territory. But the
-ethereal, flute-like phrases seemed an evensong made not for man’s ears
-but only for the forest itself.
-
-I hurried on after the bird had ceased. It was getting dark beneath the
-trees, but I was beginning to be aware of creatures underfoot, the mad
-dartings of shrew and vole, more imagined than seen. When a deer mouse
-jumped away I got out my flashlight. Soon the beam caught a woodrat
-sitting atop a fallen log. The light didn’t bother him in the least; as
-I approached, he picked up his bushy tail in his forepaws. Whiskers
-twitching, he looked more caricature than real. Then he bounded off the
-log with graceful, arching hops, and disappeared into the night.
-
-Against a patch of sky that appeared in a clearing, I could make out
-bats, circling and dipping like swallows. Locating a hovering moth, I
-kept the light beam on it until it vanished into a furry streak of
-silence. It was time to head back.
-
-By now it had become utterly dark within the trees, a moonless,
-sightless, alien world, given over to the marble-black eyes of the small
-night mammals and the creatures that hunt them. I thought of the
-strange, unseen societies of the flying squirrels, the nocturnal
-counterparts of red squirrels; of the great-horned owls, inspecting the
-same ground the goshawks scanned during the day. Perhaps a foraging red
-fox moved through the darkness nearby, or a coyote on night patrol.
-
-The flashlight beam probed ahead along the trail. The exposed roots were
-given unnatural shading and they seemed to thicken and squirm as I
-approached. On either side the tree trunks appeared to step backward
-from the dim glow of the light. I felt lost in this night, thinking of
-the great darkness in all the timbered ridges that ran westward from the
-Divide. In this vast cathedral of crowded tree and peak, night was stood
-on end, the stars shrunken to a circle overhead, as if seen from the
-bottom of a well. Mouselike, shivering, insignificant in this
-wilderness, I scurried back to find a fire and fill my empty senses with
-its heat and snap and light, holding off the fright of night and
-thinking of tomorrow’s sun.
-
-
-Scrub-Forest
-
-The crowning beauty of Glacier—the high, cirqueheld meadows that scent
-the wind with wildflower and waterfall—belongs to the zone of
-scrub-forest.
-
-At Logan Pass you are introduced to the highlands. Here an exquisite
-upland basin holds the Hanging Gardens, a wildflower-clothed gradient
-laced with stair-step bogs and lines of wind-bent subalpine fir. In the
-dawn sun, before the first engine noise, it shines unbroken, dewbright
-and sagging like a spider web secured to the circle of surrounding
-peaks.
-
-This is the region the hiker remembers best. The tall mountains wear
-this zone close to the cliffs, and the trails encounter it near the
-passes or follow it for long, level stretches, as along the Garden Wall.
-I remember Preston Park and Fifty Mountain, the fire-touched bench of
-Granite Park and the first sight of Sperry chalet, built on a brow of
-rock at the upper reach of trees. But most of all I remember the
-terrible waterfall that becomes Bowman Creek, the plunge of nearly a
-kilometer that drains the magnificent upland bench called
-Hole-in-the-Wall.
-
-
-                            Hole-in-the-Wall
-
-September. The season is growing late, the meadow-rue dying and the
-leaves of the wild strawberry failing at last. Everywhere the red
-contagion of autumn surrounds the vital green. The lower valleys have
-lost the whistle of ground squirrels. They sun themselves no longer
-these late, mild days. Ripe, sluggish, and hawk-vulnerable, they sensed
-the need of hibernation.
-
-It has been eight years since I last visited Hole-in-the-Wall, but I
-retain its dimensions and hear its dozen waterfalls at will. Once you
-have seen this basin you have a measure by which to judge the high
-country and a thirst for the meadows at tree-line.
-
-In Glacier, treelimit ranges between 1,850 and 2,300 meters, depending
-on local conditions. The upper limit of tree growth—rarely an even,
-horizontal line—is generally an indistinct band running erratically
-across a mountain’s face: a tension zone reflecting variations in wind
-and sun exposure, degree of slope, snowpack accumulations, and the
-presence of adequate soil and water.
-
-Subalpine fir, whitebark pine, and Engelmann spruce do not relinquish
-easily their upward climb; where conditions become severe, their growth
-is retarded and their stature dwarfed. Deformed and pruned by wind,
-their leaders winter-killed when they outreach the protection of the
-winter snowpack, trees become shrubs, forced to hug the ground. Size
-belies age in these elfin forests, or krummholz, where the growing
-season is painfully brief and progress is always uncertain. A twisted,
-gnarled little bush, more snag than live branch, bearing a single cone
-or two, may be senior by a century to the giants of its race in the
-valley below, which yearly shower the ground with an abundant crop of
-cones.
-
-This time I will come from Goathaunt, passing Lakes Janet and Francis,
-reaching Brown Pass from the east, and camp in the spectacular garden
-between Brown and Boulder Passes.
-
-Meadows and rock slides break the forest as the trail gains elevation
-and distance through the valley. The spruce and fir thin out rapidly at
-the valley head, the trail climbing the grassy slope to low, broad Brown
-Pass. Below the pass is Thunderbird Pond, which receives the meltwater
-from a glacier high on a shelf of Thunderbird Mountain and is bordered
-by a low jungle of willow. In the water stands a bull moose, its heavy,
-fully formed antlers ready for the season’s impending business.
-
-I was hoping again to see Cassin’s finches and Audubon’s warblers on the
-pass; but the fir grove is quiet. Sitting down to rest and listen, I
-become aware of a strange silence. No birds sing or flit among the
-trees, no alarms pass back and forth among alert ground squirrels. There
-is no wind—an odd condition for the Continental Divide. This place seems
-to be holding its breath. High overhead, a veil of cirrus cloud arranges
-long spears across the sky.
-
-Moving off the pass, along the dome of Mt. Chapman, I experience anew
-the old excitement of this high country. Abruptly the gorge of Bowman
-valley opens up, revealing the twisting blue snake of Bowman Lake far
-down the narrow, cliff-imprisoned valley. Here again are the northern
-titans—Numa, Peabody, Boulder, Thunderbird, and Rainbow; and Carter,
-with its high glacier baring blue ice teeth to the sun.
-
-It is not the climb that makes your heart pound now; the trail is
-suddenly narrow and cliff-defiant, cut by the plunging waters of
-snowbanks far above. These are splendid peaks, unmatched in a land of
-muscled, brutal earth. Even the air seems to retain the scent of glacier
-work.
-
-At last the view of Hole-in-the-Wall, a staircase cirque excavated
-between the gigantic spread ribs of Mt. Custer. The slopes of beargrass
-are seed-spotted and gaunt now, the white fullness gone. Western
-pasqueflowers have accomplished their magic transformation; known in
-this season as old man’s beard, they nod their tufts of grizzled
-seedhead silk in the wind. Red and yellow monkeyflowers bloom yet,
-crowding along the many stream courses, and waterloving sedges and
-mosses surround pools of collected water on the broad horseshoe tiers.
-
-A spur trail drops down into the campground on the last ledge. Through a
-cleft in its lip plummets the gathered water of the basin. From the
-valley below, the waterfall appears to be springing from a hole in the
-headwall, giving this basin its name. Down, down, down, roars the water
-where once a mighty glacier ground its teeth.
-
-I leave until later the making of camp; by now the sharp shadows of
-Boulder Peak stab the valley forest and are beginning the upward assault
-of Thunderbird.
-
-Around the basin headwalls, last winter’s snowbanks remain formidable.
-Snow caves send out meltwater torrents. Glacier lilies and patches of
-spring beauty line their fringes. Pasqueflowers bloom in pockets. Here,
-among the asters of August, bloom also the first flowers of spring,
-shooting up as the snowbanks shrink, making these spots of snow-free
-ground a patchwork of May and July, August and June. The shrubs that
-line the furious water are willows, still bud-swollen this tenth day of
-September. The coming days will bring a sharp surprise.
-
-Winter will soon stop the melting of this snow. Could it be that I am
-seeing the first year of a reawakening ice age? If so, each year the
-snowfields would grow thicker and broader, connecting the shelves into
-one ice mass again, lilies and willows entombed, the summer heat failing
-to rescue them, until the ice at last began to slide, stripping the soil
-and once more plucking at living rock.
-
-Then these dwarfed fir, which cling precariously to the cliffs and hide
-behind the backs of boulders, would be in more danger than they were
-from their recent antagonists. Engulfed by ice, they would know the
-shearing wind no more. Their skeletons would rain down into the valley
-below, signalling another long forest retreat. But they have waited out
-the mountain ice before and would send their seeds again to this valley,
-changed however it might be, as they have always done.
-
-Evening brings out two sleek mule deer does. As they graze, their large
-ears stand erect, sorting out the lesser sounds from the ceaseless roar
-of water. Both raise their heads and point their ears, statue straight,
-at the scuttle of a porcupine. A noise among the rocks draws a backward
-glance and focus of those ears. I would like the sensitivity of such
-fine equipment, to hear what deer have always heard.
-
-Setting about the business of camp, I wonder about those animals that
-watched me for a while, then moved off, having seen a tent go up before.
-With the appearance of the moon the wind increases and they test the air
-more often now. Do they have visions of cougar or grizzly with every
-snap the wind delivers?
-
-In summer these high meadows see a surprising variety of animal life.
-Briefly out of hibernation are marmots and the handsome golden-mantled
-ground squirrels. Mice, voles, shrews, and woodrats run among the
-shadows, feeding on the season’s feast of seeds and insects. A nightmare
-for these are the fierce little weasels that haunt the rocks.
-
-Tracks of cougar and wolverine are sometimes seen, often teasingly
-fresh; to glimpse either of these elusive predators is to taste the
-finest wine of wilderness.
-
-Before the berry season, grizzlies grub the meadows for the tasty bulbs
-of glacier lilies and the tubers of spring beauty; often distracted by
-the scent of a ground squirrel in its burrow, they sometimes make a huge
-excavation for a small reward.
-
-White-crowned sparrows sing in July from the low tops of the battered
-trees, though their nests are on the ground below. Grey-crowned rosy
-finches patrol the drier ground for seeds while water pipits hunt
-insects in the wet areas. High above, a golden eagle scans the basin
-again, circling slowly before following a ridge south to sight another
-likely slope in its 10,000-hectare territory.
-
-The moon shines through the tent top. The wind, blowing more violently
-now, shivers the nylon and interrupts the voice of the waterfall. I have
-followed the pasqueflower run from the April prairies here to its
-highest bloom near treeline. I think about the triangular seed pods of
-the glacier lilies, colonies of steep-throated blue gentians, and the
-season’s last glory of goldenrod. Indian paintbrush, from white to fire
-red, blazes the slopes that light the fringes of sleep.
-
-I awake to a determined rain, the moon gone and the tent shuddering with
-wind-blast. I try not to think of the steel-cold air, and slip into a
-fitful sleep that seems an endless treadmill of rocky trail.
-
-Stiff and unrefreshed, I look out into the dawnless morning. The tip of
-Thunderbird is detached from its base by grey clouds swirling at its
-throat. A wave of sleet slants down, dancing on the rocks, chanting
-triumph over the buried, bent, and broken flowers of yesterday.
-
-So I must make my escape, short of Boulder Pass. Unattainable now,
-invisible above the cirque, that high pass grows in my memory. This
-testament to what a glacier can do, to the struggle of trees and the
-life-pioneers that invade such harsh places, is at my feet but shrouded
-with snow. My hands grow stiff and numb in the blunt work of packing up.
-
-I had wished to see Kinnerly Peak again, rising from the western Kintla
-valley, and walk along black ledges of the lava that floors the pass.
-Beyond it grows a grove of subalpine larch, stately, seldom encountered,
-the least common tree species in Glacier. Confined to this narrow zone
-between forest and alpine, it reaches up tall and proud, impervious to
-the gruelling climate that makes cowering shrubs of other trees.
-
-But all must wait another year, for this season comes down hard. And the
-will of winter is to erase whatever summer had devised.
-
-
-Tundra
-
-Porcelain-cold, the November sun dawns in the southeast sky. The ledges,
-ice-encrusted, layered with sleet from a recent squall, whistle the cold
-morning wind aside. Rattling down, a slide of rock plunges off the final
-ledge, seconds passing before the hollow sounds of impact clatter back.
-Like an apparition of winter itself, white beard bent sideways by the
-wind, a mountain goat steps to the precipice edge. Looking out across
-the vast white void, its long belly hair and pantaloons streaming with
-the ceaseless wind, this strange animal, product of some unfathomable
-ingenuity, hesitates but a moment; dropping down from step to invisible
-step along the sheer rock face, fracturing the ice glaze as it goes, it
-turns a wall and disappears. A nimble, eight-months-old kid follows.
-
-Blinking and twisting in the dull light, the shower of shattered ice
-clinks softly downward against rock, fading away like the short summers
-of this place.
-
-But while the wind chants winter, life has made a passage here, and also
-waits, hidden in seed and root and den.
-
-
-■
-The nanny and her kid have bedded down now, looking across the deep,
-snowy basin below. Their ledge shines with the first spear of sunlight.
-
-Far below the pass that connects Mount Siyeh to the snow-giants Matahpi
-and Going-to-the-sun, three male white-tailed ptarmigan emerge from
-their night’s huddle within a snowbank and step out to peck at an
-exposed mat of willow. Ptarmigan, the only birds on the winter tundra,
-wear white plumage in this season, helping to camouflage them in the
-snow, just as their mottled brown summer plumage makes them difficult to
-detect among bare rocks. There are few predators here to hunt them now,
-but they move with habitual slowness; quick movement can be fatal when
-summer brings numerous eyes to scan the slopes. With legs and feet
-heavily feathered and sharp claws to scratch for food beneath the snow,
-the ptarmigan live at truce with winter. When blizzards rage between the
-peaks, they nestle together in snow dens, beyond the reach of the winds.
-Ptarmigan hens winter lower in taller willow thickets, but the males
-prefer to take their winter as high as possible.
-
-Now they crouch behind the wind-deflecting rocks, dozing in the meager
-warmth of the morning sun.
-
-Near the snowless summit crags, a flash of brown fur zigzags among the
-rocks. That would be a pika. Only for a moment does it show itself, so
-quickly does it move.
-
-Also called the rock rabbit, the diminutive pika belongs to the order of
-hares and rabbits. Resembling a small guinea pig, this sturdy creature
-spurns hibernation as a way to beat the challenge of winter. Instead, it
-spends the summer laying in a store of hay for the lean season,
-spreading cut grass to cure upon the rocks and tending its “haystacks,”
-on which its survival hangs.
-
-Winter is a great peril to small mammals. Their small bodies, because of
-a large surface area in relation to volume, retain heat poorly, and
-their high metabolic fires consume calories quickly. Great amounts of
-energy are required to sustain an active animal in rough terrain,
-placing further demands on the animal’s capacity to survive the cold.
-The pika may need to stack as much as 25 kilos of hay; to keep its
-furnace burning during winter it will have to fuel its stomach almost
-hourly.
-
-Small animals of cold climates often show distinctive body adaptations.
-On the pika the small, rounded ears lie flat along the head, the tail is
-inconspicuous, the legs are short; heat loss from exposed surfaces is
-thus reduced. Fur insulates the soles of the pika’s feet while at the
-same time providing good traction on steep rock faces.
-
-Hidden below these rocks are the hibernating marmots and the sleeping
-ground squirrels. Beneath the snow the mice, shrews, and pocket gophers
-struggle on with their lives. But above ground, directly confronting
-this arctic climate, are the pika, the ptarmigan, and the mountain goat.
-
-A triumph of adaptation, the mountain goat faces the winter day without
-benefit of either the pika’s den or the ptarmigan’s snow roost.
-
-The nanny and kid descend from their ledge to search out browse at
-treeline with other members of a loose band—yearlings, young males,
-other nannies with kids. At the fringes of the band a solitary adult
-billy only grudgingly associates with other members of his kind; for
-this is the season of rut.
-
-Not really goats at all, these relatives of the European mountaineering
-chamois are insulated from the wind by coats of long, hollow-haired fur
-overlying woolly underfur. They are stocky, stiff-legged, and
-deliberate, able to negotiate the walls and pinnacles with their
-superbly adapted hoofs. The unique design of these hoofs gives the
-animal great traction and stability on precarious crags. Opening towards
-the front, the cleft between the two hoofs spreads each outward as the
-animal descends a slope, helping to grip the rocky surface. In addition,
-the large, rough, and pliant sole of each foot conforms to the bare
-rock, increasing traction.
-
-There is little need for the goat to leave its steep sanctuaries; it can
-subsist on lichens and mosses if browse is not available. It depends on
-the inaccessibility of the cliffs for its security. Accidents,
-avalanches, and rockfall are greater enemies than predators. Golden
-eagles sometimes attempt to knock newborn kids from ledges and a young
-goat quickly retreats under its nanny when an eagle soars by. With the
-protection of sharp spike horns and a terrifying terrain, adult goats
-seldom fall victim to cougar or grizzly.
-
-It will be a long time before the snow releases this land and wapiti,
-bighorn, grizzly, and cougar wander back into these high basins. In this
-winter minimum of life, the spring songs of rosy finches, water pipits
-and white-crowned sparrows seem an impossible extravagance.
-
-
-■
-I am drawn to the spring tundra—to the vigor and tenacity of its sparse
-life—where survival itself seems ceremony enough. But it is a strange
-world, where a man is out of perspective. Here the plant cover is
-carpet-high, and distance, for the lack of trees, tricks the eye. Here
-the wind, snow, and sun quickly burn skin, and the intense light,
-reflected from snowbanks, stabs at the eyes. Almost instantly, a
-sandwich is sucked dry of its moisture. The desiccating wind probes the
-ears until it seems at last to pierce your brain. Except for fearful
-mountain walls the only shadow is your own. Animals seem somehow remote
-and unknowable, as if seen through glass. A day on the tundra and you
-feel the want of a company of trees.
-
-Yet once exposed, you acquire a craving for the look of tundra. Nowhere
-else is there such an impatience for spring—the flowers rush into bloom;
-the male water pipit soars, its skylark song crystal sharp in the thin
-air. The nesting birds are restless, for sun-days and warm days are few,
-precious, and quickly spent. Insects and spiders abound—flying about the
-peaks or crawling among the rocks.
-
-Summer brings bands of bighorn rams up from the valley to explore the
-highest meadows. Though not so sure-footed as the goats, they too have
-hoofs adapted to climbing steep faces, and they walk the slopes not far
-below the goats.
-
-Marmots, which whistle sharply when threatened, spend their days
-sunbathing and grazing; they must fill out their now loose-hanging fur
-coats with life-sustaining fat for the coming winter.
-
-Alpine animals are blessed with mobility and can choose their weathers,
-retreating to burrow, den, or rock-harbor to escape the worst fury of
-storms. But what about the plants, rooted forever in one spot, assaulted
-by an untempered sun and a drying wind, and facing the almost daily
-threat of freeze and storm?
-
-Alpine plants, through their design and growing habits, have adapted
-themselves to the rigorous demands of this climate in many ways. Most
-plants are perennial: there just aren’t enough days or nutrients
-available for the growing of entire plants each year from seed. And they
-have the ability to grow and carry on photosynthesis at temperatures
-just above freezing, thus extending their season. In this zone,
-temperatures are rarely above 15° C; the mean summer temperature is
-about 10° C. But a flower such as the alpine buttercup, which is found
-at treeline or above, can grow through several centimeters of snow; heat
-given off during the plant’s respiration will create an opening through
-which it can emerge.
-
-Plants have various adaptations to meet the demands of the alpine
-environment. Yellow stonecrop, not restricted to this zone, is
-nevertheless able to survive here because of its fleshy succulence and a
-waxy covering that prevents water loss. On some plants, protective hairs
-covering leaves and stems help retard the burning effects of wind and
-sun. Often this pubescent foliage looks more grey than green, for the
-soft hairs mute the color.
-
-Cushion growth is another alpine adaptation. The moss campion cushion,
-covered with delicate pink flowers, grows to about one-third of a meter
-across and only 3 to 5 centimeters high. Spreading out close to the
-ground, the plant avoids the major violence of the wind and hoards
-moisture like a sponge.
-
-The dryad, growing abundantly on the windy sweep of Siyeh Pass, shows
-alpine adaptations in several ways. The energy of the mature plant is
-channeled primarily into reproduction: its large flower, supported by a
-short stem, matures quickly; and it produces many seeds, ensuring
-germination of a few. An evergreen, it begins to synthesize water and
-carbon dioxide into food as soon as the snow is gone; and its rolled
-leaves prevent rapid evaporation. It grows as a low and woody mat that
-year by year extends itself through the production of new shoots that
-carpet the rock. Mat growth has the advantage of retaining dead plant
-material and capturing wind-blown grains of soil, allowing the plant
-slowly to enlarge its soil base.
-
-Compared to the forest, the heartbeat of the tundra is painfully slow.
-Here a plant may grow for a quarter of a century before it has acquired
-the reserves necessary for flowering. Contrasted with the progress on
-the tundra, forest succession races by with dizzying speed. Yet
-imperceptible as the change may be the alpine plant community also
-passes from pioneer to climax.
-
-Beyond the limit of other plants, lichens thrive, encrusting rocks with
-their rainbow colors. A lichen is actually a primitive and highly
-successful association between a fungus and an alga, working together
-for mutual benefit. The fungus protects the delicate alga, trapping and
-holding moisture; the green alga, in turn, produces enough food to
-sustain the needs of the fungus.
-
-Generating rock-disintegrating acids that help secure this partnership
-to the rock, lichens, along with physical weathering, help break down
-the rocks into soil particles. Collected in pockets by run-off or wind,
-rudimentary soil is slowly invaded by cushion plants. After centuries of
-colonization by these, while the meager soil is deepened and enriched
-and moisture retention is increased, other plants move in, climaxing at
-last in hardy grasses and sedges. As in the forest, pioneer species
-change the environment to their detriment, creating a habitat better
-suited to other species.
-
-Although it will progress with geologic slowness, the rocky ground of
-Siyeh Pass—its plant cover presently scant and wind-rowed by frost-heave
-and relentless wind—will in time develop grasses and sedges, the climax
-vegetation of the alpine meadows.
-
-
-■
-Simplicity rules the alpine zone. Here life is reduced to bare
-essentials. Chief controlling force is climate; but the plants and
-animals that live here are well adapted. Compared to the lower realms,
-where both competition and predation are fierce, life here looks secure.
-
-There is a penalty to simplicity. In the lowland, the long food chains
-and diversity of species, the long growing season, and the abundant food
-supply give the forest an adjustment mechanism and healing power not
-found on the critically balanced tundra. The greater the variety in a
-plant and animal community, the greater the stability. So in the alpine
-world there exists a paradox: the most durable life forms constitute the
-most fragile community.
-
-
-The Water Communities
-
-Snowfields begin again their summer-long melt. The alpine stream, vocal
-again, collects its water from a thousand places. Miniature gorges drain
-the meadow, gurgling with the sparkle and rush of meltwater in the
-lengthening spring days.
-
-Gathering volume, the stream seems to hurry faster; at the first rock
-staircase, it begins to sing. I follow the gully downward, drawn like
-the water. There is excitement in the growing dash and roar, a wind-gust
-sweeping spray into the air. A rainbow appears, holding steady to the
-swirling cloud of spray, then doubles and abruptly disappears.
-
-At the first great plunge the water lunges outward over the lip. Like
-glass at shattering, long shards lance out. But the wind feathers the
-sharp edges as they fall.
-
-The close thunder of a waterfall beats at your head, and your mind must
-shout to think. Here is water, a most amazing and most important
-substance. Perhaps some of this same water was once part of the ancient
-sea in which was laid down the mudstone of this ledge; was once drunk by
-dinosaurs; has coursed the globe countless times; and has flowed in this
-very stream before. In solid, liquid, or gaseous form, it goes through
-its own cycle. Together with sunlight, water makes possible and
-maintains all life on Earth.
-
-
-                              Ouzel Music
-
-A glacier might cling to a winter snow a hundred years and turn it to
-ice, a blue tool to rasp and pluck at rocks, before letting it go.
-Lingering summer snowfields might delay its passage for a time. But the
-water always wins at last, becoming, in one decisive instant, liquid
-again, and beginning its long journey to the sea. Plants and dry air
-will intercept some of its molecules, sending them back into the
-atmosphere to bloom as fog and cloud; but as rain, snow, or dew, these
-are soon commissioned to the land again.
-
-Water is so familiar to us that we seldom think about it. We know that
-fish swim in the lower lakes, and we are vaguely aware of the
-bewildering assortment of life-forms abounding in a pond. But life
-begins in the streams.
-
-Even cups of cold meltwaters, scooped out of a rivulet only a few meters
-away from its snowbank source, contain some life. Snow algae, which grow
-on the snowbank surface, often sufficiently dense to give the snow a
-distinctive red complexion, are released into the meltwater. In summer,
-small invertebrate life can be discovered in the standing pools of even
-the highest cirque.
-
-But conditions are not good for the development of complete aquatic food
-chains in the streams and lakes of higher elevations. Alpine lakes, or
-tarns, support little visible life. Often flanked by high ridges and
-peaks, many tarns receive scant direct sunlight during the day. Since
-these lakes occupy basins that capture tremendous amounts of snowfall,
-the snowbanks persist in the mountain shadows, and summer makes little
-progress in warming the water. Iceberg Lake, for example, is seldom free
-of floating ice, and its temperature never rises above 4° C in summer,
-even at the surface.
-
-Moving out of the cirque lakes, water is soon churning again, dashing
-downward many hundreds of meters to the valleys below, in rapids,
-cascades, and breathless waterfalls. Not surprisingly, few plants and
-animals are adapted to life in fast-moving water.
-
-Algae can be found covering streambed rocks and stranded, water-polished
-tree trunks. Securely attached by holdfasts, these small plant forms
-survive the rigorous stream flow that would destroy the larger vascular
-plants. Several species exist, from microscopic forms to branched
-filamentous algae whose long hairlike strands wave in the current.
-
-A surprising number of insects live on the stream bottom, finding a
-measure of protection from the current in the jumble of rocks.
-Underwater beetles live under the gravel or among the debris at the
-stream-edge, or cling to stones and sticks. Scurrying and creeping among
-the rock-crannies are the larvae of stoneflies, mayflies, and
-caddisflies. These and the small fish that venture up from lower lakes
-are the food of the water ouzel, a creature that loves the places where
-the waters thunder.
-
-
-■
-The noise of the water is overpowering. A slip into this boiling rage
-would mean quick death. Looking 10 meters across the dim, mist-slippery,
-water-scoured canyon, I see a young water ouzel peering out of its
-unique nest, on the lookout for its parents. Clouds of spray keep the
-nest of living moss continually wet; but this bird is waterproofed with
-an oily plumage and keeps its vigil at the nest opening. Peering into
-the torrent below, then upstream and downstream, it awaits patiently the
-delivery of the next meal.
-
-With the approach of one of the adults, three other heads crowd the
-opening, begging yellow mouths agape. Flying low, the ouzel parent zeros
-through the heavy spray, alighting on a slippery boulder below the nest
-ledge. Preparing to fly up to the nest with its load of insect larvae,
-the ouzel spots me across the water. At its sharp _jigic, jigic_ alarm,
-the bills of the young snap instantly shut. Nervously the bird regards
-my close presence, dipping its entire body rapidly up and down, as if
-keeping time with the surging torrent.
-
-Discovering no danger, the dusky blue-grey bird bobs more slowly. The
-other adult, returning from an upstream forage, alights on the same
-rock, occasioning a new outcry from the fledglings. Each in turn, the
-parent birds fly up to feed their young, beating their wings to maintain
-their position at the perchless nest. Not pausing to regard me further,
-they split the stream between them again, one flying upstream and one
-down, to continue the hunt. Blinking and shaking the collected mist from
-its bill, the single young sentry renews its watch.
-
-
-                           In Shallow Waters
-
-Life abounds in the shallow lakes and ponds. Calm, protected John’s Lake
-offers a fine example of how a complex aquatic plant-and-animal
-community can exist in balance in a confined space. The water teems with
-the microscopic algae, protozoans, and rotifers that sustain the barely
-visible zooplankton. Dancing, flitting, hopping, and swaying through the
-water, these zooplankton in turn support the larger plankton-eating
-animals.
-
-Dragonflies and damselflies shoot past, crackling their wings, and perch
-in the bog grass. Looking into the shallow water, you will see a wealth
-of small animal life. A spotted frog swims into view, floating to the
-surface beside a lily pad so that its eyes protrude above the water.
-
-The ribbonlike form of a leech swims across the bottom toward deeper
-water. Looking closer, you see that the water swarms with bizarre
-shapes—water boatmen propelling themselves with oarlike appendages, a
-gliding mayfly nymph, then a predacious diving beetle surfacing,
-grasping a bubble of air beneath its shiny brown wing plates and
-disappearing downward again—the bubble’s edge shining silver—into the
-brown bottom debris. Suddenly a whirligig beetle sets the surface to
-spinning, wrinkling the view below.
-
-Everywhere in the water there is animal life, forms that are attached,
-free-swimming, crawling on the bottom, and clinging to or swimming on
-the surface film. The gray, slimy encrustation on a sunken log looks
-like a covering of lichen but is really a freshwater sponge, a colonial
-animal that feeds by filtering minute plankton from the water. Another
-attached creature is the barely visible hydra; this twig-shaped
-predator, related to marine jellyfish, captures water fleas and other
-small animals in its several poisonous tentacles.
-
-Water beetles, backswimmers, water boatmen, and many other creatures
-move about more or less freely in the water, propelling themselves along
-with jerky movements. Suspended between surface and bottom are the
-zooplankton, the tiny water fleas, cyclops, daphnia, and others, which
-feed by filtering minute algae. On the bottom and below live scavenging
-worms. Water striders skate on the surface film.
-
-Along the shore, frogs, salamanders, garter snakes, and water shrews are
-hunting. Dabbling and diving ducks patrol about, tipping or submerging
-for the bottom plants. Moose tracks circle the muddy shore. Because it
-produces vegetation abundantly, John’s Lake sustains a great diversity
-of animal life.
-
-
-                              Beaver Ponds
-
-Fully 10 percent of all the present meadow area in the Rocky Mountains
-is estimated to have been created by beaver, the only animal besides man
-that engineers extensive changes in the environment to suit its own
-needs.
-
-When beavers dam a stream, they set in motion another form of
-succession. If the resulting backwater floods a forest area, the trees
-are soon killed, creating a broad opening in the forest canopy.
-Water-associated plants and shrubs quickly invade the pond and
-shoreline, creating favorable habitat for waterfowl, moose, blackbirds,
-amphibians, wading birds, warblers, marsh hawks, and a score of other
-animals.
-
-After many years the water becomes shallow, filling in with silt and
-plant debris. When the beavers abandon the site, the dam may rupture for
-lack of maintenance and the pond will rapidly drain. Or it may continue
-to hold, delaying for several more years its slow conversion to meadow.
-Stimulated by the nutrient-rich mud, the water grasses, sedges, and
-shrubs finally choke the water with their accumulating debris,
-transforming the area into a bog.
-
-Gradually the ground firms as more humus is created and more silt is
-trapped. The area becomes meadow, supporting grasses, sedges, and other
-flowering plants. Trees begin to reinvade the drier ground, and
-eventually the meadow reverts to forest. Centuries may be required to
-see this cycle through, from forest to pond, to bog, to meadow, to
-forest again. At each stage many of the animal inhabitants change: the
-song of the western robin and the chatter of a red squirrel in the
-original, pre-beaver forest give way to the croak of a heron; the heron
-is replaced by the insect-and-berry-eating cedar waxwing; the waxwing is
-followed by the tree-dwelling western robin and red squirrel.
-
-
-                          Lakes Cold and Deep
-
-Seeming to skate on its own reflection, a spotted sandpiper comes in low
-over the quiet water, wingtips almost touching the surface of the lake.
-It alights at the shore and folds its wings. Amid the rounded rocks,
-this plain but elegant little shorebird is all but swallowed up.
-Teetering constantly on long legs, it sets off along the water’s edge,
-pecking here and there, coming closer and closer, never forgetting to
-stop and curtsy, as if acknowledging, while hurrying offstage, the
-applause of an audience.
-
-As it draws near, several water striders skate away from the shore. A
-stonefly, scuttling between two rocks, is deftly speared. So large a
-morsel makes the bird pause and rough its feathers, then scamper into
-the water to take a drink. Teetering again, it passes in front of me and
-continues down the shore, where I soon lose sight of it rounding a rocky
-point.
-
-I am sitting at the foot of Lake McDonald, watching the darkness gather
-over the valley, seeing the last light slide upward to the tips of the
-distant mountains. As daylight dissolves, this long fleet of familiar
-peaks seems almost to glide toward darkness, slow and silent as sailing
-ships.
-
-The sheet of motionless water stretches many kilometers away between
-tree-covered moraines. The water is deep and cold. No emergent plants
-line the barren shore. It would seem that no life, except for the single
-gull that rests on the water far away, exists in this nearly
-thousand-meter-high lake.
-
-
-■
-Considering the great volume of Glacier’s large, deep lakes, the life
-they support is indeed meager. A large part of the reason lies with the
-nature of their shores, where almost no plants grow. A combination of
-factors prevents the development of a lush shoreline growth.
-
-Contoured like bathtubs, these steep-sided lakes exhibit narrow or
-non-existent shoreline shallows, which are vital for the production of
-rooted plants. Strong wave action and extensive seasonal fluctuations in
-the level of these natural reservoirs prevent the development of
-emergent water plants in locations where they might otherwise be
-expected.
-
-Since sunlight cannot penetrate to the bottom of these deep lakes, they
-are deprived of bottom-anchored plants in midlake as well. As a result,
-herbivorous animal life must depend almost wholly on algal growth. Wave
-action inhibits the spread of free-floating algae by washing much of it
-onto the shore. Deep lakes are also low in available oxygen, preventing
-the development of bottom decomposers, which would rapidly release
-nutrients as they break down the accumulating debris washed into the
-lake. Without a steady supply of nutrients, plant growth is retarded.
-
-Since the food chain depends upon green plants, the ability of a lake to
-support higher animals such as fish depends upon its ability first to
-produce adequate plant growth. The production of one kilo of trout
-requires that a lake produce about 1,000 kilos of plants to support 100
-kilos of herbivorous invertebrates, which are eaten by 10 kilos of
-carnivorous insects, on which the trout feed.
-
-Compared to smaller shallow lakes, which teem with visible life, cold,
-deep, nutrient-poor lakes such as McDonald appear to be watery deserts.
-Yet because of their great volume—Lake McDonald contains 5 or 6 cubic
-kilometers of water—these large lakes do sustain significant numbers of
-fish. Of the 22 kinds of fishes found within the park, most are
-coldwater species. Trout, whitefish, grayling, suckers, minnows, and
-carp fill the roles of herbivore, carnivore, and scavenger. Agile,
-highly mobile, and acutely sensitive, fish represent the most successful
-total adaptation to the aquatic environment.
-
-Through the stocking of nonnative species, including plantings in
-formerly fish-free lakes, the natural aquatic communities of many of
-Glacier’s lakes and streams have been permanently modified.
-
-Aquatic food chains are not confined to the water. Ospreys, ducks,
-mergansers, otter, mink, and many other semi-aquatic or terrestrial
-birds and mammals utilize the plants and animals of the water. In fall,
-a remarkable spectacle occurs along the outlet of Lake McDonald.
-Attracted to the kokanee salmon concentrations, which run from Flathead
-Lake to spawn and die in these clear, shallow waters, bald eagles
-collect to exploit the vulnerable fish. In 1977, 444 eagles were counted
-in one census. This food resource is also exploited by grizzlies,
-coyotes, skunks, gulls, loons, and other animals. On occasion, even
-white-tail deer have been observed swallowing salmon!
-
-    [Illustration: Sunset]
-
-
-
-
-                                 Shooting Stars
-
-
-This park is very special. The people who know it well feel proprietary
-toward its mountains, scattered lakes, and glaciers. Perhaps it is the
-arrangement of the land, an unsurpassed concentration of American
-wilderness. Time and again I have thought, as I regarded some aspect of
-this country, _yes, this is exactly right_—almost, it would seem, as if
-some magic existed that could translate thought and emotion into rock
-and bark.
-
-Glacier remains largely unexploited, bearing still the aspect of the
-Earth the Indians knew for 500 generations—a land where it is yet
-possible to feel a sense of discovery, sense that a single man matters.
-On too many mountains, man has tarnished whatever he has touched; but
-here the land has shed, as a fir sloughs snow, a long succession of
-traders, trappers, explorers, hunters, surveyors, prospectors, loggers,
-settlers, and tourists.
-
-You may walk the same trail a dozen times and not tire of the view. I
-have given up wondering why. I know only that these are mountains a man
-might grow old with, and that mountain-fever never diminishes but only
-changes its look, as a forest does over many years.
-
-Repeatedly I have noticed that this park creates an instant bond between
-strangers. A certain pause intrudes at the first mention of Glacier
-National Park, and a look of distance comes, as Red Eagle becomes real
-again, or the wind at Firebrand is remembered, or the flowers of
-Fifty-Mountain converge once more upon the senses.
-
-Never are we quenched. If a goshawk rushes past, straining upward with
-its squirming load of ground squirrel, forever afterward our blood
-demands more. The sight of a wolverine running is not enough. Nor the
-magnificent assemblage of bald eagles feasting on November salmon. More
-days of this: mountain goats leaping impossible ledges, wave tracks from
-a beaver reaching out on dawn water. There are messages here, loud as
-kingfishers. The land has languages, stories to tell.
-
-But in wilderness there is no moral, save that it must continue. For all
-our probings and plottings we discover no adequate interpretation of the
-forces we find swirling about us. A larch you must touch to know; your
-neck must feel the ache of too much looking up. Watch its treepoint
-pirouette. Then, looking back at the world level, you will find that you
-have lost all answers. We have learned the art of building bridges,
-cataloging plants, predicting what a shrew might do. Of the essential
-mystery, we know nothing.
-
-For nature assigns no “roles” to its creatures; there is no “reason” for
-a forest fire, which burns mightily but with no intent. Life’s only
-“purpose” is the feeding of life, and the beauty we see therein is but
-its lack of guarantee: for the chipmunk and the weasel, and the man who
-measures his life to theirs, no assurance of long days and tempered
-seasons, abundant seeds, ample meat. In wilderness there is mystery yet,
-unsimplified, not reduced, resplendent and immense.
-
-Whatever the conclusion of this planet, however many the acts to follow
-in this consuming drama—mountains coming up, mountains going down,
-forests, lakes, and seas skimming past like wind-driven scud clouds
-before a storm—at least in the scant shadow of this present age there is
-an achievement of sorts. For now, with this creature man, such things as
-mountains can be loved. And men have memories to fill.
-
-Tomorrow I will look for shooting stars—purple spring flowers that point
-their fire down, always down toward the center of the Earth, as if to
-give in their brief term beneath the sun a tribute to this most
-excellent mystery.
-
-Today I can say nothing more, neck-sore now from looking at larchtops
-swaying with the wind of this splendid morning.
-
-    [Illustration: Shooting star.]
-
-    [Illustration: Mountain goats.]
-
-
-
-
-                                    Appendix
-
-
-Mammals of Glacier National Park
-
-Distribution information was obtained from _Meet the Mammals of
-Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park_, by Robert C. Gildart (see
-Reading List). Nomenclature follows, for the most part, _a Field Guide
-to Mammals_, by William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider.
-
-  Key to symbols:
-  E—occurs east of Continental Divide (spruce-fir forest; aspen;
-          bunchgrass meadows)
-  W—occurs west of Continental Divide
-          (redcedar-hemlock-lodgepole-fir-larch forest; some meadows)
-  A—occurs in alpine areas (above upper edge of continuous forest)
-  R—rare in Glacier National Park
-
-  Shrews
-  Masked shrew, _Sorex cinereus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, meadows, pond and stream edges
-  Vagrant shrew, _Sorex vagrans_
-  E, W, A, moist forests and grasslands, marsh and stream edges
-  Northern water shrew, _Sorex palustris_
-  E, W, stream edges
-
-  Bats
-  Little brown myotis, _Myotis lucifugus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, often around buildings, caves; nocturnal
-  Long-eared myotis, _Myotis evotis_
-  E, W, A, R, coniferous forests, meadows; nocturnal
-  Long-legged myotis, _Myotis volans_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, meadows; nocturnal
-  Big brown bat, _Eptesicus fuscus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; often around buildings, caves; nocturnal
-  Silver-haired bat, _Lasionycteris noctivagans_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; meadows; nocturnal
-  Hoary bat, _Lasiurus cinereus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; mostly nocturnal
-
-    [Illustration: Cougar]
-
-  Cats
-  Bobcat, _Lynx rufus_
-  E, open forests, brushy areas
-  Lynx, _Lynx canadensis_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Cougar, _Felis concolor_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-
-  Raccoon, bears
-  Raccoon, _Procyon lotor_
-  E, W, R, open forests, stream bottoms
-  Black bear, _Ursus americanus_
-  E, W, A, forests, slide areas, alpine meadows
-  Grizzly, _Ursus arctos_
-  E, W, A, forests, slide areas, alpine meadows
-
-    [Illustration: Coyote]
-
-  Canines
-  Red Fox, _Vulpes vulpes_
-  E, grasslands, open forest
-  Coyote, _Canis latrans_
-  E, W, A, forests, grasslands
-  Gray wolf, _Canis lupus_
-  E, W, R, coniferous forests
-
-    [Illustration: Wolverine]
-
-    [Illustration: Longtail weasel]
-
-  Mustelids
-  Striped skunk, _Mephitis mephitis_
-  E, W, open forests, grasslands
-  Badger, _Taxidea taxus_
-  E, W, grasslands
-  River otter, _Lutra canadensis_
-  E, W, R, rivers, lakes
-  Wolverine, _Gulo gulo_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, alpine meadows
-  Least weasel, _Mustela rixosa_
-  E, R, open forests, grasslands
-  Shorttail weasel, _Mustela erminea_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, meadows
-  Longtail weasel, _Mustela frenata_
-  E, W, A, open forests, meadows
-  Mink, _Mustela vison_
-  E, W, creek and lake edges
-  Marten, _Martes americana_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests
-  Fisher, _Martes pennanti_
-  E, W, R, coniferous forests
-
-  Lagomorphs
-  Pika, _Ochotona princeps_
-  E, W, A, rockslides
-  Snowshoe hare, _Lepus americanus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Whitetail jackrabbit, _Lepus townsendii_
-  E, W, R, grasslands
-
-  Squirrels
-  Hoary marmot, _Marmota caligata_
-  E, W, A, rocky areas, alpine meadows
-  Richardson ground squirrel, _Spermophilus richardsonii_
-  E, R, grasslands
-  Columbian ground squirrel, _Citellus columbianus_
-  E, W, A, open woodlands, grasslands, alpine meadows
-  Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, _Spermophilus tridecemlineatus_
-  E, R, grasslands
-  Golden-mantled squirrel, _Spermophilus lateralis_
-  E, W, A, high, open forests; rocky areas
-  Least chipmunk, _Eutamias minimus_
-  E, W, A, high, open forests; brushy, rocky areas; alpine meadows
-  Yellow pine chipmunk, _Eutamias amoenus_
-  E, W, open forests; brushy, rocky areas
-  Redtail chipmunk, _Eutamias ruficaudus_
-  E, W, open forests; brushy, rocky areas
-  Red squirrel, _Tamiasciurus hudsonicus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Northern flying squirrel, _Glaucomys sabrinus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; nocturnal
-
-  Pocket gophers
-  Northern pocket gopher, _Thomomys talpoides_
-  E, W, A, meadows
-
-    [Illustration: Beaver]
-
-  Beaver
-  Beaver, _Castor canadensis_
-  E, W, streams, lakes
-
-  Voles and kin
-  Deer mouse, _Peromyscus maniculatus_
-  E, W, A, forests, grasslands, alpine meadows
-  Bushytail woodrat, _Neotoma cinerea_
-  E, W, A, rocky areas, old buildings
-  Northern bog lemming, _Synaptomys borealis_
-  W, R, coniferous forests
-  Mountain phenacomys, _Phenacomys intermedius_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, alpine meadows
-  Boreal redback vole, _Clethrionomys gapperi_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Meadow vole, _Microtus pennsylvanicus_
-  E, W, open forests, meadows; along streams; marshy areas
-  Longtail vole, _Microtus longicaudus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, grasslands
-  Water vole, _Arvicola richardsoni_
-  E, W, A, high-elevation stream and lake edges
-  Muskrat, _Ondatra zibethica_
-  W, streams, lakes, marshy areas
-  Western jumping mouse, _Zapus princeps_
-  E, W, A, grasslands, alpine meadows
-
-  Deer
-  Wapiti (American elk), _Cervus canadensis_
-  E, W, A, open forests, meadows
-  Mule deer, _Odocoileus hemionus_
-  E, W, A, open forests, meadows, often at high elevations
-  Whitetail deer, _Odocoileus virginianus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, meadows, creek and river bottoms
-  Moose, _Alces alces_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, lakes, slow streams, marshy areas
-
-    [Illustration: Mountain goat]
-
-  Bovids
-  Mountain goat, _Oreamnos americanus_
-  E, W, A, high peaks and meadows
-  Bighorn, _Ovis canadensis_
-  E, A, open mountainous areas
-
-
-Reptiles and Amphibians of Glacier National Park
-
-Note: This check list is based upon actual specimens in the Park and
-other collections, according to Dr. Royal Brunson, Montana State
-University.
-
-  Reptiles
-  Great Basin Garter Snake, _Thamnophis elegans vagrans_
-  A large garter snake of mountainous areas, usually with large spots.
-
-  Great Plains Red-sided Garter Snake, _Thamnophis ordinoides
-          parietalis_
-  Dorsal stripes varying from yellow to blue or black. Usually found
-          near water.
-
-  Hypothetical List:
-  Rubber Boa, _Charina bottae utahensis_
-  May occur in rock slides or, possibly, in forested areas, on either
-          side of the Divide.
-
-  Gopher Snake, _Pituophis catenifer sayi_
-  May occur along eastern boundary (Great Plains).
-
-  Yellow-bellied Blue Racer, _Coluber constrictor mormon_
-  May occur on eastern boundary of Park along border of Great Plains.
-
-  Painted Turtle, _Chrysemys picta_
-  May occur in ponds and sluggish waters from Upper Sonoran Zone to
-          Canadian Zone.
-
-  Western Skink, _Eumeces skiltonianus_
-  May occur in Transition Zone along western border of Park.
-
-    [Illustration: Northern Alligator Lizard]
-
-  Northern Alligator Lizard, _Gerrhonotus coeruleus principis_
-  May occur in Transition Zone along western border of Park.
-
-  Amphibians
-  Tiger Salamander, _Ambystoma tigrinum melanostrictum_
-  Ground color either black or bluish-black, with large spots or
-          blotches of yellow.
-
-  Long-toed Salamander, _Ambystoma macrodactylum_
-  Ground color black or dark brown; wide band of yellow extends from
-          back of head to tip of tail.
-
-  Northwestern Toad, _Bufo boreas boreas_
-  Widely distributed over entire Park. (Also known as Columbian,
-          Northern, or Western Toad.)
-
-    [Illustration: Western Spotted Frog]
-
-  Western Spotted Frog, _Rana pretiosa pretiosa_
-  Widely distributed over entire Park. (Also known as Western or Pacific
-          Frog.)
-
-  Green Frog, _Rana clamitans_
-  One specimen, from Bowman Lake. (Chicago Natural History Museum)
-
-  Tailed Frog, _Ascaphus truei_
-  Should be fairly common, although it is not often taken.
-
-  Pacific Tree-toad, _Hyla regilla_
-  Small size and disks on fingers and toes identify this species. Common
-          throughout Park.
-
-
-Fishes of Glacier National Park
-
-Classification and common scientific names are from: “A List of Common
-and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada,”
-American Fisheries Society Publication No. 2, 1960.
-
-  Key to symbols:
-  N Species native to at least one major drainage of the Park.
-  I Non-native species, having been introduced into Park waters by man.
-  S A species of sporting qualities and valued for recreational angling.
-  1 Waterton Drainage
-  2 Belly River Drainage
-  3 Swiftcurrent Drainage
-  4 St. Mary Drainage
-  5 Two Medicine Drainage
-  6 Middle Fork Flathead River Drainage (exclusive of McDonald Valley)
-  7 McDonald Valley Drainage
-  8 North Fork Flathead River Drainage
-
-    [Illustration: Lake Trout]
-
-  Family _Salmonidae_ (trouts, whitefishes, and grayling)
-  Lake Whitefish, _Coregonus clupeaformis_ (I) (1, 2, 3, 4, 7)
-  Pygmy Whitefish, _Prosopium coulteri_ (N) (7)
-  Mountain Whitefish, _Prosopium williamsoni_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
-          7, 8)
-  Kokanee (Sockeye) Salmon, _Oncorhyncus nerka_ (I) (S) (3, 7, 8)
-  Cutthroat Trout, _Salmo clarki_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-  Rainbow Trout, _Salmo gairdneri_ (I) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7)
-  Brook Trout, _Salvelinus fontinalis_ (I) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-  Dolly Varden, _Salvelinus malma_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8)
-  Lake Trout, _Salvelinus namaycush_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
-  Arctic Grayling, _Thymallus arcticus_ (I) (S) (2, 8)
-
-  Family _Esocidae_ (pikes)
-  Northern pike, _Esox lucius_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3)
-
-    [Illustration: Redside Shiner]
-
-  Family _Cyprinidae_ (minnows and carps)
-  Longnose Dace, _Rhinichthys cataractae_ (N) (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-  Northern Pearl Dace, _Margariscus margarita_ (N) (3, 5)
-  Redside Shiner, _Richardsonius balteatus_ (N) (7, 8)
-  Streamline Chub, _Hybopsis dissimilis_ (N) (1, 3)
-  Northern Squawfish, _Ptychocheilus oregonensis_ (N) (7, 8)
-
-    [Illustration: White Sucker]
-
-  Family _Catostomidae_ (suckers)
-  White Sucker, _Catostomus commersoni_ (N) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
-  Largescale Sucker, _Catostomus macrocheilus_ (N) (6, 7, 8)
-  Longnose Sucker, _Catostomus catostomus_ (N) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-  Family _Gadidaie_ (codfishes and hakes)
-  Burbot, _Lota lota_ (N) (S) (1, 4)
-
-  Family _Cottidae_ (sculpins)
-  Mottled sculpin, _Cottus bairdi_ (N) (5, 6, 7, 8)
-  Spoonhead sculpin, _Cottus ricei_ (N) (1, 2, 3, 4)
-
-
-Birds of Glacier National Park
-
-  Key to symbols:
-  E—occurs on east side of the park (east of the Divide)
-  W—occurs on west side of the park (west of the Divide)
-  A—occurs in alpine areas
-  ab—abundant
-  c—common
-  u—uncommon
-  r—rare
-  i—introduced
-  a—accidental
-
-    [Illustration: Common Loon]
-
-  Loons
-  Common Loon E, W, ab
-  Arctic Loon?
-  Red-throated Loon?
-
-    [Illustration: Western Grebe]
-
-  Grebes
-  Red-necked Grebe E, W, c
-  Horned Grebe E, W, ab
-  Eared Grebe E, W, c
-  Western Grebe E, W, u
-  Pied-billed Grebe E, W, r
-
-  Pelicans, Cormorants
-  White Pelican E, W, u
-  Double-crested Cormorant E, r
-
-    [Illustration: Great Blue Heron]
-
-    [Illustration: American Bittern]
-
-  Herons, Bitterns
-  Great Blue Heron E, W, c
-  Black-crowned Night Heron a
-  American Bittern, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Mallard]
-
-    [Illustration: Wood Duck]
-
-    [Illustration: Ruddy Duck]
-
-  Swan, Geese, Ducks
-  Whistling Swan E, W, ab
-  Trumpeter Swan E, W, r
-  Canada Goose E, W, c
-  Snow Goose E, W, c
-  Ross’ Goose E, W, r
-  Mallard E, W, ab
-  Gadwall E, W, r
-  Pintail E, W, c
-  Green-winged Teal E, W, c
-  Blue-winged Teal E, W, u
-  Cinnamon Teal E, W, u
-  European Widgeon E, W, c
-  American Widgeon E, W, ab
-  Northern Shoveler E, W, c
-  Wood Duck E, W, r
-  Redhead E, W, c
-  Ring-necked Duck E, W, u
-  Canvasback E, W, u
-  Lesser Scaup E, W, c
-  Greater Scaup?
-  Common Goldeneye E, W, c
-  Barrow’s Goldeneye E, W, ab
-  Bufflehead E, W, u
-  Harlequin Duck E, W, c
-  White-winged Scoter E, W, r
-  Ruddy Duck E, W, c
-  Hooded Merganser E, W, u
-  Common Merganser E, W, ab
-  Red-breasted Merganser, E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Cooper’s Hawk]
-
-    [Illustration: Marsh Hawk]
-
-  Vultures, Hawks, Eagles
-  Turkey Vulture E, W, r
-  Goshawk E, W, c
-  Sharp-shinned Hawk E, W, u
-  Cooper’s Hawk E, W, u
-  Red-tailed Hawk E, W, c
-  Red-shouldered Hawk a
-  Swainson’s Hawk E, W, c
-  Rough-legged Hawk E, W, r
-  Ferruginous Hawk E, W, u
-  Golden Eagle, E, W, A, c
-  Bald Eagle, E, W, ab
-  Marsh Hawk E, W, ab
-  Osprey E, W, ab
-  Prairie Falcon E, W, A, r
-  Peregrine Falcon E, W, r
-  American Kestrel E, W, c
-
-    [Illustration: Sharp-tailed Grouse]
-
-  Grouse, Ptarmigans
-  Blue Grouse, E, W, ab
-  Spruce Grouse E, W, ab
-  Ruffed Grouse E, W, ab
-  Sharp-tailed Grouse E, r
-  White-tailed Ptarmigan A, c
-  Willow Ptarmigan ?
-  Ring-necked Pheasant E, W, r, i
-  Gray Partridge E, W, r, i
-
-  Cranes
-  Sandhill Crane E, r
-
-    [Illustration: American Coot]
-
-  Rails, Coots
-  Sora E, W, r
-  American Coot E, W, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Greater Yellowlegs]
-
-  Shorebirds
-  Killdeer E, W, c
-  Black-bellied Plover E, r
-  Common Snipe E, W, c
-  Long-billed Curlew E, r
-  Upland Sandpiper E, r
-  Spotted Sandpiper E, W, A, ab
-  Solitary Sandpiper E, r
-  Willet, E, r
-  Pectoral Sandpiper E, r
-  Baird’s Sandpiper E, W, r
-  Lesser Yellowlegs, E, W r
-  Greater Yellowlegs E, W, r
-  American Avocet E, W, u
-  Northern Phalarope E, W, r
-  Wilson’s Phalarope E, W, u
-  Black Turnstone ?
-  Long-billed Dowitcher E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Herring Gull]
-
-  Gulls, Terns
-  Herring Gull E, W, r
-  California Gull E, W, ab
-  Ring-billed Gull E, W, c
-  Franklin’s Gull E, W, c
-  Bonaparte’s Gull E, u
-  Forster’s Tern E, W, u
-  Common Tern E, r
-  Caspian Tern a
-  Black Tern E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Mourning Dove]
-
-  Doves, Pigeons
-  Band-tailed Pigeon E, W, r
-  Mourning Dove E, W, c
-  Rock Dove E, W, r, i
-
-    [Illustration: Great Horned Owl]
-
-  Owls
-  Screech Owl E, W, r
-  Great Horned Owl E, W, ab
-  Snowy Owl E, W, u
-  Hawk Owl E, W, u
-  Pygmy Owl E, W, ab
-  Barred Owl E, W, c
-  Great Gray Owl E, W, u
-  Long-eared Owl E, W, r
-  Short-eared Owl, E, W, c
-  Boreal Owl E, W, r
-  Saw-whet Owl E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Common Nighthawk]
-
-  Nighthawks, Swifts
-  Common Nighthawk E, W, ab
-  Black Swift E, W, u
-  Vaux’s Swift E, W, ab
-  White-throated Swift W, A, r
-
-  Hummingbirds
-  Broad-tailed Hummingbird E, W, r
-  Rufous Hummingbird E, W, A, ab
-  Calliope Hummingbird E, W, A, ab
-  Black-chinned Hummingbird E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Belted Kingfisher]
-
-  Kingfishers
-  Belted Kingfisher E, W, ab
-
-  Woodpeckers
-  Common Flicker E, W, ab
-  Pileated Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Red-headed Woodpecker E, W, r
-  Lewis’ Woodpecker E, W, c
-  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker E, W, ab
-  Williamson’s Sapsucker E, W, u
-  Hairy Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Downy Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Northern Three-toed Woodpecker E, W, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Ash-throated Flycatcher]
-
-  Flycatchers
-  Eastern Kingbird E, W, ab
-  Western Kingbird E, W, u
-  Ash-throated Flycatcher a
-  Say’s Phoebe E, W, r
-  Willow Flycatcher E, W, c
-  Hammond’s Flycatcher E, W, ab
-  Olive-sided Flycatcher E, W, ab
-  Western Flycatcher E, r
-  Western Wood Peewee E, W, c
-
-  Larks
-  Horned Lark E, W, A, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Barn Swallow]
-
-  Swallows
-  Violet-green Swallow E, W, A, ab
-  Tree Swallow E, W, ab
-  Bank Swallow E, W, ab
-  Rough-winged Swallow E, W, u
-  Barn Swallow E, W, u
-  Cliff Swallow E, W, A, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Common Crow]
-
-  Jays, Magpies, Crows
-  Gray Jay E, W, ab
-  Blue Jay E, W, r
-  Steller’s Jay E, W, ab
-  Black-billed Magpie E, W, ab
-  Common Raven E, W, A, ab
-  Common Crow E, W, ab
-  Clark’s Nutcracker E, W, A, ab
-
-  Chickadees
-  Black-capped Chickadee E, W, ab
-  Mountain Chickadee E, W, ab
-  Boreal Chickadee E, W, r
-  Chestnut-backed Chickadee E, W, u
-
-  Nuthatches, Creepers
-  White-breasted Nuthatch E, W, u
-  Red-breasted Nuthatch E, W, ab
-  Brown Creeper E, W, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Winter Wren]
-
-  Dippers, Wrens
-  Dipper E, W, A, ab
-  House Wren E, W, u
-  Winter Wren E, W, ab
-  Long-billed Marsh Wren a
-  Rock Wren E, W, u
-
-  Catbirds, Thrashers
-  Gray Catbird E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Mountain Bluebird]
-
-  Thrushes, Bluebirds, Solitaires
-  American Robin E, W, A, ab
-  Varied Thrush E, W, ab
-  Hermit Thrush E, W, ab
-  Swainson’s Thrush E, W, ab
-  Veery E, W, c
-  Western Bluebird E, W, r
-  Mountain Bluebird E, W, A, ab
-  Townsend’s Solitaire E, W, A, ab
-
-  Kinglets
-  Golden-crowned Kinglet E, W, ab
-  Ruby-crowned Kinglet E, W, ab
-
-  Pipits
-  Water Pipit E, W, A, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Cedar Waxwing]
-
-  Waxwings
-  Bohemian Waxwing E, W, ab
-  Cedar Waxwing E, W, ab
-
-  Shrikes
-  Loggerhead Shrike E, W, r
-  Northern Shrike E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Starling]
-
-  Starlings
-  Starling E, W, c, i
-
-    [Illustration: Red-eyed Vireo]
-
-  Vireos
-  Solitary Vireo E, W, ab
-  Red-eyed Vireo E, W, ab
-  Warbling Vireo E, W, ab
-
-  Warblers
-  Black and White Warbler W, r
-  Tennessee Warbler E, W, r
-  Orange-crowned Warbler E, W, r
-  Nashville Warbler E, W, r
-  Yellow Warbler E, W, ab
-  Yellow-rumped Warbler E, W, ab
-  Townsend’s Warbler E, W, ab
-  Northern Waterthrush E, W, ab
-  MacGillivray’s Warbler E, W, ab
-  Common Yellowthroat E, W, ab
-  Wilson’s Warbler E, W, ab
-  American Redstart E, W, ab
-  Yellow-breasted Chat ?
-
-    [Illustration: House Sparrow]
-
-  Weaver Finches
-  House Sparrow E, W, r, i
-
-  Blackbirds, Orioles
-  Bobolink E, r
-  Western Meadowlark E, W, u
-  Red-winged Blackbird E, W, ab
-  Northern Oriole E, W, r
-  Brewer’s Blackbird E, W, u
-  Rusty Blackbird E, W, r
-  Yellow-headed Blackbird E, r
-  Common Grackle E, r
-  Brown-headed Cowbird E, W, c
-
-    [Illustration: Evening Grosbeak]
-
-  Tanagers, Grosbeaks
-  Western Tanager E, W, ab
-  Evening Grosbeak E, W, ab
-  Pine Grosbeak E, W, ab
-  Black-headed Grosbeak E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: American Goldfinch]
-
-  Finches, Sparrows, Buntings
-  Lazuli Bunting E, W, c
-  Lark Bunting E, W, r
-  Snow Bunting E, W, c
-  Cassin’s Finch E, W, A, ab
-  Gray-crowned Rosy Finch E, W, A, ab
-  American Goldfinch E, W, u
-  Common Redpoll E, W, c
-  Pine Siskin E, W, A, ab
-  Red Crossbill E, W, ab
-  White-winged Crossbill E, W, u
-  Rufous-sided Towhee E, W, u
-  Green-tailed Towhee E, W, r
-  Savannah Sparrow E, W, c
-  LeConte’s Sparrow E, W, u
-  Vesper Sparrow E, W, ab
-  Tree Sparrow E, W, r
-  Chipping Sparrow E, W, A, ab
-  Brewer’s Sparrow E, W, r
-  Harris’ Sparrow E, W, r
-  White-crowned Sparrow E, W, A, ab
-  Fox Sparrow E, W, A, ab
-  Lincoln’s Sparrow E, W, A, c
-  Song Sparrow E, W, ab
-  Dark-eyed Junco E, W, c
-  McCown’s Longspur E, c
-  Lapland Longspur E, W, c
-  Chestnut-collared Longspur E, c
-
-
-
-
-                           Suggested Reading
-
-
-Alexander, Taylor R. and George S. Fichter, _Ecology_ (a Golden guide).
-      Western Publishing Co., Inc., Racine, Wis. 1973.
-
-Alt, David D. and Donald W. Hyndman, _Rocks, Ice and Water, the Geology
-      of Waterton-Glacier Park_. Mountain Press Publishing Co.,
-      Missoula, Mont. 1973.
-
-Baker, William, et. al., _Wildlife of the Northern Rocky Mountains_.
-      Naturegraph Co., Healdsburg, Calif. 1961.
-
-Borland, Hal, _The History of Wildlife in America_. National Wildlife
-      Federation, Washington, D.C. 1975.
-
-Brooks, Maurice, _The Life of The Mountains_. McGraw-Hill, New York.
-      1967.
-
-Costello, David F., _The Mountain World_. Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New
-      York. 1975.
-
-Craighead, John J., et. al., _A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain
-      Wildflowers_. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1963.
-
-Dobie, J. Frank, _The Voice of the Coyote_. Little, Brown and Co.,
-      Boston. 1950.
-
-Farb, Peter, _Face of North America_. Harper and Row, New York. 1963.
-
-Gildart, Robert C., _Meet the Mammals of Waterton-Glacier_. Glacier
-      Natural History Association, Inc. Thomas Printing, Inc.,
-      Kalispell, Mont. 1975.
-
-McCormick, Jack, _The Life of the Forest_. McGraw-Hill, New York. 1966.
-
-Milne, Lorus and Margery Milne, _The Balance of Nature_. Alfred A.
-      Knopf, Inc., New York. 1960.
-
-Nelson, Alan G., _Wildflowers of Glacier National Park_. Nelson, Great
-      Falls, Mont. 1970.
-
-Peattie, Donald Culross, _A Natural History of Western Trees_. Bonanza
-      Books, New York. 1953.
-
-Ruhle, George C., _Roads and Trails of Waterton-Glacier Parks_. John W.
-      Forney, Minneapolis, Minn. 1972.
-
-Shea, David S., _Animal Tracks of Glacier National Park_. Special
-      Bulletin No. 11, Glacier Natural History Association, Inc., West
-      Glacier, Mont., 1969.
-
-Storer, John H., _The Web of Life_. Devin-Adair Co., Old Greenwich,
-      Conn. 1953.
-
-Zwinger, Ann H. and Beatrice E. Willard, _Land Above the Trees_. Harper
-      and Row, New York. 1972.
-
-    [Illustration: WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK—GLACIER NATIONAL PARK]
-
-    Using Metrics
-
-    As we go to press with this book, the United States is in the early
-    stages of conversion to the metric system of measurement, and though
-    we urge you to think metric—for most of the world does—we provide
-    this table to help you understand the measurements given in the
-    book.
-
-  To convert from       to                    multiply by
-
-  Millimeters           Sixteenth-inches      0.6301
-  Centimeters           Inches                0.3937
-  Meters                Feet                  3.2808
-  Kilometers            Miles                 0.6214
-  Hectares              Acres                 2.4711
-  Hectares              Square miles          0.00386
-  Grams                 Troy Ounces           0.0322
-  Kilograms             Pounds                2.2046
-  Degrees—Celsius       Degrees—Fahrenheit    1.8, and add 32
-
-    [Illustration: Temperature Conversion Chart]
-
-    [Illustration: Length Conversion Chart]
-
-    Drawings from David S. Shea, _Animal Tracks of Glacier National
-    Park_
-
-    [Illustration: red fox,
-    hind foot, in mud
-    53 mm.]
-
-    [Illustration: mule deer,
-    adult buck, in snow
-    72 mm.]
-
-    [Illustration: badger,
-    left front foot, in mud
-    43 mm.]
-
-    [Illustration: coyote,
-    hind foot, in snow
-    63 mm.]
-
-    About the Author
-
-    Greg Beaumont’s interest in Glacier National Park dates from 1963,
-    when he was a summer employee at Lake McDonald Lodge. In 1966 he and
-    his wife were fire-control lookouts on Numa Ridge in the Bowman
-    Valley. Now a free-lance writer-photographer, he lives with his
-    family in Lincoln, Nebraska.
-
-    National Park Service
-    U.S. Department of the Interior
-
-    As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the
-    Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public
-    lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use
-    of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife,
-    preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national
-    parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life
-    through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and
-    mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in
-    the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a
-    major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and
-    for people who live in Island Territories under U.S. administration.
-
-
-
-
-                          Transcriber’s Notes
-
-
-—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
-  is public-domain in the country of publication.
-
-—Corrected a few palpable typos.
-
-—Included a transcription of the text within some images.
-
-—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
-  _underscores_.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Many-Storied Mountains, by Greg Beaumont
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Many-Storied Mountains, by Greg Beaumont
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Many-Storied Mountains
-       The Life of Glacier National Park
-
-Author: Greg Beaumont
-
-Release Date: July 19, 2017 [EBook #55150]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MANY-STORIED MOUNTAINS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, MFR and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-
-
-
-
-
-  *GPO:1978-261-215/3
-  For sale by the
-  Superintendent of Documents,
-  U.S. Government Printing Office,
-  Washington, DC 20402.
-  Stock Number 024-005-00709-1.
-
-  Library of Congress Cataloging In Publication Data
-
-  Beaumont, Greg, 1943-
-  Many-storied mountains.
-
-  (Natural history series)
-  1. Natural history--Montana--Glacier National Park.
-  2. Glacier National Park. I. Title. II. Series: Natural history series
-              (Washington, D.C.)
-  OH105 M9B43    500.9'786'52    78-606071
-
-
-
-
-                         Many-storied Mountains
-                   The Life of Glacier National Park
-
-
-                              Written and
-                            photographed by
-                             Greg Beaumont
-
-                                  1978
-                         Natural History Series
-                        Division of Publications
-                         National Park Service
-                    U.S. Department of the Interior
-
-    [Illustration: The landform of Glacier National Park is a monument
-    to the power of moving ice. This view from Stoney Indian Pass  is
-    startlingly different from the scene of a million years ago, when
-    the glaciers of the Pleistocene were sculpturing the land. Only the
-    higher peaks would then have been visible above the blanket of ice
-    that flowed like a slow-moving river down into the Mokowanis Valley
-    and out into the Great Plains beyond.]
-
-
-About This Book
-
-This natural history of the mountain wilderness called Glacier National
-Park is not a guidebook, but provides an overview of the ecology of the
-region. At the same time, it is a personal statement, revealing one
-individual's response to this rugged, delicate land.
-
-For their consistent cooperation and helpfulness, I wish especially to
-thank Chief Naturalist Ed Rothfuss and his capable staff. Technical and
-field assistance came from many; for special thanks, I would like to
-single out Art Sedlack, Francis Singer, Bert Gildart, Walt Martin, Craig
-Kuchel, and Danny On. The manuscript profited greatly from the criticism
-of Douglas Chadwick, to whom I am deeply grateful.
-
-                                                                  --G.B.
-
-
-The National Park Service Division of Publications gratefully
-acknowledges the financial support given this book project by the
-Glacier Natural History Association, Inc., West Glacier, Mont.
-
-
-
-
-                                Contents
-
-
-  Song of the High Peaks                                                1
-  Cycles and Seasons                                                    5
-      Bedrock: The First Story                                          6
-      The Rising of the Sun and the Running of the Deer: A Glacier
-          Year                                                         39
-  Plant-and-Animal Communities                                         43
-      Over Going-to-the-Sun Road                                       44
-      Groves and Grasslands: The Prairie Sea                           46
-      The Forest                                                       70
-      Scrub Forest                                                    105
-      Tundra                                                          109
-      Water Communities                                               114
-  Shooting Stars                                                      121
-  Appendix                                                            125
-  Pictorial Features
-      The Mountains of Glacier                                         10
-      The Forests of Glacier                                           48
-      The Vital Predator                                               78
-      Protective Coloration                                            84
-      _Ursus arctos horribilus:_ The Vulnerable King                   88
-      Bald Eagles and Kokanee Salmon: A Recent Gathering               92
-      A Triumph of Many Colors                                         96
-      Fire Succession: Key to Continuity                              100
-
-
-Illustrations by Celia Strain/Morgan-Burchette Assoc.
-
-    [Illustration: Soaring eagle]
-
-
-
-
-                             Song of the High Peaks
-
-
-April again and the wind turns on the Great Plains. Wedges of geese,
-high and determined, began this storm of spring, their voices sharp as
-the morning frost. Sicklebills cry to claim the land, sandhill cranes
-wheel and talk overhead, and everywhere the killdeer shout.
-Pasqueflowers push the bleak soil aside, beginning the westward rush
-that I must join, seeking again the sight of mountains.
-
-In Glacier National Park the land is folded up. On the east, Chief
-Mountain, Curly Bear, and Rising Wolf break the prairie's hold. When the
-early French fur trappers saw these peaks glistening in the distance
-with summer-long snows and perpetual ice, they named this region "the
-land of shining mountains." But for all the ice and snow that reflect
-the summer sun, the park's present glaciers are but snowflakes compared
-to the mighty rivers of ice that carved this land. Glaciation, the
-magnificent sculptor, left its bold signature everywhere, and this park
-honors with its name the force that shaped it.
-
-But the essential excitement of this land is more than cliff face,
-spire, and sudden storm. It comes to you when you realize that here is
-an aggregation of dramatically differing life zones, where a day's walk
-can easily take you from prairie and forest to treelimit and tundra;
-where a dense forest of redcedar and hemlock, similar to the rain
-forests of the Pacific coast, exists a score of kilometers from the
-great prairie sea.
-
-Or it comes when you discover that these mountains--young and sharp with
-shadows, snow-jeweled and newly gowned with forests--are chiseled from
-the oldest unaltered sedimentary rocks on earth.
-
-I come from the prairie and love its broad strokes; I've learned to hear
-the singing in the grass and to see those long, slow seasons soar the
-level horizons like gliding hawks. But here I learned to match my days
-against a wild earth, and in me grew the mysterious need to know a
-mountain from its every side. Mountains that wear the dawn like yellow
-hats, repeated in the named and nameless lakes. Mountains that stretch
-the storms between them and balance rainbows ridge to ridge.
-
-I must see again the secret forest places, where the paleflowered
-wood-nymphs hover like a breath, and know once more the endless meadows
-painted camas blue.
-
-I need the perfect freedom of this land, to be able to say, _today I
-will climb Siyeh_: to stand, for a time, on the rugged shoulders of this
-upright earth.
-
-    [Illustration: The sharp spire of little Matterhorn and the broad
-    face of Mt. Edwards loom above Going-to-the-Sun Road in the upper
-    McDonald Valley. During warm days in spring the valleys of the park
-    resound with the thunder of avalanches.]
-
-    [Illustration: Twilight view.]
-
-
-
-
-                               Cycles and Seasons
-
-
-Bedrock: The First Story
-
-On the trail that connects the Logan Pass visitor center to Hidden Lake
-overlook there is a shallow pond. Near Hidden Pass, it collects its
-meltwater from the Continental Divide and sends it down the shallow
-gorge that drains the Hanging Gardens; as a waterfall it plunges into
-the upper St. Mary Valley where it becomes Reynolds Creek; joined by
-other tributaries, it continues its long journey to Hudson Bay.
-
-The surface of this pond is seldom still, for the wind treats it like a
-sea. Because the water is shallow, the wave action wrinkles the bottom
-mud into ripple patterns, mimicking the churning waves.
-
-I like to come here early in the morning. Sometimes, arriving before the
-wind awakes, I catch reflections of the surrounding mountains. Beyond
-the low bench of Logan Pass the Garden Wall begins, running northward
-with the Divide. In the eastern valley the pitched peak of
-Going-to-the-Sun hunkers in the morning light like a tensed warrior. To
-the south, the incisor Bearhat, beautiful cloud cutter of Hidden Lake
-Valley, juts above the nearby saddle of the pass. But over this place,
-standing as fresh monuments to an age of ice, tower the cliffs of
-Clements and the pyramid Reynolds.
-
-I am sitting on a wedge of red rock. Its surface exhibits a wrinkled
-pattern identical to the ripples in the soft mud of the shallow pond.
-The distance is not great; with a stick I could reach out and touch the
-mud. Yet this represents a gulf no bird can fly, for between the ripples
-of this rock and the ripples of this mud lie billions of vanished
-mornings, a constellation of years.
-
-These red, green, tan, white, black and purple bands of rock that layer
-Glacier's mountains comprise the oldest unaltered sedimentary rocks on
-Earth. They were laid down in Precambrian time, more than a billion
-years ago, when life was just beginning, as the deposits of an inland
-sea.
-
-For millions of years, sand, mud and carbonates washed into the ancient
-sea, compressing the lower layers into mudstones and limestones,
-building up a sediment thickness that may have been as much as 10,000
-meters (_see_ metric conversion table on page 136).
-
-When we look at the sharp contours of Glacier's mountains, we see the
-evidence of uplift, overthrust and glaciation. But on the geologic clock
-these are recent events, a mere eyeblink of time ago. For the vast
-majority of years, the rocks lay undisturbed and level beneath the sea
-and land.
-
-To understand better the tremendous time scale these rocks represent, we
-need a way to visualize the vast collection of years. If we were to make
-a movie of these geologic events, we would first need to determine how
-many years each minute should represent. Since the Pleistocene lasted
-about 3,000,000 years (its four ice ages sculpting the present muscle of
-this land), let us make each minute portray a million years. To
-chronicle these rocks we will then need a film 60 hours long!
-
-Not until the fifty-seventh hour of our film will the Mesozoic lowlands
-begin to bulge with the coming Rocky Mountain chain. During the long
-preceding hours we would have seen little else but sea--withdrawing,
-advancing, deep and shallow; yellow, green, and brown with great
-colonies of algae. Unseen below the water, lava has spilled out
-occasionally on the sea bottom; once, it intruded between the rock
-layers below, forming the conspicuous, 60-meter-thick band of black
-diorite that we see today on many mountain faces in Glacier.
-
-During this time of initial uplift an amazing process is going on deep
-underground. A major fault has developed, fracturing the buckled layers
-of rock. A vast mountain plate begins to slide eastward, over-riding and
-submerging the rock layers to the east and opening the wide trench that
-is today the North Fork Valley. Known as the Lewis Overthrust, this
-gigantic earth-force has created an unusual situation: ancient rock
-strata lying atop recent rock strata.
-
-Now less than 3 minutes of film remain. The arrival of the ice is
-imminent. We look at the landscape of featureless mountains and wonder
-at the dramatic difference that this last 3 million years will make. We
-do not see the familiar forests and lakes, the savage peaks, and the
-broad, deep valleys of this present land. These mountains are gentle,
-arid, and shallow-valleyed. The vague outlines are there; we recognize
-the general alignments of the drainage systems, the bloated domes from
-which sharp peaks will be cut. The mountains are connected to one
-another by blunt ridges and smooth saddles, and the shadows they cast
-are dull, dunelike.
-
-Suddenly the ice is there, filling the landscape, with only the
-mountaintops protruding. Four times in these last 3 minutes of film the
-ice sheets advance and retreat, each time leaving an altered landscape.
-Strange lakes and forests fill the gaps between the glacial invasions.
-Then we see the mountains we now know come into being rapidly, as if the
-land were being hacked into shape by giant cleavers.
-
-After this flicker of Pleistocene time, the film ends, the forests
-return, and familiar lakes shine beneath the sun again--these lakes and
-forests we had thought to be timeless.
-
-
-[_]
-Up springs the morning wind from Hidden Valley, making the nearby alpine
-fir branches whiz with its passing and shattering the perfect reflection
-of Bearhat Peak on the pond. From where I sit, it is a short distance to
-Hidden Pass; so I leave the pond and walk to the overlook to see again
-the fine basin quarried by an ancient glacier.
-
-Hidden Lake, deep, far below, so blue, fits into its cliffed, crooked
-valley like a polished boomerang. Closely ringed by ridge and
-peak--distant Sperry Glacier and pointed Gunsight peering up from the
-southern jumble, and broad Bearhat impossibly close--this lovely lake is
-almost lost amid such sharp proclamations of rock. Its outlet gorge
-gives a narrow view across the angled, hidden valleys of Avalanche and
-McDonald, past the pyramid of Stanton, to the low, faraway undulations
-of the Whitefish Range.
-
-Glaciation is a cruel master of mountains, biting deeply into their bulk
-and leaving sheer, spectacular contours when the glaciers disappear. The
-landforms here attest to their power, everywhere exhibiting the effects
-of glaciation.
-
-In eating back the mountain headwall, alpine glaciers formed rounded
-depressions, called cirques. Unlike the narrow clefts left by running
-water, these broad, deep basins look as though they were made by
-ice-cream scoops gouging into the rock. Hidden, Ptarmigan, Iceberg, and
-Avalanche Lakes sit in well-developed cirque basins, and many mountains
-are dimpled by the beginnings of other cirques--the conspicuous
-amphitheater on the south shoulder of Heaven's Peak, for example.
-
-Occupying all major drainage systems, glaciers modified the contour of
-the valleys, changing them from their narrow, stream-cut V-shapes into
-broad U-shapes. Into these wide main valleys, waterfalls plunge from
-higher, smaller valleys. Like rivers, flowing glaciers have tributaries.
-Lacking the ice mass and cutting power of the main glaciers, these
-tributary ice fingers could not bite as deeply into the bedrock. When
-the ice melted, hanging valleys were left stranded high above the main
-valley floor. Hidden Lake sits in one of these hanging valleys, and from
-it Hidden Creek plunges 750 meters into Avalanche Basin toward McDonald
-Creek.
-
-On my many previous visits to this pass I have been too busy enjoying
-the wildflowers, the weather, or the scenery to realize what an open
-textbook of glaciation is everywhere displayed.
-
-I stand here on a small saddle of a pass. Wherever glaciers met, passes,
-or cols, were created. A high, notched pass like this one (or
-Swiftcurrent or Gunsight) reveals recent connections. Broad, lower
-passes, such as Logan, resulted where the ice early overran the mountain
-ridge and had a chance to work longer.
-
-Where two glaciers worked on opposing sides of a ridge and failed to
-meet, they formed an ar�te--a thin, steep-walled remnant resembling a
-saw blade. Another ice age would probably consume the park's many thin
-ar�tes, such as the Garden Wall and Ptarmigan Wall; but it would also
-create new ones from existing ridges.
-
-Further testimony to the sculpting power of ice is presented by Mt.
-Reynolds, looming to the east. The most dramatic feature of a glaciated
-landscape is the pyramid-shaped mountain called a horn--and Reynolds is
-a perfect example. Horns were formed when three or more glaciers cloaked
-the mountain, excavating its sides toward its core and gradually
-transforming its original domed shape into a sheer-sided peak. Glacier
-has many remarkable horns, from the sleek spire of St. Nicholas in the
-south to exquisite Kinnerly in the northern Kintla valley.
-
-Sperry Glacier stares back at me from the flank of Gunsight. Glaciers
-found in the park today are not remnants of the last ice phase, which
-ended here about 8,000 years ago, but are newly formed, having come into
-existence some 4,000 years ago. They reflect a cooling trend in the
-present climate.
-
-Shrinking steadily from their period of greatest extent in the middle of
-the last century, these modern glaciers finally stabilized in the late
-1940s and since then have shown only a slight increase in area.
-
-Movement distinguishes glaciers from icefields, and the movement of ice
-is a force on as well as a feature of a landscape. A glacier excavates
-by abrading and plucking at the rock. Alternately melting and freezing,
-ice at the headwalls plucks out blocks of rock. Ultimately the rocks are
-deposited along the sides or at the feet of the glacier as moraine
-debris. But as they move in the grip of the ice, they constantly abrade
-the rock surfaces they encounter. Polished rock beds of past glaciers
-show striations--grooves gouged by rock fragments imbedded in the moving
-ice.
-
-Flow rate of a glacier depends upon the thickness of the ice and the
-degree of slope. Under tremendous pressure, ice becomes plastic, like
-thick taffy. Unlike kilometer-thick continental glaciers, which may move
-a hundred meters a day, small alpine glaciers seldom progress more than
-two or three centimeters per day.
-
-Although a glacier moves, it gets nowhere if in a state of
-equilibrium--when annual melting equals annual accumulation. Snow mass
-gained at the sun-shielded headwall is usually lost as melt at the
-exposed snout. Glaciers such as Sexton or Weasel Collar, whose snouts
-perch on cliff edges, also lose mass by calving. Thunder you hear on a
-late-summer day near such a glacier may actually be the sound of ice
-pushed off from the lip of a cliff.
-
-Walking back to the visitor center, I suddenly stop where the trail
-skirts the steep moraine of Mt. Clements. From the opposite side of the
-moraine five mountain goats have appeared. Spotting me on the trail
-below, they also halt. But before I can get to my camera they are off in
-a stiff-legged gallop, running in single file along the crest of the
-moraine to the distant safety of the mountain face.
-
-Moraines are ridges of rock debris piled up along the edges and
-terminuses of glaciers. Like a bracelet lying against the wall of this
-mountain, the circle of steeply piled debris marks the extent of a
-small, recently vanished glacier. Ghost of the power that once resided
-here, a stagnant icefield lies beneath the confining walls of the
-moraine. The recent accumulation of these rock fragments is a mighty
-accomplishment, attesting to the force of moving ice.
-
-                                                     _continued on p. 38_
-
-    [Illustration: The Mountains of Glacier
-
-    Lying astride the Continental Divide in the Northern Rockies,
-    Glacier is above all else a mountain park. The special beauty of its
-    lakes, streams, and forests derives from the microclimates and
-    varied topography and soil produced by mountain-building and
-    mountain-eroding forces.]
-
-    [Illustration: Overthrust Mountains
-
-    1 A hypothetical block of the Earth's crust in the region of Glacier
-    National Park as it existed more than 60 million years ago. The two
-    layers shown actually represent many strata of sedimentary rocks.
-
-    2 Lateral pressure begins to force the rock layers to buckle.
-
-    3 A large fold has been created, forcing the rock strata to double
-    over and overturning some layers. A break, or _fault_, is forming at
-    the plane of greatest stress.
-
-    4 The break has been completed and the strata west of the fault have
-    slid eastward, up and over the rocks east of the fault.
-
-    5 The Glacier landscape today. Throughout the millions of years
-    during which the folding, faulting, and overthrusting have been
-    taking place, the process of erosion has continued; a thousand
-    meters of stratified rocks have been worn away, so that only a
-    remnant of the overthrust layers can be seen today. Because
-    Glacier's eastern slope represents the eroded face of the overthrust
-    block, the mountain range rises precipitously from the prairie, with
-    no foothills breaking the abrupt transition from open prairie to
-    mountain valley.]
-
-    [Illustration: The peaks in this photograph (a view to the northwest
-    from Marias Pass) are remnants of the overthrust block, which moved
-    eastward. The dividing line between the light-colored rocks and the
-    gray talus slopes beneath them is the Lewis Overthrust Fault.]
-
-    [Illustration: Glaciation
-
-    1 This is how the landscape in this region might have appeared
-    before the onset of the Pleistocene, millions of years ago. Note the
-    stream-eroded, V-shaped valleys. The climate at that time was dry.
-
-    2 Glaciers began to form high on the peaks, crept downward, and
-    joined to form larger glaciers.
-
-    3 After many centuries of glaciation, tributary glaciers have cut
-    back into the peaks, forming basins called _cirques_. Thick
-    glaciers, moving rapidly and carrying rock fragments, have abraded
-    the main valleys' floors and sides, widening and deepening the
-    valleys into characteristic U-shapes.]
-
-  V-shaped Valley
-  Tributary Glacier
-  Unglaciated Peak
-  Headwall
-  Meltwater Stream
-  Nose of Glacier
-  Crevasse
-
-    [Illustration: 4 In the present landscape, free of all but remnant
-    glaciers, small lakes called _tarns_ occupy many of the cirque
-    basins; and waterfalls plunge into the main valleys from higher,
-    shallower, tributary valleys, called _hanging valleys_. _Alluvial
-    cones_--recent accumulations of rock debris--have begun to build
-    along the valley walls. In the main valley, a _moraine_ (a deposit
-    of rock materials left by the retreating glacier) has formed a dam
-    that holds back a large lake.
-
-    During all this time, all parts of the terrain not buried under ice
-    and snow have been weathered and eroded by nonglacial forces. Thus
-    the contours of the jagged peaks and sheer cliffs have been
-    softened.]
-
-  Unglaciated V-shaped Valley
-  U-shaped Valley
-  Hanging Valley
-  Cirque
-  Tarn
-  Alluvial Cone
-  Moraine
-  Morainal Lake
-
-    [Illustration: Glacial landforms can be identified in this view of
-    the Mokowanis Valley.]
-
-    [Illustration: A Divided Climate
-
-    Because of an eastward flow of cool, moist Pacific air masses, the
-    climate of northwestern Montana, including the western portion of
-    Glacier National Park, differs from that of other portions of
-    Montana. As a result of increased precipitation, Glacier's western
-    valleys support a rich flora, more typical of the Pacific Northwest.
-
-    West
-
-    Moist Pacific air
-
-    As the moisture-laden Pacific winds are pushed up the windward
-    slopes of Glacier's mountains, the air cools and water vapor
-    condenses, forming fog or clouds. Rain or snow begins to fall as the
-    air continues to rise and cool. By the time the air mass reaches the
-    crest and flows down the leeward slopes, most of the moisture has
-    been lost.
-
-    Western slopes average about 70 cm. of precipitation at elevations
-    between 900 and 1,100 m. Upper elevations average 200 to 250 cm.,
-    mostly in the form of snow; and 300 to 500 cm. is common.
-
-    East
-
-    Dry chinook winds
-
-    Eastern slopes, under the influence of Continental air masses,
-    receive less annual precipitation. West Glacier's annual average is
-    66.5 cm. Babb, a small town east of the park, averages 49.3 cm.
-    Frequent high winds east of the Divide further reduce moisture
-    through evaporation.
-
-    Exposed to Arctic air masses flowing down from Canada, locations
-    east of the Divide also suffer more severe winter conditions than do
-    protected western valleys. Average January temperature is -5�C at
-    West Glacier, -8� at Babb.
-
-    Moreover, 80 percent of the winter days in the western portion of
-    the park are overcast, a condition almost identical to that of
-    Seattle, Wash. This serves to moderate winter temperatures and to
-    minimize evaporation.]
-
-    [Illustration: Moss campion and mountain forget-me-not colonize a
-    fellfield. Fellfields are rocky alpine sites that are slightly less
-    than 50% bare rock, interspersed with such plant pioneers as cushion
-    plants, mosses, and lichens.]
-
-    [Illustration: High lakes generally occupy cirque basins. These
-    depressions in the valley bedrock, quarried by glaciers, are deepest
-    near the headwall where ice thickness was greatest. Cold and deep,
-    and ice-free only weeks each year, tarns cannot support vascular
-    plants or vertebrates. Iceberg Lake, shut off from the sun most of
-    the year by the encompassing 1,000-meter walls of Mt. Wilbur and the
-    Ptarmigan Wall, is never completely free of ice.]
-
-    [Illustration: Lake McDonald, 16 kilometers long, 2 kilometers wide,
-    and 134 meters deep, is the largest lake in the park. Its basin is
-    the classic U-shaped glacial valley. Forested lateral moraines on
-    either shore gently rise 600 meters above lake level.
-    Going-to-the-Sun Road snakes along the eastern shore, and Logan Pass
-    lies near the center of the photograph, behind the peaks of the
-    Lewis Range.]
-
-    [Illustration: Subjected to the drying and shaping effects of wind
-    both winter and summer, this Douglas-fir, growing in the prairie
-    community near St. Mary, will attain neither the symmetrical shape
-    nor the great size of the Douglas-firs growing in moister, more
-    sheltered sites on the western slopes of the Continental Divide.]
-
-    [Illustration: Freeze-and-thaw cycles continually fracture and
-    loosen rocks along joints, making them subject to removal by the
-    actions of water, gravity, and avalanche. The resulting fans of rock
-    debris (talus cones) indicate the extent of erosion since the
-    withdrawal of the Pleistocene glaciers.]
-
-    [Illustration: Although moving water is an agent of erosion--the
-    primary destructive force of mountain masses--it also permits life.
-    Even small watercourses, such as this freshet, abound with plant and
-    invertebrate life.]
-
-    [Illustration: Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, towering above the St.
-    Mary Valley, from the trail to Siyeh Pass. The coniferous forest at
-    its base and the alpine tundra plants at its summit are closely
-    juxtaposed in space; but if these two communities grew at the same
-    elevation they would be separated by thousands of kilometers. Hiking
-    from St. Mary Lake up to Siyeh Pass is going, in effect, from
-    Montana to the Arctic Circle; but here the life zones are compressed
-    and sharply divided rather than extended and overlapping.]
-
-    [Illustration: Setting moon and snow shelf near the summit of
-    Heavens Peak. Note stratification of Precambrian sediments.]
-
-    [Illustration: Western redcedars line the shores of Lake McDonald.
-    Because of prevailing air currents from the Pacific coast, winters
-    in the protected western valleys are moist and comparatively mild,
-    and this deep body of water freezes over an average of only one
-    winter in four.]
-
-    [Illustration: Moose often follow the spring snowmelt upwards to the
-    headwaters of drainages. This bull will remain at Thunderbird Pond,
-    at the base of Brown Pass, until autumn, when it will return to its
-    Waterton Valley wintering ground.]
-
-    [Illustration: Because of the high reproductive capacity of insects
-    and small mammals, if all their offspring survived the earth's plant
-    life would be consumed within one year. This is prevented by natural
-    controls such as predation and parasitism. The American kestrel
-    ("sparrow hawk") feeds primarily on large insects and on small
-    rodents such as the meadow vole here.]
-
-    [Illustration: Gray jays are found in the deep coniferous forests of
-    the park. In some parks gray jays, or "camp robbers," loiter about
-    campgrounds and picnic areas begging or stealing food. In Glacier,
-    however, they are seldom noticed as they search out seeds, berries,
-    and insects.]
-
-    [Illustration: A generalized predator, the coyote will eat almost
-    anything, from berries to carrion. When man eliminated most of the
-    coyote's enemies and competitors, including the wolf, grizzly, and
-    cougar, it enlarged its range to fill the void. Intelligent and
-    social, the coyote thrives despite man's persecution. Although most
-    numerous in the prairie community, it ranges up to timberline.]
-
-    [Illustration: The spruce grouse is a year-round resident of the
-    spruce/fir and lodgepole communities. It forages on the ground for
-    seeds and insects, in winter turning to needles. Several other
-    species of grouse occupy different habitats in Glacier.]
-
-    [Illustration: Chipmunks are found in every community, from prairie
-    to tundra, in Glacier. Each of the park's three very similar species
-    has its preferred habitat. The diurnal counterpart to nocturnally
-    active mice, which have the same diet of seeds, berries and
-    occasional insects, chipmunks adapt easily to the presence of people
-    and become nuisances if encouraged by handouts. Feeding rodents is
-    dangerous and is harmful to them. By altering their diets and
-    blunting their cautious instincts, daily exposure to "free lunches"
-    makes the animals less fit to face the harsh realities of their
-    natural environment.]
-
-    [Illustration: Unlike whitetail deer, which remain in lowland areas
-    all year, mule deer range upward into high meadows during the
-    summer. The bucks, especially, are wanderers and travel together.
-    Velvet antlers, worn during the time of summer sociability, presage
-    the autumn contests to come.]
-
-    [Illustration: The checkerspot butterfly belongs to the most diverse
-    group of animals on the planet--the insects, whose importance can
-    hardly be overestimated. They not only help recycle nutrients in the
-    living community and provide an abundant food base for other
-    lifeforms, but are instrumental in pollinating most of the earth's
-    terrestrial plants.]
-
-    [Illustration: Alpine vegetation must be able to survive freezing
-    temperature during the growing season, since winter conditions are
-    possible even in summer. Early bloomers, such as the glacier lily,
-    endure repeated snowfalls during the unstable weather conditions of
-    June.]
-
-    [Illustration: Unlike mountain goats, these bighorn rams will desert
-    the alpine zone at the approach of winter; they will join other
-    bighorns congregating in the lower valleys.]
-
-    [Illustration: In November bighorn sheep rams end their summer-long
-    isolation from the ewes, move down from the higher slopes, and begin
-    a bloodless but taxing ritual of strength and endurance to determine
-    the harem master. The sharp reports of clashing horns may carry for
-    kilometers, and the contests continue for weeks until the dominant
-    ram emerges. (Note the Many Glacier hotel complex in the valley
-    below.)]
-
-    [Illustration: Hummingbirds, like shrews and other small-bodied,
-    warm-blooded animals, exist at the theoretical thresh-hold of life.
-    Because of their small size, body volume is not large enough in
-    relation to surface area to prevent a rapid loss of body heat. To
-    compensate for this, metabolic rates must be high; food is rapidly
-    processed and used up. Thus, since fat reserves are not practical on
-    such small animals, they must eat at frequent intervals.
-
-    Two species of hummingbirds--the rufous and the calliope--are found
-    in Glacier. Pictured is a female rufous (which weighs about the same
-    as a dime) landing on its lichen decorated nest to feed its two
-    young on a protein-rich mixture of nectar and small insects.]
-
-    [Illustration: The insect-eating yellowthroat prefers moist
-    habitats. Unlike many of its treetop-dwelling relatives, this tiny
-    (10-11 cm.) warbler is usually seen near or on the ground.]
-
-    [Illustration: Bands of bighorn ewes and lambs do not summer as high
-    as the rams and are often encountered in the scrub-forest zone. Note
-    the gnarled limber pine in the foreground of this photograph taken
-    on the south face of Altyn Peak.]
-
-Reaching the mountain wall, the goats scramble upward to a ledge,
-sending scree streams pouring from several clefts. Encountering a
-narrow, steep snowbank, they do not hesitate but continue across the
-slope. Above the rock fingers of this peak the gathering clouds grow
-black. A sudden crack of thunder hurries me down the trail.
-
-Although geologically young, the Rocky Mountains in Glacier are composed
-of soft sedimentary rocks that are easily assailed by the many agents of
-weathering and erosion. If not rejuvenated by continual uplift, these
-magnificent peaks will glimmer but briefly in the long memory of the
-planet.
-
-Already the sharp countenance of this land is being softened by the
-ongoing forces of erosion. Chief among these is water, which attacks the
-mountains everywhere. In addition, frost action continually exploits
-rock fractures, breaking down blocks of rock into talus and scree.
-Avalanche and rockfall sweep down the slopes. Layers of softer rock
-erode quickly, undercutting more resistant rock and creating overhangs
-which gravity, in time, will collapse.
-
-The lashing rain catches me on this sun-and-storm-contested pass. Ice,
-gravity, wind, and especially water--all attack a land that dares the
-clouds.
-
-
-The Rising of the Sun and the Running of the Deer: A Glacier Year
-
-As if to make up for the days-long darkness of this last blizzard, the
-peaks today wear snow plumes--long, graceful trails of white, curving up
-into an ice-blue sky. Yesterday the snow-mad wind raced through the
-forest. Today the motionless trees are cloaked in heavy, glistening
-robes, the leafless aspen and young larch bent down.
-
-Moderate snowfall helps many plants and animals survive the winter. For
-ground dwellers it provides insulation from the wildly fluctuating
-winter temperatures encountered east of the Divide, protecting the
-hibernators and providing cover for the many small mammals that remain
-active during the winter. Wind-swept ground freezes deep; but under a
-mantle of snow life-sustaining heat is trapped, permitting many animals
-to survive and allowing the work of decomposers to continue.
-
-But this has been a winter of too much snow and too many temperature
-extremes. The heavy snowpack has forced the sharp-hoofed deer to yard up
-in great numbers; unable to range freely in deep snow, they are forced
-into smaller and smaller confines where their numbers allow them to
-break and maintain trails. But in time they exhaust the food supply.
-Younger deer, unable to reach the increasingly higher browse line,
-starve first. Then the does, heavy with unborn fawns, grow weak and fall
-to predators. So the imprisoned herds dwindle quickly this year,
-sometimes less than a kilometer from plentiful browse.
-
-Deep snow is also death for many seed-eating birds. As they are unable
-to scratch for food, their body furnaces quickly fail, and during a
-night of cold wind their fluffed corpses drop into the snow.
-
-Exposed to the noon sun, the snow surface thaws; when refrozen, it is
-restructured to crystalline ice. If snow repeatedly thaws and freezes,
-an ice barrier is formed, shutting off vital air exchange. Plants are
-then subject to rot, and micro-animal life is smothered. Travel beneath
-the snow is made more difficult for mice and shrews and they are
-deprived of food and cover. Under such conditions their numbers rapidly
-decline.
-
-But while many starve in a winter of deep snow, others benefit. The
-exposed traffic of small mammals is to the owl's advantage. Foxes and
-coyotes more easily run down rabbits and hares on crusted snow. Deer
-and, to a lesser extent, wapiti and moose--their hoofs punching through
-the snowpack--swiftly tire in deep snow and become helpless before
-cougar or wolf, whose lighter weight is supported by the crust.
-
-Grim as this winter's toll becomes, enough will survive to begin the
-process of renewal in spring. Last winter, a season of light snow, was a
-time of hardship for predators. The deer remained strong, the wapiti
-remote on high, windswept ridges, and the small mammals hidden.
-
-Only the water ouzel, winter after winter, seems not to notice the
-hardships of the season. Lord of his small world of open water, he sings
-in February, wading and swimming his diminished stream to find a
-never-failing supply of water insects and small fish. It is a voice of
-spring--glad, wild, continual as the moving water--an incongruous song
-in this winter-shrouded land.
-
-But with the growing stature of the sun, the grip of winter softens. The
-firs and spruce send their loads of snow sliding to the ground. Streams
-begin to sing again and soon the lakes increase, the booming of
-splitting ice breaking the silence of the valleys. Avalanches thunder
-down the steeper slopes, carrying trees to the swollen streams. Rivers
-hiss and rage, speeding the debris along. A spring that comes too
-suddenly will bring flood to lower elevations.
-
-Snow geese thread through the valleys, and ground squirrels tunnel up
-through snow to find invasions of birds returning from the south. Soon
-the three-petaled wakerobins appear, chasing the snowline up the ridges.
-Glacier lilies and Calypso orchids are next, and with the shooting stars
-spring arrives.
-
-The melting snow releases a new group of animals to populate the
-winter-thinned land. Up come chipmunks. Bears reappear. Young red
-squirrels, helpless and blind, squirm in their nest holes. Hidden dens
-rustle with pups and kits. Soon warm days will bring them out and the
-business of learning to cope with their world will begin.
-
-All life responds irresistibly to the growing strength of the Sun.
-Cottonwood, willow, and maple come into flower and unfold new leaves;
-green needle clusters spot the limbs of larches that in winter had
-seemed lifeless snags among the other conifers. Beneath the soil of
-prairie, meadow, and forest, in the mud of lakes and ponds, other life
-stirs; armies of insects, spiders, crustaceans, amphibians, and fish
-will strive to complete their life cycles against the formidable odds of
-a predatory world.
-
-Spring reaches higher up the mountains, the lowlands passing into
-summer. Wapiti and mountain sheep follow the rising tide of succulent
-browse up to the high meadows. In forest, grove, and meadow and along
-the stream new fledglings appear--thrush, vireo, hummingbird, waxwing,
-harlequin duck, bluebird, osprey, and flicker--as holes, nests, and
-cavities brim with begging mouths.
-
-In the alpine meadows, where snow overlaps the spring and winter follows
-hard behind the summer, the growing season is short and the climate
-unstable. Sensing the stronger light, flowers push up impatiently
-through the snow and hasten into bloom. Pikas and marmots scurry and
-sunbathe among the rocks of scree slopes.
-
-Summer matures in ripening huckleberries, and the bears that grazed the
-spring grasses now gorge themselves fat. Dry days of August bring
-probing lightning, threatening the forests with fire.
-
-Sweeps of beargrass reach their climax now in the highest meadows. In
-dizzy succession wildflowers set seed. Fat and sluggish, marmots and
-ground squirrels disappear beneath the rocks. The golden eagle must
-search longer each day to find prey within its vast domain.
-
-Autumn lingers in the valleys and on the flanks of low ridges. The
-morning sun glints on hoarfrost, firing the yellow leaves of larch,
-aspen, birch, maple, and cottonwood, and shines on the blood-red berries
-of mountain-ash. Soon a night of killing frost will bring down the
-corpses of insects and spiders by the millions. The reptiles and
-amphibians, being cold-blooded animals, seem out of place in this
-long-wintered land. Unable to maintain body temperatures appreciably
-above their surroundings, they are the first to seek the protection of
-hibernation, collecting in dens or burying themselves beneath the ooze
-of pond bottoms.
-
-Songbirds gather and leave the valleys. The harsh cries of jays sound
-ominous now in the forest. Only the chickadees seem to ignore the long
-tree shadows; their ceaseless conversations carry through the leafless
-underbrush as they busily search for seed.
-
-Velvet has gone to bone, and in these final noon-warm days the rut runs
-through the land. It begins in the valleys in September with the
-joustings of deer and moose and the buglings of bull wapiti puncturing
-the forest silence. By November the higher meadows ring with the
-collisions of bighorn rams who compete for ewes by smashing together
-their massive, curled horns. On high slopes mountain goat billies
-posture and swagger; head to tail, they circle, threatening each other
-with dagger-like horns.
-
-From Flathead Lake, 100 stream kilometers to the south, kokanee salmon
-return to spawn in the clear, cold shallows of McDonald Creek. Gathering
-bald eagles surround the stream, again and again lifting vulnerable fish
-from pool and riffle. Perched by the hundreds along the stream course,
-their white heads and tails glistening against the dark trees, they
-stand out like lanterns strung for a banquet.
-
-Now the stinging wind comes down from the peaks and shuts the lakes.
-Life slows or sleeps. Ptarmigan, snowshoe hare, and longtail weasel, all
-wearing winter white, seek shelter and food in a silent land where
-spring and yellow lilies seem forever lost.
-
-
-[_]
-All life faces one ultimate challenge: to survive or not, to reproduce
-or fail, to bring one's kind to tomorrow's sun or vanish forever. This
-land is harsh. To survive in nature demands skill in the individual,
-excellence in the species, and a chance from the environment.
-
-    [Illustration: The mink, a solitary predator associated with
-    low-elevation watercourses, preys on anything it can catch and
-    subdue.]
-
-
-
-
-                      Plant-and-Animal Communities
-
-
-Over Going-to-the-Sun Road
-
-I like to begin with St. Mary, a lake the whitecaps love to run. From
-the far passes the several winds gather and collect, arranging long
-lines of white waves for the race downlake. Past the purple scree of
-Mahtotopa and Little Chief they go, white as the headdress of
-Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, colliding, collapsing along the promontory
-snares about the Narrows. Onward they press, spreading out and setting
-sail for the straight rush to the final shore where a line of
-cottonwoods sings with a sound like applause.
-
-Across the lake the timbered ridge starkly contrasts the finger of
-prairie that claims the north shore. This is a flower-glad place, a
-meeting-ground for mountain and prairie plants. Along the road the
-grassland holds the conifers back, allowing only scattered clumps of
-aspens.
-
-Finally, at Rising Sun, beneath the shadow of Goat Mountain, the prairie
-ends and wind-seasoned Douglas-firs announce the coming forest.
-
-There's excitement now, with the prairie heat gone, the wind scent raw
-with fir and high meadows, honed by waterfall and tall, dank rock. Our
-mountain thirst is never extinguished, and a road that tightens down to
-cliff face and sudden turn brings back to our blood the ancient need to
-go to the highest place.
-
-There is sword-edged Citadel, and the snow-flanked spike of Fusillade
-holding court like a queen in this valley of peaks; then the dome of
-Jackson and the Gunsight notch. Our eyes are kept high, transfixed at
-last by looming Heavy Runner and the distant promise of Reynolds.
-
-Looking for mountain goats, we scan the walls around the sweep of Siyeh
-Bend, catching a glimpse of the trail that crosses the scree to hidden
-Piegan Pass.
-
-Beargrass heads lean out above the road like old men conferring on the
-view. The purple trumpets of penstemon crowd the rocks, and spots of
-Indian paintbrush lead like a blood-trail to the higher slopes.
-
-Intoxicated now, feeling the fresh full force of the wind from Logan
-Pass, we race on. We hardly notice the struggle of the forest in
-Reynolds Creek far below, how it thins and loses strength in its own
-hard climb. We sweep past it on the broad magnificence of this pass.
-
-Level but a moment, the road dips to a shelf on the headwall above Logan
-Creek and swings over the great sculptured cliff of the Garden Wall. For
-several kilometers this masterpiece of a road glides down a constant
-grade, squeezed between rock face and space, twisting into tight
-drainages--a road for storm lovers, wet with spray and snow-seep, its
-quick turns concealing sudden winds.
-
-Mighty, snow-robed Heaven's Peak appears, taking our attention from the
-Pass-group mountains and the hanging valley that spills Birdwoman Falls.
-Northward is the great array of peaks encircling distant Flattop,
-jumbles of mountains and glaciers. How are we to notice the forest far
-below?
-
-Not until we have passed the Loop and are moving past the blackened
-snags of a recent burn do we realize the stature of this forest. The
-long road down will take us into a valley much deeper than any on the
-eastern side. Near Avalanche Creek are trees we have seen nowhere else
-in the park--giant western redcedars, western hemlocks with their
-nodding tops, monstrous black cottonwoods with bark so deeply furrowed
-that it looks hewn by hatchet.
-
-We take a long ride down the valley, past the low pyramid of Mt.
-Stanton, final peak in the Livingston Range. Near the outlet end of Lake
-McDonald, birch and aspen again appear in numbers, and the road enters a
-crowded stand of lodgepole pine.
-
-Our memories cluttered with mountains, waterfalls, and snowfields, we do
-not quite realize the significance of this 80-kilometer journey. We have
-crossed the boundaries of several different plant-and-animal
-communities, spanning a range of climate that would be encountered on a
-5,000-kilometer north-south journey at sea level.
-
-At first glance the various trees, wildflowers, and animals seem
-randomly distributed, scattered about like the distant mountains. But
-mountainous terrain represents an organized high-rise approach to life.
-From the lowest, most protected valley to the highest wind-and-ice-cut
-summit, the life-forms align themselves, each according to its own
-climatic tolerance.
-
-Here too can be seen the great cycles of nature: fire and regrowth, the
-building of soil and its erosion, the incessant duel of the eaters and
-the eaten.
-
-In the following sections we will spend some time in these various
-communities, from prairie to tundra.
-
-
-Groves and Grasslands: The Prairie Sea
-
-There is something about spring on the prairie that gets me up before
-dawn. I like to watch the seasons change their guard over the landscape,
-from the wintry cold of pre-dawn dark to the spring-scented morning air
-to the hot summer-foretaste of the noon May sun.
-
-Hoarfrost surrounds these patches of pasqueflowers, blue goblets on
-downy stems. On this windless night, frost has formed everywhere,
-reclaiming for a time its vast winter range, sparkling over the green
-handiworks of spring.
-
-But the god of the growing grasslands is the sun, and it now proclaims
-itself, stretching out to make the mountains shine. With its assault the
-frost collapses, becoming bright beads on grass tip and leaf joint by
-which a beetle might refresh itself.
-
-Spring is best perceived ant-level, at its ground beginnings, where the
-bright yellow-green tips of new grass shoots reclaim the winter-blighted
-land. I look closely at a drag line of spider silk; a necklace of
-dewdrops slides down, collects to a moment's greatness, in which I
-briefly see a curved horizon, the morning sunburst, and myself, before
-it falls away.
-
-Getting up from my prone position, my belly damp from the prairie earth,
-I startle a whitetail jackrabbit; bounding high, it zigzags off. The
-commotion disturbs a distant badger, which faces about from its diggings
-to confront danger in whatever form it might take. It swings its snout
-to scent the air. Somewhat uncertainly, it returns to the business of
-hunting, then hesitates, swings about once more and waits, myopic,
-patient.
-
-Satisfied at last, the spurt of the now distant rabbit lost in its
-brain, the creature snorts a defiance at the mystery and resumes its
-morning gopher hunt.
-
-Overhead a marsh hawk skims past, its flight erratic as a butterfly's.
-Far away a magpie rattles at the passing hawk and takes flight, briefly
-flashing black and white.
-
-
-[_]
-It is easy to see only pieces in the natural puzzle--a badger throwing
-dirt, horned larks dipping into wind, black ants dragging the rosette of
-a dead spider--and be satisfied with the scattered scenes. But at last,
-to make it meaningful, we must complete the picture. There is that
-special joy in discovering larger schemes: green plants utilizing
-sunlight; a rabbit building its days at the plants' expense; the falcon
-tearing the rabbit meat for its young; magpies picking at the fallen
-falcon; and then, in the end, all returning to the earth.
-
-Here on the prairie, as in every plant-and-animal association, the
-ancient drama repeats itself over and over; the distant tundra is a
-drastically different stage with different actors, but the cycle is the
-same. Life depends upon the interaction of all its many forms. Unseen
-bacteria are as necessary to the land as green grass; the meadow vole
-and the coyote are as much a part of the prairie as the grasses.
-
-The secret of life rests in the wonder of photosynthesis. Only green
-plants can manufacture food from the earth's raw minerals. This is the
-vital first step upon which the great pyramid of animal and plant life
-is built. Using energy from the sun, green plants combine water and
-carbon dioxide to synthesize sugar, and give off oxygen as a by-product.
-The caterpillar takes its energy from the plant tissue, converting to
-protein the sugar and minerals in its body. The caterpillar is then food
-for a spider or other predator. A yellow warbler may take the spider and
-in turn be ambushed by the prairie falcon. Thus the energy produced by
-the plant travels through the food chain. When the prairie falcon dies,
-scavengers--including insects and other invertebrates, birds, and
-mammals--redistribute its wealth among themselves; the rest is
-decomposed by bacteria. Thus, eventually, the nutrients on which the
-plants depend return to the soil.
-
-When we look at any living organism, whether it is plant, herbivore,
-carnivore, parasite, scavenger, or decomposer, we are soon made aware of
-its associations with other living things, each puzzle piece leading us
-to another and another. We begin to see a picture whole--the fox, meadow
-mouse, grasshopper, bunchgrass, and sparrow hawk--all interlocked.
-
-Geologically speaking, grasslands are a recent development. As the Rocky
-Mountains were being uplifted, the prevailing warm, moist climate began
-to change. The rising mountain mass intercepted moisture-laden winds
-that blew in from the Pacific, creating a rain shadow that lengthened
-eastward as the mountains rose higher. A continental climate,
-characterized by severe winters and dry, wildfire summers gradually took
-shape, extinguishing the great forests that had grown across the
-continent's interior. Herbaceous plants, which had been evolving amid
-the forests, inherited the land.
-
-Unlike trees, grasses die back to the ground each winter, hoarding their
-life-germ beneath the protecting soil. Growing not from the tip but from
-the joints, grasses regenerate quickly after fire or grazing. Suspension
-of the normal metabolic processes enable the grasses to go dormant and
-thus survive periods of severe heat and drought.
-
-Although the great prairie sea washes up against Glacier's eastern
-boundary, with estuaries probing into the mountain valleys on the drier,
-south-facing slopes, the grassland community comprises less than 5
-percent of the land area of Glacier National Park. This includes the
-puddles of prairie west of the Divide that interrupt the dense
-coniferous forests along the North Fork of the Flathead River.
-
-From the pasqueflowers that bloom in early May to the asters and
-goldenrod of September, these summer-long gardens of grasses and flowers
-lean with the wind. Here are timothy, oatgrass and the
-bunchgrasses--rough fescue, bluebunch fescue, and bluebunch wheatgrass.
-Among the grasses bloom bitterroot, blue camas, lupine, gaillardia,
-balsamroot, cinquefoil, sticky geranium, and wild rose.
-
-                                                     _continued on p. 68_
-
-    [Illustration: The Forests of Glacier
-
-    From the lush redcedar-hemlock forest in the McDonald Valley to the
-    subalpine fir, whitebark pine, and Engelmann spruce struggling for
-    existence near treeline, the forests of Glacier reflect the
-    conditions of temperature, exposure, soil, and drainage prevailing;
-    and each forest has its characteristic association of understory
-    trees and shrubs, herbaceous ground cover, and vertebrate and
-    invertebrate animal life.]
-
-    [Illustration: Life Zones
-
-    Many physical and climatic factors determine the range of Glacier's
-    plant-and-animal communities. Boundaries between communities are
-    seldom sharply defined, but rather merge together in broad zones of
-    transition.
-
-    With elevation gain, average daily temperature drops at the rate of
-    5� per 900 meters. Precipitation, wind velocity, and evaporation
-    loss increase. Soil thins. These factors, along with others such as
-    fire frequency, north or south exposure, and availability of
-    moisture, combine to determine the range of each community.
-
-    In the forest community below 1,800 meters, Douglas-fir, lodgepole
-    pine, and western larch predominate. In the valleys, Engelmann
-    spruce and subalpine fir are found. The somewhat lower and much
-    better watered western valleys of the park support western redcedar
-    and western hemlock.
-
-    Treeline is the upper limit to which the tolerances of trees to
-    environmental conditions permit them to grow. Because there are so
-    many controlling factors (wind, temperature, exposure to sunlight,
-    snow cover, etc.) treeline in the diagram is only approximate. In
-    Glacier it averages 2,000 meters. Avalanche chutes or sheer cliff
-    walls may suppress it to below 1,500 meters; on protected slopes it
-    may be as high as 2,150 meters.
-
-    At the eastern edge of the park below 1,200 meters, the forest gives
-    way to the prairie community, composed mostly of soft-stemmed plants
-    adapted to the conditions of low precipitation that prevail here in
-    the rainshadow of the mountain range. Clumps of aspen, found in the
-    prairie in sheltered spots, occur here in the transition zone
-    between prairie and forest.]
-
-    [Illustration: A Mountain Profile
-
-    This diagram represents the eastward-facing slope of a hypothetical
-    mountain near the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park. Its
-    life communities are somewhat different from those of mountain
-    slopes at the western edge, chiefly because of the differential in
-    annual precipitation.
-
-    Illustration: Here, above approximately 2,750 meters, in a realm of
-    ice, snow, and barren rock, there is little life.
-
-    Alpine tundra
-
-    Below 2,750 meters and above 2,000 meters, depending on other
-    factors such as exposure to sun and wind and steepness of terrain,
-    exists the alpine tundra community, with vegetation similar to that
-    of the vast, essentially level, treeless zones of the Arctic.
-
-    Scrub-forest
-
-    Roughly between 1,800 and 2,000 meters, the dominant vegetation is
-    scrub-forest. Trees here are stunted; except in sheltered spots they
-    are more or less prone rather than upright. Net growth is slow, not
-    only because of the short growing season but also because of the
-    pruning effect of icy mountain winds. Very few tree species can
-    survive in this harsh habitat.
-
-    Coniferous forest
-
-    In the forest community below 1,800 meters, Douglas fir, lodgepole
-    pine, and western larch predominate. In the valleys, Engelmann
-    spruce and subalpine fir are found. The somewhat lower and much
-    better watered western valleys of the park support western redcedar
-    and western hemlock. See page 54
-
-    Prairie
-
-    At the eastern edge of the park below 1,200 meters, the forest gives
-    way to the prairie community, composed mostly of soft-stemmed plants
-    adapted to the conditions of low precipitation that prevail here in
-    the rainshadow of the mountain range. Clumps of aspen, found in the
-    prairie in sheltered spots, occur here in the transition zone
-    between prairie and forest.]
-
-    [Illustration: The Forest Community
-
-    A forest is organized vertically like an apartment house or office
-    building, with layers corresponding to stories. The _canopy_ is the
-    branches and foliage of tall trees that form a roof over the
-    community. Below the canopy are the _understory_ trees: young
-    individuals of the canopy species; and small, shade-tolerant trees
-    that will never become part of the canopy. Beneath the understory
-    branches is the _shrub layer_, occupied by knee-high-to-man-high
-    woody plants; beneath that is the _herb layer_, where most of the
-    ferns, wildflowers, grasses, and smaller woody plants grow. The
-    _forest floor_ is the zone of mosses, mushrooms, creeping plants,
-    and forest litter (leaves, twigs, needles, feathers, bits of bark,
-    animal droppings, etc.). The forest has a "basement," too,
-    interlaced by plant roots, mycelia of fungi, and tunnels of myriad
-    animals.
-
-    Each layer of the forest has its characteristic animal species, but
-    most forage over more than one level. Some nest in one story and
-    feed in another. The red squirrel races back and forth from the
-    forest floor to the highest branches.
-
-    The forest community also has a socio-economic organization. Every
-    animal (and plant) takes up space and consumes a portion of the
-    available nutrients. Each has a place in the community food
-    chain--as, for example, _herbivore_, _carnivore_, or _scavenger_.
-    Each directly or indirectly affects all the other organisms.
-
-    The Forest Community
-
-    The role of a species in the community, like the job and social
-    function of a person, is its _niche_. Similar species of animals
-    have different niches, thus lessening competition for food and
-    living space. Thrushes hunt close to the ground; vireos and kinglets
-    hunt among the branches; flycatchers snap up airborne insects. The
-    flicker feeds upon insects, excavates nesting holes that are later
-    occupied by other species such as squirrels and owls, and is preyed
-    upon by the great horned owl; its niche is _insect exterminator /
-    food for carnivores / homebuilder_. The great horned owl, hunting
-    mammals, birds, and reptiles by night, preys on species different
-    from those hunted by the goshawk, and thus occupies a parallel
-    niche. When it dies, its remains, like those of other animals, are
-    decomposed and return to the soil.]
-
-  Canopy
-    Great Horned Owl
-    Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
-  Understory
-    Flying Squirrel
-  Shrub Layer
-    Ruffed Grouse
-  Herb Layer
-    Red Squirrel
-    Western Toad
-  Forest Floor
-    Shorttail Weasel
-    Scavenging Insects
-    Deer Mouse
-    Garter Snake
-  Soil Layer
-    Ground Squirrel
-    Earthworm
-    Masked Shrew
-
-    [Illustration: Sun, Green Plants, and Animals
-
-    The sun is the source of energy for any plant-and-animal community.
-    Green plants draw nitrogen and minerals from the soil, and in a
-    process called photosynthesis use sunlight to convert raw materials
-    (carbon dioxide and water) into carbohydrates (sugar, starch,
-    cellulose), giving off oxygen as a by-product. Besides burning
-    oxygen, animals depend on plants for food.
-
-    Green Plants, trees and shrubs, grasses and sedges, wildflowers,
-    ferns, mosses, algae and lichens--are fed upon by animals, which are
-    unable to manufacture their own food.
-
-    The Redback Vole, like other rodents, pikas and hares, seed-eating
-    birds, grazing and browsing hoofed animals, and herbivorous insects,
-    derives its energy from the seeds and other parts of green plants
-    that it eats.
-
-    The Garter Snake, feeding upon the vole, is dependent upon plants
-    even though it does not eat them.
-
-    The Great Horned Owl, preying upon the garter snake, is one more
-    step removed from the green plants--but still dependent on them.
-
-    Scavengers such as carrion beetles feed upon the carcass of the owl;
-    the remains are then attacked by Decomposers, primarily bacteria,
-    that break down the animal tissues into basic organic compounds.
-
-    The Soil, enriched by the minerals and carbon and nitrogen compounds
-    added to it by the decomposers (and by other processes such as fire)
-    supports new green plant growth.
-
-    Thus energy derived from the sun flows through the ecosystem in a
-    food chain. A plant-and-animal community is a complex, interlocking
-    web of such food chains.]
-
-  Sun
-    Green Plants
-    Redback Vole
-    Garter Snake
-    Great Horned Owl
-    Scavengers, Decomposers
-    Soil
-
-    [Illustration: A Pyramid of Numbers
-
-    Necessarily, the number of plants in an ecosystem far exceeds the
-    number of plant eaters, and the number of prey species must exceed
-    the number of predators. During its lifetime, a golden eagle will
-    consume a vast number of lesser animals. The combined mass of prey
-    animals necessary to sustain an eagle greatly outweighs the eagle
-    itself. Ecologists refer to this proportional relationship of mass
-    between each link in the food chain as the _pyramid of numbers_.
-
-    The diagram represents a numbers pyramid for the alpine zone.
-    Because of its limiting environment, the alpine zone supports a
-    lesser plant mass than the forest zone. As a result, the carrying
-    capacity of the alpine is less than that of the forest.
-
-    1 Kilo
-
-    _Tertiary_ (third-order) _consumers_ are the predators (Golden
-    Eagle, Swainson's Hawk, etc.) that feed upon other predators.
-    Because of the 90% loss of energy at each level of the food chain,
-    there will be very few hawks and eagles in comparison to the numbers
-    of marmots.
-
-    10 Kilos
-
-    _Secondary consumers_ are the predators (weasels, shrews,
-    carnivorous insects and birds, etc.) that eat herbivores. The
-    animals at this level of the pyramid are often--though not
-    always--larger than the animals they feed upon. But they are much
-    less numerous, because it takes many prey animals to sustain one
-    predator.
-
-    100 Kilos
-
-    _Primary consumers_ (plant eaters, or herbivores) convert plant
-    tissue into animal flesh. In the process about 90% of the energy
-    stored as plant food is lost, mostly as heat energy. In the alpine
-    community the herbivores include pikas, marmots, ground squirrels,
-    and ptarmigan, as well as herbivorous insects.
-
-    1,000 Kilos
-
-    _Producers_ are the green plants at the base of the food pyramid,
-    manufacturing food for the animals of the alpine community. The
-    _biomass_ (total weight) of each level of the food chain is ten
-    times (more or less) the weight of the stage above it: 1,000 kilos
-    of green plants will produce only 100 kilos of primary consumers.]
-
-    [Illustration: Great horned owls are the nocturnal equivalent of
-    Cooper's hawks and goshawks in the low-elevation forests of the
-    park. Large and powerful, they are capable of taking prey as big as
-    skunks. This young bird, disturbed on its day roost, clacked its
-    bill and fluffed its feathers in a menacing manner.]
-
-    [Illustration: The only sizable mature stand of ponderosa pine found
-    within the park is along the North Fork truck trail. A scattering of
-    old ponderosas growing at the lower end of Lake McDonald suggests
-    that at one time ponderosa forests were more extensive in this
-    region than at present.]
-
-    [Illustration: A black bear near treelimit. Bears will eat almost
-    anything, from ants to carrion, grass to garbage. Color phases
-    include brown and blonde bears. Unlike the larger, more aggressive
-    grizzly, which ranges out onto the plains, black bears are strictly
-    forest creatures.]
-
-    [Illustration: The water ouzel, or dipper, a creature of fast
-    mountain water, is admirably outfitted to cope with its demanding
-    environment. Stubby wings, chunky body, short tail, and oily plumage
-    allow it to walk under water, where it scavenges for aquatic insect
-    larvae and small fish. In flying up- and down-stream, ouzels never
-    shortcut but follow the winding streamcourse.
-
-    As long as there is open water, the dipper suffers no hardship from
-    the mountain winter. Then, when the land is shut down and lakes are
-    frozen over, this little bird carries on in its mountain-stream
-    habitat, plunging into the cold water to find food, and pausing
-    occasionally to sing.]
-
-    [Illustration: Ouzels construct their nests of living moss on cliff
-    faces or ledges where constant spray keeps the moss moist. At
-    fledging, the four young of this nest in Avalanche Gorge tumbled one
-    by one into the torrent below, to be collected by the adults in
-    quieter water downstream. Within a day they appeared to have
-    mastered the underwater gymnastics and were feeding on their own.]
-
-    [Illustration: From their lowland wintering grounds, wapiti move up
-    to higher elevations in spring. Summer range in the park is
-    abundant, but winter range is limited; as a result, wapiti have a
-    tendency to increase their populations beyond the carrying capacity
-    of available winter range. In a severe winter many starve. But in a
-    balanced ecosystem such loss is not waste, for the carrion helps
-    sustain scavengers; it is an important initial food source for bears
-    emerging from hibernation.]
-
-    [Illustration: Cedar waxwings nest in moist areas of low valleys
-    where fruits and berries are abundant. Although they also subsist on
-    insects (which they can capture on the wing), their weakness for
-    fruit is so pronounced that the birds will sometimes gorge
-    themselves until rendered incapable of flight.]
-
-    [Illustration: The Columbian ground squirrel is found at all park
-    elevations, from prairie to alpine meadow. Hibernation occupies
-    almost three-quarters of its five-year lifespan. Unlike other park
-    ground squirrels, it lives in colonies. Although not as tightly
-    structured as a prairie dog town, the association is beneficial to
-    all members in that danger is readily detected.]
-
-    [Illustration: The tundra community is encountered above Preston
-    Park on the Siyeh Pass trail. Mt. Reynolds, a classic example of a
-    horn, dominates the distant Logan Pass area.]
-
-    [Illustration: Camas blooms in the prairie community along the Red
-    Eagle road. An important staple, camas bulbs were gathered as food
-    by Indians.]
-
-Conspicuous also are many insects--including grasshoppers; flies; ants,
-wasps and bees; butterflies and moths; bugs; and beetles--which fulfill
-important roles as herbivores, carnivores, and scavengers while also
-acting as pollinators for flowering plants and providing an abundant
-food source for other animals.
-
-Below the ground are the tunnels. Burrowing is an important means of
-survival on the open prairie, and life underground is extensive. Some of
-the animals are rarely seen--the northern pocket gopher, for example,
-with a diet of underground insects, grubs, worms, and roots, spends most
-of its life tunneling just below the surface. Others, like the badger,
-leave their burrows during the day to dig for rodents. Most conspicuous
-of the burrowing animals in the park's grasslands is the Columbian
-ground squirrel. Its alert upright stance has earned it the nickname
-"picket pin." When danger approaches from the air or on land, its shrill
-alarm whistle passes the warning to others of its kind.
-
-Where prairie and forest meet, a never-ending struggle for dominion is
-waged. The isolated patches of prairie that dot the North Fork Valley
-near Polebridge hold the great forest of the park's northwest region at
-bay.
-
-This broad valley, floored with coarse glacial outwash and terraced
-downward to the deep channel of the North Fork River, presents a graphic
-battleground between grass and tree. Lining the upper terraces, from
-which they glower down on the dry, well drained grass flats like a line
-of warriors, are the Douglas-fir, western larch, and ponderosa pine.
-Seedling trees continually invade the prairie. But most perish early,
-their shallow roots no match for the extensive root systems of the
-fast-growing, moisture-greedy grasses. If encouraged by a series of wet
-summers, however, the young lodgepoles quickly gain stature. They had
-made significant inroads at Big Prairie when the disastrously dry summer
-of 1967 killed most of these 15-year-old pioneer trees.
-
-These North Fork grasslands and the immediately surrounding lodgepole
-pine forests are an important spring range. Deer, wapiti, and
-grizzly--and, in the wetter areas, moose--graze or browse here. And
-here, low on the western slopes of the Livingston Range, are the park's
-only stands of ponderosa pine, a tree that prefers warm, dry habitats.
-As a result, at low elevations it often merges with the prairie
-community.
-
-Groves of aspen colonize the eastern prairies in areas where there is
-sufficient water and protection from wind. These aspen parklands are
-important havens for animals. Wherever two differing communities
-interact, a phenomenon known as "edge effect" occurs. Here wildlife
-exists in abundance; the animals that favor forest cover mingle freely
-with those that prefer open areas. Aspen groves--supporting grasses,
-herbs, and shrubs beneath their thin canopies--are favored haunts for
-grouse, varying hare, deer, and wapiti, all of which find among the
-trees abundant food, shelter and concealment. Populations of insects,
-small mammals, and birds, which are high for the same reasons, attract a
-wide range of predators.
-
-Isolated aspen groves are characteristically dome-shaped. Because aspens
-are capable of reproducing themselves vegetatively, the grove slowly
-expands outward from the parent tree. As a result, most of these groves
-are either exclusively male or exclusively female.
-
-Since quick-growing aspens provide a bountiful food source for beaver,
-streams near these trees are often dammed by the rodents flooding
-lowlands and creating additional habitat in the form of willow flats.
-Another "edge effect" is established, attracting animals found near
-water. Waterfowl, marsh birds, moose, mink, muskrat, skunks, amphibians,
-and many others find such areas to their liking.
-
-
-[_]
-Before the appearance of the white man, these eastern prairies were a
-paradise for animals. Once, on the summit of Rising Wolf, light-headed
-from the climb and the view of endless prairie, I fancied that I saw
-that vast, undisturbed animal panorama spread before me.
-
-Principally there were the bison, darkening the uneven land. Pronghorn
-bands flashed white on ridgetops, and moose moved through the long
-fingers of willow that extended eastward with the rivers. Caribou and
-wolves inhabited the shadows. Among vast cities of prairie dogs, swift
-fox and grizzly roamed. There were the clamorings of sandhill crane, and
-white clouds of trumpeter swans.
-
-This land, endowed with a wealth of wild grass, wore its wilderness
-well.
-
-
-The Forest
-
-On Gunsight Pass, the rain lancing down, I found a sharpedged rock that
-split the continent in two. On both sides the rain rivulets ran down, a
-fraction of an inch determining the stream's destination: Pacific or
-Atlantic.
-
-The Continental Divide is a mighty barrier, a line of consequence that
-does more than determine watersheds. Its effect in Glacier is dramatic,
-as a look at the forests will reveal.
-
-Obstructing the eastward flow of the moisture-laden Pacific winds, the
-Divide extracts a heavy annual tribute of precipitation from the air
-mass, forcing it to rise up the mountain chain, where it cools and
-condenses. Chief benefactors are the low western valleys, which respond
-with a lush growth of Pacific coastal-type forests.
-
-The eastern valleys, however, deprived of abundant annual moisture and
-exposed to the wind and temperature ravages of the prairie's continental
-climate, support a dramatically different kind of forest. Here Engelmann
-spruce and subalpine fir are the climax trees, contrasted with such
-trees as the western redcedar and western hemlock of the mild and moist
-McDonald valley.
-
-Elevation exerts an additional restriction on the distribution of tree
-species. Since climatic conditions vary with change in elevation--lower
-temperatures resulting in shorter growing seasons, and increased wind
-exposure resulting in greater loss of moisture through evaporation--we
-would expect to find the forest composition change as we ascend a
-mountain slope. In Glacier, eastern valleys average 240 meters higher
-than western, and thus even if they had more moisture they would not
-sustain the redcedars and hemlocks. All plants have range limits, some
-narrow, some broad; and they excel where their particular set of
-preferences as to moisture, soil, sunlight, and wind exposure are best
-met. On sites that do not meet their optimum requirements, they face
-being crowded out by species better adapted to the prevailing
-conditions.
-
-Physical features of the land determine vegetation also. Certain trees
-prefer the moist areas along a streambed--the great black cottonwoods,
-for example. And on steep hillsides, avalanches prevent the growth of
-climax trees, permitting instead only shrubby, pliant
-growth--mountain-ash, mountain maple, alder, menziesia.
-
-Forest communities are named for their dominant tree species. Thus, an
-area in which Douglas-fir dominates is called a "Douglas-fir forest."
-Glacier does have forests in which Douglas-fir is the climax species;
-these are chiefly dry areas, below 1,800 meters, with south and west
-exposures. But we usually associate the park with its Engelmann
-spruce-subalpine fir forests, found extensively between 1,200 and 2,100
-meters, and with the western redcedar-western hemlock forests in the
-McDonald valley.
-
-Because forests mature slowly and change is usually imperceptible, we
-are tempted to think of them as static and eternal. But since a forest
-is a community of living things, it responds to changes in the
-environment. Subtle physical or climatic changes, such as a rising or
-falling water table or a slight increase or decrease in annual
-precipitation, will favor some species of trees and hinder others,
-eventually altering the composition of the forest.
-
-Other changes are more dramatic. Most notable of these is fire.
-
-
-                          From Fire to Forest
-
-Heat lightning, glimmering soundless behind the western peaks. Then the
-first low rumble. At first the flashing had been from cloud to cloud,
-but now, as the storm nears, the first ground-spears appear, lighting up
-the night. Here is a big storm, many-celled, engulfing more and more
-territory beneath its angry bulk. Lightning dances into the dry August
-forest. In their towers the lookouts stay awake.
-
-Close strike and a flare-up! The ridge snag burns like a Roman candle,
-sending bright embers down. Valley, ridge, and peak blink on and off
-with blue light as the storm roars like night-firing artillery.
-
-Passing overhead, the low cloud belly brings a sudden lash of rain. But
-it is not enough: tomorrow will mean long hours of fire watch.
-
-The next day dawns clear, a morning of heavy dew. The ridge strikes did
-not ignite the forest. Inspecting the storm path, aircraft and lookouts
-find no evidence of fire.
-
-But two days later, in a morning of high wind, thin smoke plumes rise
-upward. Smoldering in the thick duff of the forest floor, a lingering
-hot spot explodes with the fanning wind. It quickly spreads from a
-hectare to ten while the quadrants are called in and the hot-shot crews
-dispatched; then to a hundred, bringing in the smoke jumpers and
-mobilizing the vast fire-control network. A thousand hectares, perhaps
-ten thousand might burn this week of big fires.
-
-In the resulting skeleton forest, the scene of devastation is almost
-overpowering: life seems forevermore excluded from this blackened ruin.
-But fire is nothing new to forest communities. We may think fire demonic
-because it takes from our life span this block of mature forest, a sight
-we will never again see in this place. But nature does not operate in
-terms of human time scales. This forest is simply pushed back closer to
-its starting point, to begin again its long progression toward a climax
-vegetation cover.
-
-
-                           Forest Succession
-
-Through a series of complex vegetation stages, each characterized by
-different herbs, trees, and shrubs, the forest slowly returns to the
-type of vegetation best suited to the physical and climatic conditions
-of the site; this is called a climax community. The fact that most of
-Glacier's forests are in some stage of recovery from fire accounts in
-part for the mosaic of forest cover found here.
-
-The forest of Huckleberry Mountain on the Camas Creek road was consumed
-in the 1967 fire. By 1969, among the charred, lifeless trunks of the
-former forest, lush grass and sunloving fireweed, thistle, and
-paintbrush were growing. And by 1974 lodgepole pine seedlings along the
-road were a meter or two high. Lodgepole is a fast-growing tree that
-requires full sun to germinate. Forest fire is necessary for the
-regeneration of these trees: the intense heat causes the tightly closed
-cones to open, releasing the seeds that will establish the forest. So
-young pines developed among fireweed, spiraea, willow, and mountain
-maple shrubs.
-
-The lodgepole forest near the western entrance to the park has been
-developing since 1929, when fire destroyed the redcedar-hemlock forest
-in the area between Apgar and West Glacier. Beneath the scattered spires
-of old larch that survived the burn, the lodgepoles have now grown up,
-forming a canopy that shades the forest floor. Because lodgepole live
-only about 80 years and will not germinate in shade, this forest will
-not exist long. Shade-tolerant Douglas-fir, white pine, Engelmann spruce
-and western redcedar seedlings are now taking hold. But the physical
-characteristics of this area--the climate, terrain, and soil--are
-ultimately most favorable for western redcedar and hemlock; and unless
-other disruptions intervene, this area will eventually again become a
-dense redcedar-hemlock forest.
-
-But this will not happen quickly. The soil after hundreds of years of
-collecting debris will again become rich and moist. Young hemlocks will
-germinate on and near decaying logs. When old larches, firs, and pines
-fall, the slow-growing redcedars and hemlocks will take their places in
-the canopy.
-
-Forest succession is a more complicated story than this; it is a
-fascinating study involving herbs, shrubs, small and large trees, and
-animal populations. From location to location it will vary; only in its
-broad outlines is it predictable. It is based on the observation that,
-given time, a forest--or any other plant community--will progress until
-it reaches climax--that is, the stage that will perpetuate itself.
-
-
-[_]
-How then are we to think about fire? Increasingly, experts are concerned
-not so much with fire suppression as with fire management. For
-suppression has at least three disadvantages: it allows the accumulation
-of unburned fuels that can result in "fire storms" when they are finally
-ignited; an undiversified climax forest is more vulnerable to disease
-than is a mixed forest; and a dense forest canopy discourages shrub
-growth, an important food source for deer, wapiti, moose, and smaller
-animals.
-
-As the well-being of the deer herd depends on the predators that thin
-its numbers, so the long-term well-being of the forest depends on fire
-to rejuvenate it periodically. We must realize that wilderness is
-identified with fire, landslide, avalanche, windfall, and flood. Nature
-not only has learned to cope with these agents of change--she depends
-upon them for maintaining the delicate balances between landscape and
-life. There is in the business of nature, after all, more than the
-pleasing of man's eye.
-
-
-                             Spruce Morning
-
-Of all times to get a rock in my boot! I had just started out, the
-morning was still cool in this eastern valley, and the heavy pack was
-not yet biting into my shoulders. Sitting down beside the trail, I
-leaned the pack against the base of an old spruce and began unlacing.
-
-I could hear the scratching of the red squirrel descending to
-investigate, but I didn't look up until it let go with long indignant
-chatter at finding its territory invaded. I plunked out the pebble and
-began relacing my boot. Cautiously the squirrel came down, pausing
-frequently to scold, its lower jaw quivering with rage and exposing
-yellow rodent teeth. Neighboring squirrels joined in and soon the trees
-danced with flicking tails.
-
-Down the squirrel came, almost to the ground, then raced back up the
-tree, stopping at each lateral branch to deliver a vocal broadside.
-Finding no danger to themselves, the other squirrels soon quit the
-uproar and went about their morning business. I was beginning to suspect
-that I was committing some graver offense than the mere exercise of
-squatters' rights--perhaps I threatened its cache of fir cones. Then
-into the corner of my vision shot another form, streaking soundless as a
-shadow; the squirrel also saw it--but too late. With a thin terrified
-squeak, the rodent started to go higher; but the pine marten was above
-it. The squirrel quickly reversed itself, sending bits of bark showering
-down.
-
-As the squirrel leaped from the tree in desperation, the marten overtook
-it in mid-air; they came down together. Clamping the limp creature
-firmly in its jaws, the marten strode up the incline of a fallen spruce.
-Before it hopped off onto a shelf of higher ground to disappear, it
-looked briefly back at me. I fancied I could read, fixed in its eyes, a
-certain recognition of my having distracted its prey.
-
-A breeze made me shiver, snapping me back from that swift vision of
-luxuriant fur, that blinding grace which flashed its orange throat-patch
-through the trees, and I realized I was sweating. For a moment I had
-been that squirrel, eyes wide with terror, seeing fate bear down, and
-powerless before the natural order of things.
-
-The incident got the other squirrels singing again; but the confidence
-was gone, and soon it was quiet. What dreams do squirrels dream, I
-wondered, looking around. I saw that place more clearly then, having
-been caught between a marten and its prey. I saw each spruce: its age,
-its condition, the onslaughts it had borne; the beargrass coming up in
-an opening; and down the trail a meadow that was yellow, white, and red
-with sulphur plant, mariposa, and Indian paintbrush. Bees, flies,
-spiders, and butterflies worked that little garden tucked among the
-crowding trees. Countless forms of life beneath the soil and bark, in
-tunnel, crevice, hole, and pocket, working unseen to sustain their
-lives, and somehow, when all were added up, maintaining the forest as
-well.
-
-A flicker called, its loud _Klee-yer_ breaking the forest hush. Birds,
-mammals, plants, insects--all hide together here, their lives so
-skillfully embroidered that no loose thread exists that my mind might
-grasp to unravel and understand the work.
-
-The forest had once been a place that obstructed my view, a great blank
-to stride through, a few hours of necessary blur before the high lake or
-pass was reached. Now I was quite content to remain awhile beneath these
-great-boled trees.
-
-
-[_]
-A forest, like the mountains themselves, supports various levels of
-life. The floor and substratum are a great processing plant where
-bacteria, fungi, and insects work, decomposing the plant and animal
-litter, recycling dead and discarded tissue back to simpler organic
-compounds, gases, and minerals, thereby providing sustenance for growing
-plants. As spiders, shrews, wrens, and thrushes seem to know, there is
-good hunting on the forest floor.
-
-Just above the forest floor is the herb layer, a seasonal layer of
-growth including flowers, mushrooms, grasses, and other small plants.
-
-Above that grows the shrub layer, then the understory of young trees
-awaiting their chance to take a place in the forest's canopy high above.
-From the swaying canopy, exposed to the full force of sun and wind, to
-the dim, moist floor, the forest provides a wide range of habitat.
-
-Relatively few animals live in the treetops. The almost incessant motion
-makes nesting too hazardous for birds. Red squirrels venture up to cut
-cones in the canopy, but store their booty and make their nests farther
-down.
-
-In the mid-range between canopy and understory, goshawks and Cooper's
-hawks nest. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and sapsuckers forage on the tree
-trunks and nest in cavities they excavate or appropriate. Red squirrels
-and the nocturnal flying squirrels create a major traffic here, along
-with the martens and owls that hunt them.
-
-The understory and shrub layers house the greatest numbers of nesting
-birds. Here the effects of storm and rain are minimized and protective
-cover is greatest. Vireos, thrushes, warblers, hummingbirds, bluebirds,
-flycatchers, and others can be found among the tangle of this sometimes
-impenetrable layer.
-
-The most populated area, the forest floor, supports an astonishing
-abundance of organisms. Below the busy traffic of mice, shrews, and
-larger animals is a bewildering array of insects and other
-invertebrates. The attrition rate in the litter of the forest floor--a
-continual battleground difficult to comprehend--is enormous. The smaller
-the organism, the greater its numbers are likely to be. This humus-rich,
-moist soil teems with bacteria, and a handful will contain surprising
-numbers of small spiders, pseudo-scorpions and almost microscopic mites.
-
-Each year some two to three thousand kilograms, dry weight, of falling
-material litter an average hectare of forest. All this plant and animal
-waste--twigs, leaves, limbs, fallen trees, feathers, hair, feces, and
-carcasses--is processed by the armies of decomposers that thrive on the
-forest floor. With the aid of larger creatures that break up the plant
-and animal tissue, most microscopic bacteria are able to decompose from
-a hundred to a thousand times their own weight every day.
-
-Few trees die of old age in the forest. The seedling mortality rate is
-necessarily high, since far greater numbers of seeds germinate each year
-than can reach maturity. Of those that do, many fall victim to the
-ever-present dangers of disease, insect infestation, windfall, stream
-erosion, and fire. Insects alone present a formidable threat to trees,
-for they have evolved every means of attack--chewing and mining leaves,
-boring into twigs, eating cambium and heartwood, sucking sap, triggering
-galls. If the insect world did not police itself, aided by spiders,
-insectivorous birds and other animals, forests and other plantlife would
-quickly fade before the chewing, boring, sucking horde.
-
-
-[_]
-Through the trees the light on Citadel shows the morning slipping by. As
-I start to get up I see a garter snake sliding out into the dusty trail,
-seeking the sun-warmed earth. Moving slowly, alert for danger, it probes
-the air frequently with its sensitive tongue. But against the
-lightcolored duff its dark shape offers a fine target, begging attack. A
-chipmunk, watching from a nearby lookout stump, twitches its tail
-nervously over its back, curious--perhaps suspicious--at the sight of a
-snake. Very slightly the snake's head goes up, its tongue flickering.
-For a few seconds reptile and rodent regard each other. Then the
-chipmunk drops back soundlessly into its hollow stump, and the snake
-lowers its head onto warm ground.
-
-Some day soon, a sparrowhawk or weasel will interrupt the snake's
-morning sun-bath. The snake will fuel bird or mammal for a time, as
-mice, fledgling birds, and insects now sustain the snake. The chipmunk
-too, rummaging nearby, lives in shadows of talon and tooth.
-
-Until that time of sharp encounter, each has its own niche, a way of
-life, a shaft of sun, and food enough.
-
-
-                     A Walk in the Redcedar Forest
-
-Climax! The word takes on a true significance here, among these
-broad-based trees. When you enter this forest the road noise does not
-follow far--as, when you walk into a cave and turn a corner, sound and
-light are left behind. There is a surprising spaciousness, a feeling of
-openness in a mature western redcedar forest. With scant understory and
-the canopy so far above and everywhere complete, it seems like some
-vast, high-ceilinged catacomb, pillared by the huge, shaggy-barked
-cedars and the deeply scored trunks of the black cottonwoods. The floor
-is strewn with fallen giants in magnificent disarray, uplifted roots
-still grasping fractured rock.
-
-A rainy day is a good time to walk a cedar trail, when the dull light
-seems to shine from the wet moss, making the underleaves of devil's-club
-and Rocky Mountain maple glow. Wind and rain, like light, penetrate with
-difficulty the latticework of this canopy; thin lines of fog develop
-over the bogs. The air is fresh with growing plants, snow-cold still
-when the first spring flowers appear.
-
-Fiddleheads of unfolding lady ferns line the trail in May, pushing up
-from the hub of last year's leveled, lifeless fronds. Beds of trillium
-shine their white, three-pointed flowers like flashlights in the dark
-recesses. Unlike the small, hidden calypso orchid, which bears its
-purple spikes and yellow throat low above the moss, the trilliums make
-no secret of spring growth. They are bold, handsome plants, broad-leaved
-and tall, with waxy white petals that tinge to purple in their
-month-long bloom.
-
-Moss covers everything. Boulders are green and weightless-looking,
-resilient and topped with miniature forests of cedar seedlings. Ancient
-fallen trees are disguised with blankets of moss, sprouting hemlock here
-and there. The rich greens that characterize Glacier's summers seem to
-begin here amid the moisture-glossed leaves of twinflower, bunchberry
-and bead-lily.
-
-Later, the spiders will spin thousands of kilometers of gossamer
-filament among the trees. The orb-weavers will hang their webs high and
-low, suspended in every opening. Walking through the forest then, you
-will see shafts of sunlight whirling in the higher webs until they seem
-like tops set spinning among the treetrunks.
-
-Indianpipes, the "ghost flowers" that need no light to grow, will break
-through the forest soil. Like mushrooms, with fruiting bodies that are
-nourished by underground mycelia, these saprophytes absorb their
-nutrients from a fungus that covers their roots.
-
-Receiving an average of about 18 centimeters more annual precipitation
-than forests east of the Divide, Glacier's redcedar-hemlock community
-hoards its moisture. Its dense growth and the surrounding mountain walls
-inhibit the circulation of drying winds. Mosses and ferns transpire
-their moisture, which you can feel; place your hand close, and you will
-sense a coolness like the air exuding from an ice cave. Draped from the
-tree limbs are long filaments of squawhair and goatsbeard, black and
-grey lichen strands that flourish in the damp air.
-
-Except for the black bear, few large animals inhabit the deep forest.
-Grizzlies find better forage in meadows or along the forest edge. Since
-shade discourages shrubby undergrowth, deer and wapiti will search
-elsewhere for browse. In summer, wapiti, grizzlies, and mule deer bucks
-tend to wander up into high meadows.
-
-Contrasted to the noisy, conspicuous birds of the prairie--meadowlarks
-and bobolinks--birds of the forest seem elusive and secretive. Although
-numerous, the varied thrushes, Townsend's solitaires, and Swainson's
-thrushes are seldom seen; but when approached, they fly silently off and
-are swallowed by the forest shadow.
-
-There seems to be serenity in a mature forest, as though the struggle
-for life is somehow suspended, the needs of the animals here less
-urgent, muffled. The towering redcedar forest seems to be no battlefield
-at all, but rather a monument to what Earth can do.
-
-
-                        The Perpendicular Night
-
-Behind Avalanche campground a trail leads back toward Lake McDonald
-Lodge. I decided to follow it one June evening, to experience the
-sensation of the deep forest changing into night. With the nearby
-mountain wall intercepting the sun, dusk comes early to this valley. On
-the prairie, night passes across the landscape in an even line,
-forthright as a waxing tide; you can almost feel the globe in its
-turning from the sun. There is reassurance in the night's coming, its
-steady purple doming over the sky.
-
-But here darkness seems to sprout from the earth. It collects beneath
-the hemlock clumps, bridges the creekbottoms. It seems to flit from
-place to place. You look about, uneasy, trying to catch it here or
-there, but always miss its infiltrations. It captures the narrow
-clearings when you look away; pockets of tree-darkness join together,
-forcing the light upward until the tree-tops seem impossibly bright and
-distant.
-
-Through the trees I could see a dozen fires dance in the growing shadow,
-wood-smoke and camp sounds filling the air. Turning uptrail, I felt a
-reluctance to leave the presence of those fires--a senseless feeling,
-but strong. A growing forest-dread impelled me almost physically
-backward to those circles of firelight. I felt the need to be near a
-fire, to be reassured by heat and light. Fire was our greatest friend,
-our greatest weapon. With it we beat the long ages of ice and held the
-forest gloom away. There was no harm here, only silence; yet the longer
-I walked, with beard-moss hanging down like daggers all around, the more
-I craved the comradeship of fire.
-
-                                                    _Continued on p. 104_
-
-    The Vital Predator
-
-    The merciless law of predation might at first thought seem cruel;
-    but the predator plays a vital part in maintaining the balance of
-    the biotic community. Without the controlling factor of predation,
-    prey species quickly enlarge their populations. If plant eaters are
-    not checked, the resulting excess population exceeds the carrying
-    capacity of the range. Food supply rapidly diminishes. In a damaged
-    range, competition and stress result, usually culminating in a
-    massive die-off through starvation and disease.
-
-    Ironically, predators thus provide a service to their prey. First to
-    fall to the predator are the old, the diseased, the unwary, and the
-    young. By removing many young and old deer from a typical herd,
-    cougars lessen competition among the deer for choice range, thus
-    tending to keep herbivore numbers at parity with the land's carrying
-    capacity. Only the strongest and wariest deer survive, ensuring that
-    the fittest will continue the species. When man upsets this delicate
-    balance--destroying predators in the hope of increasing numbers of
-    game animals--the result is ecological disaster. In the 1930s, in a
-    misguided attempt to "preserve" the whitetail deer herds of the
-    park's North Fork area, many coyotes and cougars were exterminated.
-    In 1935 alone, 50 cougars were killed. Relieved of the pressure of
-    predation, the deer flourished. In a few years, however, the
-    normally adequate range was severely overbrowsed. Suffering also
-    from this imbalance were wapiti ("elk") and moose, ungulates that
-    share the winter range with deer.
-
-    Some predators are more specialized than others. The Canada lynx,
-    for example, has oversize feet, an adaptation that helps it move
-    across deep snow without breaking the surface. As a result, it is an
-    efficient predator of the snowshoe hare, another large-footed
-    animal. Relying on this adaptation, the lynx feeds almost
-    exclusively on snowshoe hares. Consequently, its numbers inevitably
-    fluctuate with the 10-year "boom and bust" cycle of the snowshoe.
-
-    The coyote, on the other hand, is a generalized predator, exploiting
-    whatever prey is currently abundant. Should mice or ground squirrels
-    be in short supply, it will subsist on anything from grasshoppers to
-    berries until favored prey again becomes available. (Animals that
-    normally eat both plant and animal food are referred to as
-    omnivores.) Generalized predators are thus better equipped to
-    survive temporary ecological imbalances, maintaining their numbers
-    at relatively consistent levels from year to year.
-
-    Carnivores all, the animals on these pages illustrate various
-    adaptations for capturing prey.
-
-    [Illustration: The population of the Canada lynx, which is widely
-    distributed in Glacier's coniferous forests, fluctuates in cycles.
-    The lynx is abundant or scarce depending on the population condition
-    of its chief prey, the equally cyclic snowshoe hare.]
-
-    [Illustration: The cougar, which feeds primarily on deer, requires a
-    large territory. Because of its strength, stealth, and speed,
-    American folklore has given this wary cat a false reputation as a
-    man-stalker.]
-
-    [Illustration: The red fox depends largely on a well-developed sense
-    of smell to locate its prey; it also relies on its keen eyesight,
-    speed, and agility to capture mice, hares, birds, and whatever else
-    it can run down or surprise.]
-
-    [Illustration: To feed its demanding young, the Swainson's thrush
-    hunts for insects along the forest floor and in the dense
-    underbrush. This thrush relies on its secretive behavior to protect
-    its nest near the ground from detection by other predators.]
-
-    [Illustration: Armed with enlarged forelegs, the crab spider waits
-    on or near flowers to ambush visiting bees, flies, or other insects.
-    Its venom produces a quick kill, allowing it to attack insects many
-    times its own size.]
-
-    [Illustration: The spotted frog is a large-mouthed predator that not
-    only eats water striders and other insects but also gulps down
-    smaller frogs and small fish.]
-
-    Protective Coloration
-
-    To escape extermination, each species must in some manner foil its
-    enemies. Protective coloration is one of the more common adaptations
-    helping to do this. Most animals resemble their environment to some
-    extent. The conspicuous markings of some, like the bitter-tasting
-    monarch butterfly or the striped skunk, seem to function as a
-    warning to prospective predators that it is in their best interest
-    to look elsewhere for a meal.
-
-    Some animals, such as the white-tailed ptarmigan and the snowshoe
-    hare, have seasonal changes in plumage or pelage, wearing white in
-    winter and brown in summer. Even predators, such as longtail and
-    shorttail weasels, benefit from seasonal camouflage. Protective
-    coloration makes them less noticeable to prey species and to larger
-    predators.
-
-    Many insects, too, change coloration with the season. Bright green
-    grasshoppers of early summer become more brown with each molt,
-    matching the changes in the surrounding vegetation.
-
-    _Obliterative shading_ is especially important to animals that
-    frequent more than one habitat. Seen from above, turtles match their
-    dark background; from below, because of their lighter underbody
-    shading they blend into the bright skylight.
-
-    _Disruptive coloration_ aids in breaking up an animal's outline.
-    Butterflies and moths commonly have disruptive wing markings. The
-    distinctive shapes of eyes can be concealed. Eye coloration may
-    mimic body color--as in the green katydid--or the eye may continue
-    disruptive body markings.
-
-    Ground-nesting birds are especially vulnerable to attack. Their eggs
-    tend to be heavily blotched with earthy colors, making them less
-    conspicuous. Chicks also carry these disruptive colorations on natal
-    down.
-
-    Most mammals, with coats of brown or gray, are inconspicuous when
-    motionless. Deer fawns are endowed with speckled coats, mimicking
-    the sun-flecked forest floor; this disruptive coloration, coupled
-    with absence of scent and their instinctive "freezing" behavior,
-    makes it difficult for predators to detect them.
-
-    The whitetail deer not only uses its white "flag" to warn others in
-    the herd of danger; it also allows a pursuing predator to use it as
-    a target. When the tail is suddenly dropped--abruptly obliterating
-    the bright white patch--the deer seems to disappear into its dim
-    surroundings.
-
-    Since overly conspicuous animals are prone to predation, natural
-    selection favors development of appropriate camouflage.
-
-    [Illustration: For such ground-dwelling birds as the white-tailed
-    ptarmigan, camouflage is an important survival adaptation. The
-    ptarmigan changes its plumage to match its surroundings: it is white
-    in winter, speckled in summer. Moving slowly and refraining from
-    flight, it is less likely than more-active birds to be detected by
-    sharp-eyed, motion-conscious predators.]
-
-    [Illustration: Birds that when hatched are covered with down and are
-    able to move about freely are called _precocial_. They are less
-    dependent upon their parents than are _altricial_ young, which are
-    naked and helpless when they hatch; but they must rely heavily on a
-    resemblance to their surroundings for survival during their first
-    flightless weeks. This spruce grouse chick, which blends into its
-    sunflecked forest-floor habitat, is an example of a precocial bird.]
-
-    [Illustration: The bold disruptive pattern of the killdeer chick's
-    plumage helps this precocial bird avoid detection in its
-    open-prairie environment. This adaptation, coupled with the chick's
-    instinct to freeze at the approach of danger, ensures that enough
-    young will survive to perpetuate the species.]
-
-    _Ursus arctos horribilus_: The Vulnerable King
-
-    At the apex of the food pyramid, this great beast is unquestionably
-    the king of Glacier's biotic community. Yet the long-range future of
-    the grizzly bear is uncertain. With the grizzly exterminated from
-    most of its former range--which once extended into the midcontinent
-    and south into Mexico--its numbers have dwindled in proportion to
-    its diminished range. Present concentrations in the contiguous
-    United States remain in and around Yellowstone and Glacier National
-    Parks. Probably fewer than 200 of these magnificent creatures live
-    in Glacier National Park.
-
-    Grizzlies are easily distinguished from the more common black bear.
-    In addition to larger size and heavier build, grizzlies have a
-    characteristic shoulder hump; long, conspicuous claws; and a broad,
-    concave face that gives them a "dished-in" appearance. Fur is
-    usually brown; like the fur of the black bear, however, color may
-    range from black to yellowish. Light tipped hairs make the fur
-    appear frosted, giving rise to the nickname, "silvertip."
-
-    Grizzlies, popularly considered arch predators, are more accurately
-    described as omnivores. Carrion, grasses, cow parsnip, and several
-    species of berries, bulbs, and tubers make up a grizzly's diet,
-    along with insects, small mammals, and an occasional ungulate that
-    it can catch. As a result, grizzlies play several roles in the
-    biotic community, functioning as herbivore, scavenger, and predator.
-
-    Ranging widely in all life zones, grizzlies follow the spring
-    snowmelt up to the alpine meadows, returning to lower elevations to
-    hibernate from November until April. One to three cubs are born in
-    midwinter during hibernation. Since the maternal bond lasts two
-    years, a sow will accept a mate only every other year. Mortality of
-    subadults is high, resulting principally from competition among the
-    bears themselves. As with most animals, range--habitat--appears to
-    be the limiting factor of grizzly populations.
-
-    The grizzly is normally shy and fearful of man--but highly
-    unpredictable. Wounded or sick bears, sows defending cubs, young
-    adults, and bears that have become conditioned to human scent are
-    the most dangerous. As humans continue to encroach on grizzly
-    territory, odds of confrontation also increase. Recent fatalities
-    and personal injuries inflicted by grizzlies pose a vexing problem
-    to the National Park Service, which is charged with visitor safety
-    on the one hand and protection of the park's remaining grizzly
-    population on the other. Continuing study of grizzly ecology and
-    increasingly enlightened bear management programs will, it is hoped,
-    allow man and bear to co-exist in a wilderness both require.
-
-    [Illustration: Grizzlies are fond of succulent spring grasses.]
-
-    [Illustration: Traversing all life zones in the park, the grizzly is
-    a true opportunist, eating anything from ants and berries to
-    wapiti.]
-
-    [Illustration: Seldom will a grizzly exceed 225 kilograms in
-    Glacier. This is a young adult.]
-
-    Bald Eagles and Kokanee Salmon: A Recent Gathering
-
-    In 1916 the kokanee salmon, a small, land-locked form of the Pacific
-    coast species, was planted in the Flathead drainage. With the first
-    planting augmented by additional stockings, the fish thrived in
-    cold, deep Flathead Lake, and, to a lesser extent, in Lake McDonald.
-    The salmon fed almost exclusively on zooplankton.
-
-    By the mid-1930s, salmon runs were becoming established. The outlet
-    of Lake McDonald provides an ideal spawning site for the salmon. The
-    fast-flowing water is clear, cold, and shallow, and the creek bed is
-    gravelly.
-
-    Averaging 0.3 meters in length and weighing less than a half-kilo,
-    the 4-year-old adult salmon cease feeding and begin to migrate. Many
-    thousands swim the 100 kilometers from Flathead Lake to McDonald
-    Creek. Males appear in the creek first, arriving in late September,
-    and are soon followed by the females.
-
-    Using her tail to dig a redd (a shallow nest depression), the female
-    deposits about 650 eggs. After fertilization by the male, the eggs
-    are covered over. The adults die within three weeks after spawning,
-    their bodies exhausted from the rigorous migration journey and the
-    weeks-long lack of sustenance.
-
-    Egg fatalities are high, due to stream erosion and disturbance by
-    other spawning salmon. Hatching in late March, the fry work their
-    way out of the gravel and migrate downstream.
-
-    Attracted to the 75,000-150,000 salmon concentrated in a 3-kilometer
-    stretch of shallow water, bald eagles begin gathering at McDonald
-    Creek in October. It is not known where the eagles come from or
-    where they go after the spawning run. Glacier has fewer than 20
-    summer-resident bald eagles, and these are distributed among the
-    remote lakes of the North Fork area.
-
-    In 1939, 37 bald eagles were counted along the creek. By 1969, 373
-    were reported, representing approximately 10 percent of that year's
-    estimated winter population for the contiguous United States. Since
-    1960, the count has averaged 240 birds. (In 1977 there were 444.)
-
-    Eagles feed by swooping down to pluck salmon from the water or by
-    wading out to grab a fish stranded on a shallow riffle. An eagle may
-    consume as many as six fish a day. Immature birds are not as adept
-    at catching fish and may harry adults or other immatures into
-    releasing their catch.
-
-    [Illustration: From its vantage point, this mature bald eagle
-    examines the waters of McDonald Creek. Average weight is 5.7
-    kilograms; average wingspan is 2.2 meters. Females are slightly
-    larger than males.]
-
-    [Illustration: This immature bald eagle lacks the familiar white
-    head and tail of the adult birds. It will not acquire those markings
-    until it is several years old.]
-
-    [Illustration: Breeding male and female kokanee salmon are easily
-    distinguishable; as spawning time approaches, they change
-    appearance. The dark gray backs turn red; heads become green, and
-    the males develop humped backs and hooked jaws.]
-
-    [Illustration: Swooping upward with a fish, a mature eagle heads for
-    a convenient perch to consume its catch. A strategically located
-    tree may contain 30 birds.]
-
-    A Triumph of Many Colors
-
-    Grassland, meadow, tundra, or any other area in Glacier suitable for
-    plant growth and supplied with abundant sunlight produces an
-    extravagance of wildflowers. This display of various shapes and
-    colors is neither an accident nor a mere decoration of nature. Nor
-    would Earth's recent explosion of mammal and bird species have been
-    possible without the evolution of flowering plants.
-
-    Two hundred million years ago, early in the Age of Reptiles,
-    angiosperms (flowering plants) had not yet evolved. Plant
-    reproduction still relied on spores and cones. Then, during the
-    Cretaceous Period, the last sediments were being laid down in the
-    inland sea that covered most of Montana. (It was these sediments
-    that the ancient Precambrian rocks of Glacier's mountains later
-    overrode, forming the Lewis Overthrust.) During this period the
-    evolutionary miracle occurred: flowering plants--grasses, vines,
-    shrubs, broadleaf trees, wildflowers--inherited the Earth.
-
-    The timing was important. As Earth's tropical climate gradually
-    changed to temperate extremes during this period, the domination of
-    cold-blooded dinosaurs ended and the moisture-demanding coniferous
-    forests that had covered the earth in green monotony began to
-    shrink. Angiosperms provided a solution to the ecological void:
-    grasses and forbs grew where trees no longer could. Most important,
-    relationships evolved between this new class of plants and the
-    relatively few species of insects then existing.
-
-    Insects began to use the pollen of flowering plants; the
-    angiosperms, in turn, evolved bright petals and nectar that
-    exploited visiting insects for the plants' own reproductive
-    purposes. This partnership allowed insects to diversify rapidly,
-    evolving new, specialized forms such as bees, moths, and
-    butterflies. As a result, predatory forms of insects and arachnids
-    also rapidly diversified.
-
-    The most dramatic change, however, involved warm-blooded birds and
-    mammals, whose high rates of metabolism required high-energy fuels.
-    Unlike gymnosperm seeds, which contain no protective covering,
-    angiosperm seeds are surrounded by a fruit. The development of these
-    highly nutritious seeds, and the attendant explosion of insect
-    species, ensured survival of the newly evolved birds.
-
-    As birds diversified into seed-eaters, insectivores, and carnivores,
-    mammals, then uncertain little ratlike creatures darting among the
-    feet of dinosaurs, began a rapid rise to dominance; grasslands
-    promoted an explosion of herbivorous and carnivorous species.
-
-    The evolution of angiosperms, and the animal revolution it made
-    possible, came with amazing speed. Most significant, it was a vital
-    first step upon which the meteoric rise of man depended.
-
-    [Illustration: Indian paintbrush is common at all elevations below
-    tundra. It may be white, yellow, orange, pink or red. The actual
-    flowers, inconspicuous and green, are surrounded by brilliantly
-    colored bracts. Semi-parasitic on other plants, paintbrush is
-    normally found growing in conjunction with other wildflowers; its
-    roots steal sustenance from neighboring plants.]
-
-    [Illustration: Yellow stonecrop, widely distributed in forest and
-    scrub-forest zones, is one of the park's few plants having succulent
-    leaves, an adaptation that helps it survive in such situations as
-    dry, rocky outcrops.]
-
-    [Illustration: The Calypso orchid grows in the cool, shadowed forest
-    where light is dim. It lives in partnership with certain fungi that
-    exist about the orchid's roots and seem to help nourish it.]
-
-    [Illustration: Silky lupine, a legume, has nitrogen-fixing nodules
-    on its roots, thus allowing it to grow in nitrogen-poor soil. It is
-    widely distributed in grassland and forest communities.]
-
-    Fire Succession: Key to Continuity
-
-    Most of Glacier's fires are lightning-caused. Strikes may flare up
-    immediately; or fires may smolder in the forest duff for days until
-    fanned into flame by wind. _Ground fires_ may race through the
-    forest understory, causing minor damage; or they may bridge the
-    understory and reach the canopy, thus becoming rapidly spreading
-    _crown fires_. Under certain conditions, uncontrollable infernos may
-    develop, generating terrific winds and heat. These rare
-    conflagrations are called _fire storms_.
-
-    Every type of forest habitat has _climax vegetation_--trees and
-    shrubs that are best suited to the site and thus maintain themselves
-    indefinitely if not disrupted.
-
-    After a major fire, habitat conditions are usually so altered that
-    the site must pass through several _seral stages_ before conditions
-    are such that climax vegetation can return. A _sere_ is a series of
-    plant communities that follow one another in orderly fashion until
-    climax conditions are again reached.
-
-    [Illustration: Lightning fires occur most often during the hot, dry
-    weeks of late summer.]
-
-    [Illustration: When the forest is dry, lightning often causes quick
-    flare-ups.]
-
-    [Illustration: The forest may continue to burn for days after the
-    main conflagration has passed.]
-
-    [Illustration: After a major fire, sun-loving grasses, shrubs, and
-    wildflowers quickly invade the former forest. Deer and wapiti
-    benefit from these new food sources.]
-
-    [Illustration: Lodgepole pine, a pioneer species quick to take over
-    burned areas at lower elevations, grows rapidly. These trees are
-    five years old.]
-
-    [Illustration: This is a Glacier National Park forest 80 years after
-    a major fire.]
-
-Sudden hammering made me jump. Above the forest darkness, a pileated
-woodpecker leaned out from a high larch snag, braced against the trunk
-by its specialized, stiff tail feathers. This was the first time I had
-seen this big white-and-black bird, the "cock-of-the-woods." There was
-ample evidence of his work: the deep, oblong excavations in the trunk
-and the pile of large wood chips at its base, both characteristic of
-this species. Again he hammered, and I could see the chips falling.
-After a little edge-work around the hole, he extracted a grub and flew
-off, yammering against the advancing dark.
-
-Near a stream I stopped to sit down, to listen to the water and maybe
-catch sight of some small animal. Across the narrow defile, from a slope
-dense with young hemlock, came the buzzing note of a varied thrush.
-Several notes followed, all on a different pitch, all drawn out, level
-and clear; the quality was pure but songless, disjointed, deliberate,
-like someone testing the reed of a strange woodwind. There seemed no
-gladness in the heart of this thrush. The song was dark, haunting,
-lonely.
-
-On the trail ahead I could make out a bird hopping rapidly along. After
-passing the spot I could hear its song. There couldn't be a hundred
-meters between us, yet it seemed to be coming from a great distance. I
-listened for as long as it would sing. I tried to hear it for what it
-was, a male Swainson's thrush proclaiming its territory. But the
-ethereal, flute-like phrases seemed an evensong made not for man's ears
-but only for the forest itself.
-
-I hurried on after the bird had ceased. It was getting dark beneath the
-trees, but I was beginning to be aware of creatures underfoot, the mad
-dartings of shrew and vole, more imagined than seen. When a deer mouse
-jumped away I got out my flashlight. Soon the beam caught a woodrat
-sitting atop a fallen log. The light didn't bother him in the least; as
-I approached, he picked up his bushy tail in his forepaws. Whiskers
-twitching, he looked more caricature than real. Then he bounded off the
-log with graceful, arching hops, and disappeared into the night.
-
-Against a patch of sky that appeared in a clearing, I could make out
-bats, circling and dipping like swallows. Locating a hovering moth, I
-kept the light beam on it until it vanished into a furry streak of
-silence. It was time to head back.
-
-By now it had become utterly dark within the trees, a moonless,
-sightless, alien world, given over to the marble-black eyes of the small
-night mammals and the creatures that hunt them. I thought of the
-strange, unseen societies of the flying squirrels, the nocturnal
-counterparts of red squirrels; of the great-horned owls, inspecting the
-same ground the goshawks scanned during the day. Perhaps a foraging red
-fox moved through the darkness nearby, or a coyote on night patrol.
-
-The flashlight beam probed ahead along the trail. The exposed roots were
-given unnatural shading and they seemed to thicken and squirm as I
-approached. On either side the tree trunks appeared to step backward
-from the dim glow of the light. I felt lost in this night, thinking of
-the great darkness in all the timbered ridges that ran westward from the
-Divide. In this vast cathedral of crowded tree and peak, night was stood
-on end, the stars shrunken to a circle overhead, as if seen from the
-bottom of a well. Mouselike, shivering, insignificant in this
-wilderness, I scurried back to find a fire and fill my empty senses with
-its heat and snap and light, holding off the fright of night and
-thinking of tomorrow's sun.
-
-
-Scrub-Forest
-
-The crowning beauty of Glacier--the high, cirqueheld meadows that scent
-the wind with wildflower and waterfall--belongs to the zone of
-scrub-forest.
-
-At Logan Pass you are introduced to the highlands. Here an exquisite
-upland basin holds the Hanging Gardens, a wildflower-clothed gradient
-laced with stair-step bogs and lines of wind-bent subalpine fir. In the
-dawn sun, before the first engine noise, it shines unbroken, dewbright
-and sagging like a spider web secured to the circle of surrounding
-peaks.
-
-This is the region the hiker remembers best. The tall mountains wear
-this zone close to the cliffs, and the trails encounter it near the
-passes or follow it for long, level stretches, as along the Garden Wall.
-I remember Preston Park and Fifty Mountain, the fire-touched bench of
-Granite Park and the first sight of Sperry chalet, built on a brow of
-rock at the upper reach of trees. But most of all I remember the
-terrible waterfall that becomes Bowman Creek, the plunge of nearly a
-kilometer that drains the magnificent upland bench called
-Hole-in-the-Wall.
-
-
-                            Hole-in-the-Wall
-
-September. The season is growing late, the meadow-rue dying and the
-leaves of the wild strawberry failing at last. Everywhere the red
-contagion of autumn surrounds the vital green. The lower valleys have
-lost the whistle of ground squirrels. They sun themselves no longer
-these late, mild days. Ripe, sluggish, and hawk-vulnerable, they sensed
-the need of hibernation.
-
-It has been eight years since I last visited Hole-in-the-Wall, but I
-retain its dimensions and hear its dozen waterfalls at will. Once you
-have seen this basin you have a measure by which to judge the high
-country and a thirst for the meadows at tree-line.
-
-In Glacier, treelimit ranges between 1,850 and 2,300 meters, depending
-on local conditions. The upper limit of tree growth--rarely an even,
-horizontal line--is generally an indistinct band running erratically
-across a mountain's face: a tension zone reflecting variations in wind
-and sun exposure, degree of slope, snowpack accumulations, and the
-presence of adequate soil and water.
-
-Subalpine fir, whitebark pine, and Engelmann spruce do not relinquish
-easily their upward climb; where conditions become severe, their growth
-is retarded and their stature dwarfed. Deformed and pruned by wind,
-their leaders winter-killed when they outreach the protection of the
-winter snowpack, trees become shrubs, forced to hug the ground. Size
-belies age in these elfin forests, or krummholz, where the growing
-season is painfully brief and progress is always uncertain. A twisted,
-gnarled little bush, more snag than live branch, bearing a single cone
-or two, may be senior by a century to the giants of its race in the
-valley below, which yearly shower the ground with an abundant crop of
-cones.
-
-This time I will come from Goathaunt, passing Lakes Janet and Francis,
-reaching Brown Pass from the east, and camp in the spectacular garden
-between Brown and Boulder Passes.
-
-Meadows and rock slides break the forest as the trail gains elevation
-and distance through the valley. The spruce and fir thin out rapidly at
-the valley head, the trail climbing the grassy slope to low, broad Brown
-Pass. Below the pass is Thunderbird Pond, which receives the meltwater
-from a glacier high on a shelf of Thunderbird Mountain and is bordered
-by a low jungle of willow. In the water stands a bull moose, its heavy,
-fully formed antlers ready for the season's impending business.
-
-I was hoping again to see Cassin's finches and Audubon's warblers on the
-pass; but the fir grove is quiet. Sitting down to rest and listen, I
-become aware of a strange silence. No birds sing or flit among the
-trees, no alarms pass back and forth among alert ground squirrels. There
-is no wind--an odd condition for the Continental Divide. This place
-seems to be holding its breath. High overhead, a veil of cirrus cloud
-arranges long spears across the sky.
-
-Moving off the pass, along the dome of Mt. Chapman, I experience anew
-the old excitement of this high country. Abruptly the gorge of Bowman
-valley opens up, revealing the twisting blue snake of Bowman Lake far
-down the narrow, cliff-imprisoned valley. Here again are the northern
-titans--Numa, Peabody, Boulder, Thunderbird, and Rainbow; and Carter,
-with its high glacier baring blue ice teeth to the sun.
-
-It is not the climb that makes your heart pound now; the trail is
-suddenly narrow and cliff-defiant, cut by the plunging waters of
-snowbanks far above. These are splendid peaks, unmatched in a land of
-muscled, brutal earth. Even the air seems to retain the scent of glacier
-work.
-
-At last the view of Hole-in-the-Wall, a staircase cirque excavated
-between the gigantic spread ribs of Mt. Custer. The slopes of beargrass
-are seed-spotted and gaunt now, the white fullness gone. Western
-pasqueflowers have accomplished their magic transformation; known in
-this season as old man's beard, they nod their tufts of grizzled
-seedhead silk in the wind. Red and yellow monkeyflowers bloom yet,
-crowding along the many stream courses, and waterloving sedges and
-mosses surround pools of collected water on the broad horseshoe tiers.
-
-A spur trail drops down into the campground on the last ledge. Through a
-cleft in its lip plummets the gathered water of the basin. From the
-valley below, the waterfall appears to be springing from a hole in the
-headwall, giving this basin its name. Down, down, down, roars the water
-where once a mighty glacier ground its teeth.
-
-I leave until later the making of camp; by now the sharp shadows of
-Boulder Peak stab the valley forest and are beginning the upward assault
-of Thunderbird.
-
-Around the basin headwalls, last winter's snowbanks remain formidable.
-Snow caves send out meltwater torrents. Glacier lilies and patches of
-spring beauty line their fringes. Pasqueflowers bloom in pockets. Here,
-among the asters of August, bloom also the first flowers of spring,
-shooting up as the snowbanks shrink, making these spots of snow-free
-ground a patchwork of May and July, August and June. The shrubs that
-line the furious water are willows, still bud-swollen this tenth day of
-September. The coming days will bring a sharp surprise.
-
-Winter will soon stop the melting of this snow. Could it be that I am
-seeing the first year of a reawakening ice age? If so, each year the
-snowfields would grow thicker and broader, connecting the shelves into
-one ice mass again, lilies and willows entombed, the summer heat failing
-to rescue them, until the ice at last began to slide, stripping the soil
-and once more plucking at living rock.
-
-Then these dwarfed fir, which cling precariously to the cliffs and hide
-behind the backs of boulders, would be in more danger than they were
-from their recent antagonists. Engulfed by ice, they would know the
-shearing wind no more. Their skeletons would rain down into the valley
-below, signalling another long forest retreat. But they have waited out
-the mountain ice before and would send their seeds again to this valley,
-changed however it might be, as they have always done.
-
-Evening brings out two sleek mule deer does. As they graze, their large
-ears stand erect, sorting out the lesser sounds from the ceaseless roar
-of water. Both raise their heads and point their ears, statue straight,
-at the scuttle of a porcupine. A noise among the rocks draws a backward
-glance and focus of those ears. I would like the sensitivity of such
-fine equipment, to hear what deer have always heard.
-
-Setting about the business of camp, I wonder about those animals that
-watched me for a while, then moved off, having seen a tent go up before.
-With the appearance of the moon the wind increases and they test the air
-more often now. Do they have visions of cougar or grizzly with every
-snap the wind delivers?
-
-In summer these high meadows see a surprising variety of animal life.
-Briefly out of hibernation are marmots and the handsome golden-mantled
-ground squirrels. Mice, voles, shrews, and woodrats run among the
-shadows, feeding on the season's feast of seeds and insects. A nightmare
-for these are the fierce little weasels that haunt the rocks.
-
-Tracks of cougar and wolverine are sometimes seen, often teasingly
-fresh; to glimpse either of these elusive predators is to taste the
-finest wine of wilderness.
-
-Before the berry season, grizzlies grub the meadows for the tasty bulbs
-of glacier lilies and the tubers of spring beauty; often distracted by
-the scent of a ground squirrel in its burrow, they sometimes make a huge
-excavation for a small reward.
-
-White-crowned sparrows sing in July from the low tops of the battered
-trees, though their nests are on the ground below. Grey-crowned rosy
-finches patrol the drier ground for seeds while water pipits hunt
-insects in the wet areas. High above, a golden eagle scans the basin
-again, circling slowly before following a ridge south to sight another
-likely slope in its 10,000-hectare territory.
-
-The moon shines through the tent top. The wind, blowing more violently
-now, shivers the nylon and interrupts the voice of the waterfall. I have
-followed the pasqueflower run from the April prairies here to its
-highest bloom near treeline. I think about the triangular seed pods of
-the glacier lilies, colonies of steep-throated blue gentians, and the
-season's last glory of goldenrod. Indian paintbrush, from white to fire
-red, blazes the slopes that light the fringes of sleep.
-
-I awake to a determined rain, the moon gone and the tent shuddering with
-wind-blast. I try not to think of the steel-cold air, and slip into a
-fitful sleep that seems an endless treadmill of rocky trail.
-
-Stiff and unrefreshed, I look out into the dawnless morning. The tip of
-Thunderbird is detached from its base by grey clouds swirling at its
-throat. A wave of sleet slants down, dancing on the rocks, chanting
-triumph over the buried, bent, and broken flowers of yesterday.
-
-So I must make my escape, short of Boulder Pass. Unattainable now,
-invisible above the cirque, that high pass grows in my memory. This
-testament to what a glacier can do, to the struggle of trees and the
-life-pioneers that invade such harsh places, is at my feet but shrouded
-with snow. My hands grow stiff and numb in the blunt work of packing up.
-
-I had wished to see Kinnerly Peak again, rising from the western Kintla
-valley, and walk along black ledges of the lava that floors the pass.
-Beyond it grows a grove of subalpine larch, stately, seldom encountered,
-the least common tree species in Glacier. Confined to this narrow zone
-between forest and alpine, it reaches up tall and proud, impervious to
-the gruelling climate that makes cowering shrubs of other trees.
-
-But all must wait another year, for this season comes down hard. And the
-will of winter is to erase whatever summer had devised.
-
-
-Tundra
-
-Porcelain-cold, the November sun dawns in the southeast sky. The ledges,
-ice-encrusted, layered with sleet from a recent squall, whistle the cold
-morning wind aside. Rattling down, a slide of rock plunges off the final
-ledge, seconds passing before the hollow sounds of impact clatter back.
-Like an apparition of winter itself, white beard bent sideways by the
-wind, a mountain goat steps to the precipice edge. Looking out across
-the vast white void, its long belly hair and pantaloons streaming with
-the ceaseless wind, this strange animal, product of some unfathomable
-ingenuity, hesitates but a moment; dropping down from step to invisible
-step along the sheer rock face, fracturing the ice glaze as it goes, it
-turns a wall and disappears. A nimble, eight-months-old kid follows.
-
-Blinking and twisting in the dull light, the shower of shattered ice
-clinks softly downward against rock, fading away like the short summers
-of this place.
-
-But while the wind chants winter, life has made a passage here, and also
-waits, hidden in seed and root and den.
-
-
-[_]
-The nanny and her kid have bedded down now, looking across the deep,
-snowy basin below. Their ledge shines with the first spear of sunlight.
-
-Far below the pass that connects Mount Siyeh to the snow-giants Matahpi
-and Going-to-the-sun, three male white-tailed ptarmigan emerge from
-their night's huddle within a snowbank and step out to peck at an
-exposed mat of willow. Ptarmigan, the only birds on the winter tundra,
-wear white plumage in this season, helping to camouflage them in the
-snow, just as their mottled brown summer plumage makes them difficult to
-detect among bare rocks. There are few predators here to hunt them now,
-but they move with habitual slowness; quick movement can be fatal when
-summer brings numerous eyes to scan the slopes. With legs and feet
-heavily feathered and sharp claws to scratch for food beneath the snow,
-the ptarmigan live at truce with winter. When blizzards rage between the
-peaks, they nestle together in snow dens, beyond the reach of the winds.
-Ptarmigan hens winter lower in taller willow thickets, but the males
-prefer to take their winter as high as possible.
-
-Now they crouch behind the wind-deflecting rocks, dozing in the meager
-warmth of the morning sun.
-
-Near the snowless summit crags, a flash of brown fur zigzags among the
-rocks. That would be a pika. Only for a moment does it show itself, so
-quickly does it move.
-
-Also called the rock rabbit, the diminutive pika belongs to the order of
-hares and rabbits. Resembling a small guinea pig, this sturdy creature
-spurns hibernation as a way to beat the challenge of winter. Instead, it
-spends the summer laying in a store of hay for the lean season,
-spreading cut grass to cure upon the rocks and tending its "haystacks,"
-on which its survival hangs.
-
-Winter is a great peril to small mammals. Their small bodies, because of
-a large surface area in relation to volume, retain heat poorly, and
-their high metabolic fires consume calories quickly. Great amounts of
-energy are required to sustain an active animal in rough terrain,
-placing further demands on the animal's capacity to survive the cold.
-The pika may need to stack as much as 25 kilos of hay; to keep its
-furnace burning during winter it will have to fuel its stomach almost
-hourly.
-
-Small animals of cold climates often show distinctive body adaptations.
-On the pika the small, rounded ears lie flat along the head, the tail is
-inconspicuous, the legs are short; heat loss from exposed surfaces is
-thus reduced. Fur insulates the soles of the pika's feet while at the
-same time providing good traction on steep rock faces.
-
-Hidden below these rocks are the hibernating marmots and the sleeping
-ground squirrels. Beneath the snow the mice, shrews, and pocket gophers
-struggle on with their lives. But above ground, directly confronting
-this arctic climate, are the pika, the ptarmigan, and the mountain goat.
-
-A triumph of adaptation, the mountain goat faces the winter day without
-benefit of either the pika's den or the ptarmigan's snow roost.
-
-The nanny and kid descend from their ledge to search out browse at
-treeline with other members of a loose band--yearlings, young males,
-other nannies with kids. At the fringes of the band a solitary adult
-billy only grudgingly associates with other members of his kind; for
-this is the season of rut.
-
-Not really goats at all, these relatives of the European mountaineering
-chamois are insulated from the wind by coats of long, hollow-haired fur
-overlying woolly underfur. They are stocky, stiff-legged, and
-deliberate, able to negotiate the walls and pinnacles with their
-superbly adapted hoofs. The unique design of these hoofs gives the
-animal great traction and stability on precarious crags. Opening towards
-the front, the cleft between the two hoofs spreads each outward as the
-animal descends a slope, helping to grip the rocky surface. In addition,
-the large, rough, and pliant sole of each foot conforms to the bare
-rock, increasing traction.
-
-There is little need for the goat to leave its steep sanctuaries; it can
-subsist on lichens and mosses if browse is not available. It depends on
-the inaccessibility of the cliffs for its security. Accidents,
-avalanches, and rockfall are greater enemies than predators. Golden
-eagles sometimes attempt to knock newborn kids from ledges and a young
-goat quickly retreats under its nanny when an eagle soars by. With the
-protection of sharp spike horns and a terrifying terrain, adult goats
-seldom fall victim to cougar or grizzly.
-
-It will be a long time before the snow releases this land and wapiti,
-bighorn, grizzly, and cougar wander back into these high basins. In this
-winter minimum of life, the spring songs of rosy finches, water pipits
-and white-crowned sparrows seem an impossible extravagance.
-
-
-[_]
-I am drawn to the spring tundra--to the vigor and tenacity of its sparse
-life--where survival itself seems ceremony enough. But it is a strange
-world, where a man is out of perspective. Here the plant cover is
-carpet-high, and distance, for the lack of trees, tricks the eye. Here
-the wind, snow, and sun quickly burn skin, and the intense light,
-reflected from snowbanks, stabs at the eyes. Almost instantly, a
-sandwich is sucked dry of its moisture. The desiccating wind probes the
-ears until it seems at last to pierce your brain. Except for fearful
-mountain walls the only shadow is your own. Animals seem somehow remote
-and unknowable, as if seen through glass. A day on the tundra and you
-feel the want of a company of trees.
-
-Yet once exposed, you acquire a craving for the look of tundra. Nowhere
-else is there such an impatience for spring--the flowers rush into
-bloom; the male water pipit soars, its skylark song crystal sharp in the
-thin air. The nesting birds are restless, for sun-days and warm days are
-few, precious, and quickly spent. Insects and spiders abound--flying
-about the peaks or crawling among the rocks.
-
-Summer brings bands of bighorn rams up from the valley to explore the
-highest meadows. Though not so sure-footed as the goats, they too have
-hoofs adapted to climbing steep faces, and they walk the slopes not far
-below the goats.
-
-Marmots, which whistle sharply when threatened, spend their days
-sunbathing and grazing; they must fill out their now loose-hanging fur
-coats with life-sustaining fat for the coming winter.
-
-Alpine animals are blessed with mobility and can choose their weathers,
-retreating to burrow, den, or rock-harbor to escape the worst fury of
-storms. But what about the plants, rooted forever in one spot, assaulted
-by an untempered sun and a drying wind, and facing the almost daily
-threat of freeze and storm?
-
-Alpine plants, through their design and growing habits, have adapted
-themselves to the rigorous demands of this climate in many ways. Most
-plants are perennial: there just aren't enough days or nutrients
-available for the growing of entire plants each year from seed. And they
-have the ability to grow and carry on photosynthesis at temperatures
-just above freezing, thus extending their season. In this zone,
-temperatures are rarely above 15� C; the mean summer temperature is
-about 10� C. But a flower such as the alpine buttercup, which is found
-at treeline or above, can grow through several centimeters of snow; heat
-given off during the plant's respiration will create an opening through
-which it can emerge.
-
-Plants have various adaptations to meet the demands of the alpine
-environment. Yellow stonecrop, not restricted to this zone, is
-nevertheless able to survive here because of its fleshy succulence and a
-waxy covering that prevents water loss. On some plants, protective hairs
-covering leaves and stems help retard the burning effects of wind and
-sun. Often this pubescent foliage looks more grey than green, for the
-soft hairs mute the color.
-
-Cushion growth is another alpine adaptation. The moss campion cushion,
-covered with delicate pink flowers, grows to about one-third of a meter
-across and only 3 to 5 centimeters high. Spreading out close to the
-ground, the plant avoids the major violence of the wind and hoards
-moisture like a sponge.
-
-The dryad, growing abundantly on the windy sweep of Siyeh Pass, shows
-alpine adaptations in several ways. The energy of the mature plant is
-channeled primarily into reproduction: its large flower, supported by a
-short stem, matures quickly; and it produces many seeds, ensuring
-germination of a few. An evergreen, it begins to synthesize water and
-carbon dioxide into food as soon as the snow is gone; and its rolled
-leaves prevent rapid evaporation. It grows as a low and woody mat that
-year by year extends itself through the production of new shoots that
-carpet the rock. Mat growth has the advantage of retaining dead plant
-material and capturing wind-blown grains of soil, allowing the plant
-slowly to enlarge its soil base.
-
-Compared to the forest, the heartbeat of the tundra is painfully slow.
-Here a plant may grow for a quarter of a century before it has acquired
-the reserves necessary for flowering. Contrasted with the progress on
-the tundra, forest succession races by with dizzying speed. Yet
-imperceptible as the change may be the alpine plant community also
-passes from pioneer to climax.
-
-Beyond the limit of other plants, lichens thrive, encrusting rocks with
-their rainbow colors. A lichen is actually a primitive and highly
-successful association between a fungus and an alga, working together
-for mutual benefit. The fungus protects the delicate alga, trapping and
-holding moisture; the green alga, in turn, produces enough food to
-sustain the needs of the fungus.
-
-Generating rock-disintegrating acids that help secure this partnership
-to the rock, lichens, along with physical weathering, help break down
-the rocks into soil particles. Collected in pockets by run-off or wind,
-rudimentary soil is slowly invaded by cushion plants. After centuries of
-colonization by these, while the meager soil is deepened and enriched
-and moisture retention is increased, other plants move in, climaxing at
-last in hardy grasses and sedges. As in the forest, pioneer species
-change the environment to their detriment, creating a habitat better
-suited to other species.
-
-Although it will progress with geologic slowness, the rocky ground of
-Siyeh Pass--its plant cover presently scant and wind-rowed by
-frost-heave and relentless wind--will in time develop grasses and
-sedges, the climax vegetation of the alpine meadows.
-
-
-[_]
-Simplicity rules the alpine zone. Here life is reduced to bare
-essentials. Chief controlling force is climate; but the plants and
-animals that live here are well adapted. Compared to the lower realms,
-where both competition and predation are fierce, life here looks secure.
-
-There is a penalty to simplicity. In the lowland, the long food chains
-and diversity of species, the long growing season, and the abundant food
-supply give the forest an adjustment mechanism and healing power not
-found on the critically balanced tundra. The greater the variety in a
-plant and animal community, the greater the stability. So in the alpine
-world there exists a paradox: the most durable life forms constitute the
-most fragile community.
-
-
-The Water Communities
-
-Snowfields begin again their summer-long melt. The alpine stream, vocal
-again, collects its water from a thousand places. Miniature gorges drain
-the meadow, gurgling with the sparkle and rush of meltwater in the
-lengthening spring days.
-
-Gathering volume, the stream seems to hurry faster; at the first rock
-staircase, it begins to sing. I follow the gully downward, drawn like
-the water. There is excitement in the growing dash and roar, a wind-gust
-sweeping spray into the air. A rainbow appears, holding steady to the
-swirling cloud of spray, then doubles and abruptly disappears.
-
-At the first great plunge the water lunges outward over the lip. Like
-glass at shattering, long shards lance out. But the wind feathers the
-sharp edges as they fall.
-
-The close thunder of a waterfall beats at your head, and your mind must
-shout to think. Here is water, a most amazing and most important
-substance. Perhaps some of this same water was once part of the ancient
-sea in which was laid down the mudstone of this ledge; was once drunk by
-dinosaurs; has coursed the globe countless times; and has flowed in this
-very stream before. In solid, liquid, or gaseous form, it goes through
-its own cycle. Together with sunlight, water makes possible and
-maintains all life on Earth.
-
-
-                              Ouzel Music
-
-A glacier might cling to a winter snow a hundred years and turn it to
-ice, a blue tool to rasp and pluck at rocks, before letting it go.
-Lingering summer snowfields might delay its passage for a time. But the
-water always wins at last, becoming, in one decisive instant, liquid
-again, and beginning its long journey to the sea. Plants and dry air
-will intercept some of its molecules, sending them back into the
-atmosphere to bloom as fog and cloud; but as rain, snow, or dew, these
-are soon commissioned to the land again.
-
-Water is so familiar to us that we seldom think about it. We know that
-fish swim in the lower lakes, and we are vaguely aware of the
-bewildering assortment of life-forms abounding in a pond. But life
-begins in the streams.
-
-Even cups of cold meltwaters, scooped out of a rivulet only a few meters
-away from its snowbank source, contain some life. Snow algae, which grow
-on the snowbank surface, often sufficiently dense to give the snow a
-distinctive red complexion, are released into the meltwater. In summer,
-small invertebrate life can be discovered in the standing pools of even
-the highest cirque.
-
-But conditions are not good for the development of complete aquatic food
-chains in the streams and lakes of higher elevations. Alpine lakes, or
-tarns, support little visible life. Often flanked by high ridges and
-peaks, many tarns receive scant direct sunlight during the day. Since
-these lakes occupy basins that capture tremendous amounts of snowfall,
-the snowbanks persist in the mountain shadows, and summer makes little
-progress in warming the water. Iceberg Lake, for example, is seldom free
-of floating ice, and its temperature never rises above 4� C in summer,
-even at the surface.
-
-Moving out of the cirque lakes, water is soon churning again, dashing
-downward many hundreds of meters to the valleys below, in rapids,
-cascades, and breathless waterfalls. Not surprisingly, few plants and
-animals are adapted to life in fast-moving water.
-
-Algae can be found covering streambed rocks and stranded, water-polished
-tree trunks. Securely attached by holdfasts, these small plant forms
-survive the rigorous stream flow that would destroy the larger vascular
-plants. Several species exist, from microscopic forms to branched
-filamentous algae whose long hairlike strands wave in the current.
-
-A surprising number of insects live on the stream bottom, finding a
-measure of protection from the current in the jumble of rocks.
-Underwater beetles live under the gravel or among the debris at the
-stream-edge, or cling to stones and sticks. Scurrying and creeping among
-the rock-crannies are the larvae of stoneflies, mayflies, and
-caddisflies. These and the small fish that venture up from lower lakes
-are the food of the water ouzel, a creature that loves the places where
-the waters thunder.
-
-
-[_]
-The noise of the water is overpowering. A slip into this boiling rage
-would mean quick death. Looking 10 meters across the dim, mist-slippery,
-water-scoured canyon, I see a young water ouzel peering out of its
-unique nest, on the lookout for its parents. Clouds of spray keep the
-nest of living moss continually wet; but this bird is waterproofed with
-an oily plumage and keeps its vigil at the nest opening. Peering into
-the torrent below, then upstream and downstream, it awaits patiently the
-delivery of the next meal.
-
-With the approach of one of the adults, three other heads crowd the
-opening, begging yellow mouths agape. Flying low, the ouzel parent zeros
-through the heavy spray, alighting on a slippery boulder below the nest
-ledge. Preparing to fly up to the nest with its load of insect larvae,
-the ouzel spots me across the water. At its sharp _jigic, jigic_ alarm,
-the bills of the young snap instantly shut. Nervously the bird regards
-my close presence, dipping its entire body rapidly up and down, as if
-keeping time with the surging torrent.
-
-Discovering no danger, the dusky blue-grey bird bobs more slowly. The
-other adult, returning from an upstream forage, alights on the same
-rock, occasioning a new outcry from the fledglings. Each in turn, the
-parent birds fly up to feed their young, beating their wings to maintain
-their position at the perchless nest. Not pausing to regard me further,
-they split the stream between them again, one flying upstream and one
-down, to continue the hunt. Blinking and shaking the collected mist from
-its bill, the single young sentry renews its watch.
-
-
-                           In Shallow Waters
-
-Life abounds in the shallow lakes and ponds. Calm, protected John's Lake
-offers a fine example of how a complex aquatic plant-and-animal
-community can exist in balance in a confined space. The water teems with
-the microscopic algae, protozoans, and rotifers that sustain the barely
-visible zooplankton. Dancing, flitting, hopping, and swaying through the
-water, these zooplankton in turn support the larger plankton-eating
-animals.
-
-Dragonflies and damselflies shoot past, crackling their wings, and perch
-in the bog grass. Looking into the shallow water, you will see a wealth
-of small animal life. A spotted frog swims into view, floating to the
-surface beside a lily pad so that its eyes protrude above the water.
-
-The ribbonlike form of a leech swims across the bottom toward deeper
-water. Looking closer, you see that the water swarms with bizarre
-shapes--water boatmen propelling themselves with oarlike appendages, a
-gliding mayfly nymph, then a predacious diving beetle surfacing,
-grasping a bubble of air beneath its shiny brown wing plates and
-disappearing downward again--the bubble's edge shining silver--into the
-brown bottom debris. Suddenly a whirligig beetle sets the surface to
-spinning, wrinkling the view below.
-
-Everywhere in the water there is animal life, forms that are attached,
-free-swimming, crawling on the bottom, and clinging to or swimming on
-the surface film. The gray, slimy encrustation on a sunken log looks
-like a covering of lichen but is really a freshwater sponge, a colonial
-animal that feeds by filtering minute plankton from the water. Another
-attached creature is the barely visible hydra; this twig-shaped
-predator, related to marine jellyfish, captures water fleas and other
-small animals in its several poisonous tentacles.
-
-Water beetles, backswimmers, water boatmen, and many other creatures
-move about more or less freely in the water, propelling themselves along
-with jerky movements. Suspended between surface and bottom are the
-zooplankton, the tiny water fleas, cyclops, daphnia, and others, which
-feed by filtering minute algae. On the bottom and below live scavenging
-worms. Water striders skate on the surface film.
-
-Along the shore, frogs, salamanders, garter snakes, and water shrews are
-hunting. Dabbling and diving ducks patrol about, tipping or submerging
-for the bottom plants. Moose tracks circle the muddy shore. Because it
-produces vegetation abundantly, John's Lake sustains a great diversity
-of animal life.
-
-
-                              Beaver Ponds
-
-Fully 10 percent of all the present meadow area in the Rocky Mountains
-is estimated to have been created by beaver, the only animal besides man
-that engineers extensive changes in the environment to suit its own
-needs.
-
-When beavers dam a stream, they set in motion another form of
-succession. If the resulting backwater floods a forest area, the trees
-are soon killed, creating a broad opening in the forest canopy.
-Water-associated plants and shrubs quickly invade the pond and
-shoreline, creating favorable habitat for waterfowl, moose, blackbirds,
-amphibians, wading birds, warblers, marsh hawks, and a score of other
-animals.
-
-After many years the water becomes shallow, filling in with silt and
-plant debris. When the beavers abandon the site, the dam may rupture for
-lack of maintenance and the pond will rapidly drain. Or it may continue
-to hold, delaying for several more years its slow conversion to meadow.
-Stimulated by the nutrient-rich mud, the water grasses, sedges, and
-shrubs finally choke the water with their accumulating debris,
-transforming the area into a bog.
-
-Gradually the ground firms as more humus is created and more silt is
-trapped. The area becomes meadow, supporting grasses, sedges, and other
-flowering plants. Trees begin to reinvade the drier ground, and
-eventually the meadow reverts to forest. Centuries may be required to
-see this cycle through, from forest to pond, to bog, to meadow, to
-forest again. At each stage many of the animal inhabitants change: the
-song of the western robin and the chatter of a red squirrel in the
-original, pre-beaver forest give way to the croak of a heron; the heron
-is replaced by the insect-and-berry-eating cedar waxwing; the waxwing is
-followed by the tree-dwelling western robin and red squirrel.
-
-
-                          Lakes Cold and Deep
-
-Seeming to skate on its own reflection, a spotted sandpiper comes in low
-over the quiet water, wingtips almost touching the surface of the lake.
-It alights at the shore and folds its wings. Amid the rounded rocks,
-this plain but elegant little shorebird is all but swallowed up.
-Teetering constantly on long legs, it sets off along the water's edge,
-pecking here and there, coming closer and closer, never forgetting to
-stop and curtsy, as if acknowledging, while hurrying offstage, the
-applause of an audience.
-
-As it draws near, several water striders skate away from the shore. A
-stonefly, scuttling between two rocks, is deftly speared. So large a
-morsel makes the bird pause and rough its feathers, then scamper into
-the water to take a drink. Teetering again, it passes in front of me and
-continues down the shore, where I soon lose sight of it rounding a rocky
-point.
-
-I am sitting at the foot of Lake McDonald, watching the darkness gather
-over the valley, seeing the last light slide upward to the tips of the
-distant mountains. As daylight dissolves, this long fleet of familiar
-peaks seems almost to glide toward darkness, slow and silent as sailing
-ships.
-
-The sheet of motionless water stretches many kilometers away between
-tree-covered moraines. The water is deep and cold. No emergent plants
-line the barren shore. It would seem that no life, except for the single
-gull that rests on the water far away, exists in this nearly
-thousand-meter-high lake.
-
-
-[_]
-Considering the great volume of Glacier's large, deep lakes, the life
-they support is indeed meager. A large part of the reason lies with the
-nature of their shores, where almost no plants grow. A combination of
-factors prevents the development of a lush shoreline growth.
-
-Contoured like bathtubs, these steep-sided lakes exhibit narrow or
-non-existent shoreline shallows, which are vital for the production of
-rooted plants. Strong wave action and extensive seasonal fluctuations in
-the level of these natural reservoirs prevent the development of
-emergent water plants in locations where they might otherwise be
-expected.
-
-Since sunlight cannot penetrate to the bottom of these deep lakes, they
-are deprived of bottom-anchored plants in midlake as well. As a result,
-herbivorous animal life must depend almost wholly on algal growth. Wave
-action inhibits the spread of free-floating algae by washing much of it
-onto the shore. Deep lakes are also low in available oxygen, preventing
-the development of bottom decomposers, which would rapidly release
-nutrients as they break down the accumulating debris washed into the
-lake. Without a steady supply of nutrients, plant growth is retarded.
-
-Since the food chain depends upon green plants, the ability of a lake to
-support higher animals such as fish depends upon its ability first to
-produce adequate plant growth. The production of one kilo of trout
-requires that a lake produce about 1,000 kilos of plants to support 100
-kilos of herbivorous invertebrates, which are eaten by 10 kilos of
-carnivorous insects, on which the trout feed.
-
-Compared to smaller shallow lakes, which teem with visible life, cold,
-deep, nutrient-poor lakes such as McDonald appear to be watery deserts.
-Yet because of their great volume--Lake McDonald contains 5 or 6 cubic
-kilometers of water--these large lakes do sustain significant numbers of
-fish. Of the 22 kinds of fishes found within the park, most are
-coldwater species. Trout, whitefish, grayling, suckers, minnows, and
-carp fill the roles of herbivore, carnivore, and scavenger. Agile,
-highly mobile, and acutely sensitive, fish represent the most successful
-total adaptation to the aquatic environment.
-
-Through the stocking of nonnative species, including plantings in
-formerly fish-free lakes, the natural aquatic communities of many of
-Glacier's lakes and streams have been permanently modified.
-
-Aquatic food chains are not confined to the water. Ospreys, ducks,
-mergansers, otter, mink, and many other semi-aquatic or terrestrial
-birds and mammals utilize the plants and animals of the water. In fall,
-a remarkable spectacle occurs along the outlet of Lake McDonald.
-Attracted to the kokanee salmon concentrations, which run from Flathead
-Lake to spawn and die in these clear, shallow waters, bald eagles
-collect to exploit the vulnerable fish. In 1977, 444 eagles were counted
-in one census. This food resource is also exploited by grizzlies,
-coyotes, skunks, gulls, loons, and other animals. On occasion, even
-white-tail deer have been observed swallowing salmon!
-
-    [Illustration: Sunset]
-
-
-
-
-                                 Shooting Stars
-
-
-This park is very special. The people who know it well feel proprietary
-toward its mountains, scattered lakes, and glaciers. Perhaps it is the
-arrangement of the land, an unsurpassed concentration of American
-wilderness. Time and again I have thought, as I regarded some aspect of
-this country, _yes, this is exactly right_--almost, it would seem, as if
-some magic existed that could translate thought and emotion into rock
-and bark.
-
-Glacier remains largely unexploited, bearing still the aspect of the
-Earth the Indians knew for 500 generations--a land where it is yet
-possible to feel a sense of discovery, sense that a single man matters.
-On too many mountains, man has tarnished whatever he has touched; but
-here the land has shed, as a fir sloughs snow, a long succession of
-traders, trappers, explorers, hunters, surveyors, prospectors, loggers,
-settlers, and tourists.
-
-You may walk the same trail a dozen times and not tire of the view. I
-have given up wondering why. I know only that these are mountains a man
-might grow old with, and that mountain-fever never diminishes but only
-changes its look, as a forest does over many years.
-
-Repeatedly I have noticed that this park creates an instant bond between
-strangers. A certain pause intrudes at the first mention of Glacier
-National Park, and a look of distance comes, as Red Eagle becomes real
-again, or the wind at Firebrand is remembered, or the flowers of
-Fifty-Mountain converge once more upon the senses.
-
-Never are we quenched. If a goshawk rushes past, straining upward with
-its squirming load of ground squirrel, forever afterward our blood
-demands more. The sight of a wolverine running is not enough. Nor the
-magnificent assemblage of bald eagles feasting on November salmon. More
-days of this: mountain goats leaping impossible ledges, wave tracks from
-a beaver reaching out on dawn water. There are messages here, loud as
-kingfishers. The land has languages, stories to tell.
-
-But in wilderness there is no moral, save that it must continue. For all
-our probings and plottings we discover no adequate interpretation of the
-forces we find swirling about us. A larch you must touch to know; your
-neck must feel the ache of too much looking up. Watch its treepoint
-pirouette. Then, looking back at the world level, you will find that you
-have lost all answers. We have learned the art of building bridges,
-cataloging plants, predicting what a shrew might do. Of the essential
-mystery, we know nothing.
-
-For nature assigns no "roles" to its creatures; there is no "reason" for
-a forest fire, which burns mightily but with no intent. Life's only
-"purpose" is the feeding of life, and the beauty we see therein is but
-its lack of guarantee: for the chipmunk and the weasel, and the man who
-measures his life to theirs, no assurance of long days and tempered
-seasons, abundant seeds, ample meat. In wilderness there is mystery yet,
-unsimplified, not reduced, resplendent and immense.
-
-Whatever the conclusion of this planet, however many the acts to follow
-in this consuming drama--mountains coming up, mountains going down,
-forests, lakes, and seas skimming past like wind-driven scud clouds
-before a storm--at least in the scant shadow of this present age there
-is an achievement of sorts. For now, with this creature man, such things
-as mountains can be loved. And men have memories to fill.
-
-Tomorrow I will look for shooting stars--purple spring flowers that
-point their fire down, always down toward the center of the Earth, as if
-to give in their brief term beneath the sun a tribute to this most
-excellent mystery.
-
-Today I can say nothing more, neck-sore now from looking at larchtops
-swaying with the wind of this splendid morning.
-
-    [Illustration: Shooting star.]
-
-    [Illustration: Mountain goats.]
-
-
-
-
-                                    Appendix
-
-
-Mammals of Glacier National Park
-
-Distribution information was obtained from _Meet the Mammals of
-Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park_, by Robert C. Gildart (see
-Reading List). Nomenclature follows, for the most part, _a Field Guide
-to Mammals_, by William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider.
-
-  Key to symbols:
-  E--occurs east of Continental Divide (spruce-fir forest; aspen;
-          bunchgrass meadows)
-  W--occurs west of Continental Divide
-          (redcedar-hemlock-lodgepole-fir-larch forest; some meadows)
-  A--occurs in alpine areas (above upper edge of continuous forest)
-  R--rare in Glacier National Park
-
-  Shrews
-  Masked shrew, _Sorex cinereus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, meadows, pond and stream edges
-  Vagrant shrew, _Sorex vagrans_
-  E, W, A, moist forests and grasslands, marsh and stream edges
-  Northern water shrew, _Sorex palustris_
-  E, W, stream edges
-
-  Bats
-  Little brown myotis, _Myotis lucifugus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, often around buildings, caves; nocturnal
-  Long-eared myotis, _Myotis evotis_
-  E, W, A, R, coniferous forests, meadows; nocturnal
-  Long-legged myotis, _Myotis volans_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, meadows; nocturnal
-  Big brown bat, _Eptesicus fuscus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; often around buildings, caves; nocturnal
-  Silver-haired bat, _Lasionycteris noctivagans_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; meadows; nocturnal
-  Hoary bat, _Lasiurus cinereus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; mostly nocturnal
-
-    [Illustration: Cougar]
-
-  Cats
-  Bobcat, _Lynx rufus_
-  E, open forests, brushy areas
-  Lynx, _Lynx canadensis_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Cougar, _Felis concolor_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-
-  Raccoon, bears
-  Raccoon, _Procyon lotor_
-  E, W, R, open forests, stream bottoms
-  Black bear, _Ursus americanus_
-  E, W, A, forests, slide areas, alpine meadows
-  Grizzly, _Ursus arctos_
-  E, W, A, forests, slide areas, alpine meadows
-
-    [Illustration: Coyote]
-
-  Canines
-  Red Fox, _Vulpes vulpes_
-  E, grasslands, open forest
-  Coyote, _Canis latrans_
-  E, W, A, forests, grasslands
-  Gray wolf, _Canis lupus_
-  E, W, R, coniferous forests
-
-    [Illustration: Wolverine]
-
-    [Illustration: Longtail weasel]
-
-  Mustelids
-  Striped skunk, _Mephitis mephitis_
-  E, W, open forests, grasslands
-  Badger, _Taxidea taxus_
-  E, W, grasslands
-  River otter, _Lutra canadensis_
-  E, W, R, rivers, lakes
-  Wolverine, _Gulo gulo_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, alpine meadows
-  Least weasel, _Mustela rixosa_
-  E, R, open forests, grasslands
-  Shorttail weasel, _Mustela erminea_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, meadows
-  Longtail weasel, _Mustela frenata_
-  E, W, A, open forests, meadows
-  Mink, _Mustela vison_
-  E, W, creek and lake edges
-  Marten, _Martes americana_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests
-  Fisher, _Martes pennanti_
-  E, W, R, coniferous forests
-
-  Lagomorphs
-  Pika, _Ochotona princeps_
-  E, W, A, rockslides
-  Snowshoe hare, _Lepus americanus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Whitetail jackrabbit, _Lepus townsendii_
-  E, W, R, grasslands
-
-  Squirrels
-  Hoary marmot, _Marmota caligata_
-  E, W, A, rocky areas, alpine meadows
-  Richardson ground squirrel, _Spermophilus richardsonii_
-  E, R, grasslands
-  Columbian ground squirrel, _Citellus columbianus_
-  E, W, A, open woodlands, grasslands, alpine meadows
-  Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, _Spermophilus tridecemlineatus_
-  E, R, grasslands
-  Golden-mantled squirrel, _Spermophilus lateralis_
-  E, W, A, high, open forests; rocky areas
-  Least chipmunk, _Eutamias minimus_
-  E, W, A, high, open forests; brushy, rocky areas; alpine meadows
-  Yellow pine chipmunk, _Eutamias amoenus_
-  E, W, open forests; brushy, rocky areas
-  Redtail chipmunk, _Eutamias ruficaudus_
-  E, W, open forests; brushy, rocky areas
-  Red squirrel, _Tamiasciurus hudsonicus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Northern flying squirrel, _Glaucomys sabrinus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests; nocturnal
-
-  Pocket gophers
-  Northern pocket gopher, _Thomomys talpoides_
-  E, W, A, meadows
-
-    [Illustration: Beaver]
-
-  Beaver
-  Beaver, _Castor canadensis_
-  E, W, streams, lakes
-
-  Voles and kin
-  Deer mouse, _Peromyscus maniculatus_
-  E, W, A, forests, grasslands, alpine meadows
-  Bushytail woodrat, _Neotoma cinerea_
-  E, W, A, rocky areas, old buildings
-  Northern bog lemming, _Synaptomys borealis_
-  W, R, coniferous forests
-  Mountain phenacomys, _Phenacomys intermedius_
-  E, W, A, coniferous forests, alpine meadows
-  Boreal redback vole, _Clethrionomys gapperi_
-  E, W, coniferous forests
-  Meadow vole, _Microtus pennsylvanicus_
-  E, W, open forests, meadows; along streams; marshy areas
-  Longtail vole, _Microtus longicaudus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, grasslands
-  Water vole, _Arvicola richardsoni_
-  E, W, A, high-elevation stream and lake edges
-  Muskrat, _Ondatra zibethica_
-  W, streams, lakes, marshy areas
-  Western jumping mouse, _Zapus princeps_
-  E, W, A, grasslands, alpine meadows
-
-  Deer
-  Wapiti (American elk), _Cervus canadensis_
-  E, W, A, open forests, meadows
-  Mule deer, _Odocoileus hemionus_
-  E, W, A, open forests, meadows, often at high elevations
-  Whitetail deer, _Odocoileus virginianus_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, meadows, creek and river bottoms
-  Moose, _Alces alces_
-  E, W, coniferous forests, lakes, slow streams, marshy areas
-
-    [Illustration: Mountain goat]
-
-  Bovids
-  Mountain goat, _Oreamnos americanus_
-  E, W, A, high peaks and meadows
-  Bighorn, _Ovis canadensis_
-  E, A, open mountainous areas
-
-
-Reptiles and Amphibians of Glacier National Park
-
-Note: This check list is based upon actual specimens in the Park and
-other collections, according to Dr. Royal Brunson, Montana State
-University.
-
-  Reptiles
-  Great Basin Garter Snake, _Thamnophis elegans vagrans_
-  A large garter snake of mountainous areas, usually with large spots.
-
-  Great Plains Red-sided Garter Snake, _Thamnophis ordinoides
-          parietalis_
-  Dorsal stripes varying from yellow to blue or black. Usually found
-          near water.
-
-  Hypothetical List:
-  Rubber Boa, _Charina bottae utahensis_
-  May occur in rock slides or, possibly, in forested areas, on either
-          side of the Divide.
-
-  Gopher Snake, _Pituophis catenifer sayi_
-  May occur along eastern boundary (Great Plains).
-
-  Yellow-bellied Blue Racer, _Coluber constrictor mormon_
-  May occur on eastern boundary of Park along border of Great Plains.
-
-  Painted Turtle, _Chrysemys picta_
-  May occur in ponds and sluggish waters from Upper Sonoran Zone to
-          Canadian Zone.
-
-  Western Skink, _Eumeces skiltonianus_
-  May occur in Transition Zone along western border of Park.
-
-    [Illustration: Northern Alligator Lizard]
-
-  Northern Alligator Lizard, _Gerrhonotus coeruleus principis_
-  May occur in Transition Zone along western border of Park.
-
-  Amphibians
-  Tiger Salamander, _Ambystoma tigrinum melanostrictum_
-  Ground color either black or bluish-black, with large spots or
-          blotches of yellow.
-
-  Long-toed Salamander, _Ambystoma macrodactylum_
-  Ground color black or dark brown; wide band of yellow extends from
-          back of head to tip of tail.
-
-  Northwestern Toad, _Bufo boreas boreas_
-  Widely distributed over entire Park. (Also known as Columbian,
-          Northern, or Western Toad.)
-
-    [Illustration: Western Spotted Frog]
-
-  Western Spotted Frog, _Rana pretiosa pretiosa_
-  Widely distributed over entire Park. (Also known as Western or Pacific
-          Frog.)
-
-  Green Frog, _Rana clamitans_
-  One specimen, from Bowman Lake. (Chicago Natural History Museum)
-
-  Tailed Frog, _Ascaphus truei_
-  Should be fairly common, although it is not often taken.
-
-  Pacific Tree-toad, _Hyla regilla_
-  Small size and disks on fingers and toes identify this species. Common
-          throughout Park.
-
-
-Fishes of Glacier National Park
-
-Classification and common scientific names are from: "A List of Common
-and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada,"
-American Fisheries Society Publication No. 2, 1960.
-
-  Key to symbols:
-  N Species native to at least one major drainage of the Park.
-  I Non-native species, having been introduced into Park waters by man.
-  S A species of sporting qualities and valued for recreational angling.
-  1 Waterton Drainage
-  2 Belly River Drainage
-  3 Swiftcurrent Drainage
-  4 St. Mary Drainage
-  5 Two Medicine Drainage
-  6 Middle Fork Flathead River Drainage (exclusive of McDonald Valley)
-  7 McDonald Valley Drainage
-  8 North Fork Flathead River Drainage
-
-    [Illustration: Lake Trout]
-
-  Family _Salmonidae_ (trouts, whitefishes, and grayling)
-  Lake Whitefish, _Coregonus clupeaformis_ (I) (1, 2, 3, 4, 7)
-  Pygmy Whitefish, _Prosopium coulteri_ (N) (7)
-  Mountain Whitefish, _Prosopium williamsoni_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
-          7, 8)
-  Kokanee (Sockeye) Salmon, _Oncorhyncus nerka_ (I) (S) (3, 7, 8)
-  Cutthroat Trout, _Salmo clarki_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-  Rainbow Trout, _Salmo gairdneri_ (I) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7)
-  Brook Trout, _Salvelinus fontinalis_ (I) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-  Dolly Varden, _Salvelinus malma_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8)
-  Lake Trout, _Salvelinus namaycush_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
-  Arctic Grayling, _Thymallus arcticus_ (I) (S) (2, 8)
-
-  Family _Esocidae_ (pikes)
-  Northern pike, _Esox lucius_ (N) (S) (1, 2, 3)
-
-    [Illustration: Redside Shiner]
-
-  Family _Cyprinidae_ (minnows and carps)
-  Longnose Dace, _Rhinichthys cataractae_ (N) (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-  Northern Pearl Dace, _Margariscus margarita_ (N) (3, 5)
-  Redside Shiner, _Richardsonius balteatus_ (N) (7, 8)
-  Streamline Chub, _Hybopsis dissimilis_ (N) (1, 3)
-  Northern Squawfish, _Ptychocheilus oregonensis_ (N) (7, 8)
-
-    [Illustration: White Sucker]
-
-  Family _Catostomidae_ (suckers)
-  White Sucker, _Catostomus commersoni_ (N) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
-  Largescale Sucker, _Catostomus macrocheilus_ (N) (6, 7, 8)
-  Longnose Sucker, _Catostomus catostomus_ (N) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-  Family _Gadidaie_ (codfishes and hakes)
-  Burbot, _Lota lota_ (N) (S) (1, 4)
-
-  Family _Cottidae_ (sculpins)
-  Mottled sculpin, _Cottus bairdi_ (N) (5, 6, 7, 8)
-  Spoonhead sculpin, _Cottus ricei_ (N) (1, 2, 3, 4)
-
-
-Birds of Glacier National Park
-
-  Key to symbols:
-  E--occurs on east side of the park (east of the Divide)
-  W--occurs on west side of the park (west of the Divide)
-  A--occurs in alpine areas
-  ab--abundant
-  c--common
-  u--uncommon
-  r--rare
-  i--introduced
-  a--accidental
-
-    [Illustration: Common Loon]
-
-  Loons
-  Common Loon E, W, ab
-  Arctic Loon?
-  Red-throated Loon?
-
-    [Illustration: Western Grebe]
-
-  Grebes
-  Red-necked Grebe E, W, c
-  Horned Grebe E, W, ab
-  Eared Grebe E, W, c
-  Western Grebe E, W, u
-  Pied-billed Grebe E, W, r
-
-  Pelicans, Cormorants
-  White Pelican E, W, u
-  Double-crested Cormorant E, r
-
-    [Illustration: Great Blue Heron]
-
-    [Illustration: American Bittern]
-
-  Herons, Bitterns
-  Great Blue Heron E, W, c
-  Black-crowned Night Heron a
-  American Bittern, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Mallard]
-
-    [Illustration: Wood Duck]
-
-    [Illustration: Ruddy Duck]
-
-  Swan, Geese, Ducks
-  Whistling Swan E, W, ab
-  Trumpeter Swan E, W, r
-  Canada Goose E, W, c
-  Snow Goose E, W, c
-  Ross' Goose E, W, r
-  Mallard E, W, ab
-  Gadwall E, W, r
-  Pintail E, W, c
-  Green-winged Teal E, W, c
-  Blue-winged Teal E, W, u
-  Cinnamon Teal E, W, u
-  European Widgeon E, W, c
-  American Widgeon E, W, ab
-  Northern Shoveler E, W, c
-  Wood Duck E, W, r
-  Redhead E, W, c
-  Ring-necked Duck E, W, u
-  Canvasback E, W, u
-  Lesser Scaup E, W, c
-  Greater Scaup?
-  Common Goldeneye E, W, c
-  Barrow's Goldeneye E, W, ab
-  Bufflehead E, W, u
-  Harlequin Duck E, W, c
-  White-winged Scoter E, W, r
-  Ruddy Duck E, W, c
-  Hooded Merganser E, W, u
-  Common Merganser E, W, ab
-  Red-breasted Merganser, E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Cooper's Hawk]
-
-    [Illustration: Marsh Hawk]
-
-  Vultures, Hawks, Eagles
-  Turkey Vulture E, W, r
-  Goshawk E, W, c
-  Sharp-shinned Hawk E, W, u
-  Cooper's Hawk E, W, u
-  Red-tailed Hawk E, W, c
-  Red-shouldered Hawk a
-  Swainson's Hawk E, W, c
-  Rough-legged Hawk E, W, r
-  Ferruginous Hawk E, W, u
-  Golden Eagle, E, W, A, c
-  Bald Eagle, E, W, ab
-  Marsh Hawk E, W, ab
-  Osprey E, W, ab
-  Prairie Falcon E, W, A, r
-  Peregrine Falcon E, W, r
-  American Kestrel E, W, c
-
-    [Illustration: Sharp-tailed Grouse]
-
-  Grouse, Ptarmigans
-  Blue Grouse, E, W, ab
-  Spruce Grouse E, W, ab
-  Ruffed Grouse E, W, ab
-  Sharp-tailed Grouse E, r
-  White-tailed Ptarmigan A, c
-  Willow Ptarmigan ?
-  Ring-necked Pheasant E, W, r, i
-  Gray Partridge E, W, r, i
-
-  Cranes
-  Sandhill Crane E, r
-
-    [Illustration: American Coot]
-
-  Rails, Coots
-  Sora E, W, r
-  American Coot E, W, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Greater Yellowlegs]
-
-  Shorebirds
-  Killdeer E, W, c
-  Black-bellied Plover E, r
-  Common Snipe E, W, c
-  Long-billed Curlew E, r
-  Upland Sandpiper E, r
-  Spotted Sandpiper E, W, A, ab
-  Solitary Sandpiper E, r
-  Willet, E, r
-  Pectoral Sandpiper E, r
-  Baird's Sandpiper E, W, r
-  Lesser Yellowlegs, E, W r
-  Greater Yellowlegs E, W, r
-  American Avocet E, W, u
-  Northern Phalarope E, W, r
-  Wilson's Phalarope E, W, u
-  Black Turnstone ?
-  Long-billed Dowitcher E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Herring Gull]
-
-  Gulls, Terns
-  Herring Gull E, W, r
-  California Gull E, W, ab
-  Ring-billed Gull E, W, c
-  Franklin's Gull E, W, c
-  Bonaparte's Gull E, u
-  Forster's Tern E, W, u
-  Common Tern E, r
-  Caspian Tern a
-  Black Tern E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Mourning Dove]
-
-  Doves, Pigeons
-  Band-tailed Pigeon E, W, r
-  Mourning Dove E, W, c
-  Rock Dove E, W, r, i
-
-    [Illustration: Great Horned Owl]
-
-  Owls
-  Screech Owl E, W, r
-  Great Horned Owl E, W, ab
-  Snowy Owl E, W, u
-  Hawk Owl E, W, u
-  Pygmy Owl E, W, ab
-  Barred Owl E, W, c
-  Great Gray Owl E, W, u
-  Long-eared Owl E, W, r
-  Short-eared Owl, E, W, c
-  Boreal Owl E, W, r
-  Saw-whet Owl E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Common Nighthawk]
-
-  Nighthawks, Swifts
-  Common Nighthawk E, W, ab
-  Black Swift E, W, u
-  Vaux's Swift E, W, ab
-  White-throated Swift W, A, r
-
-  Hummingbirds
-  Broad-tailed Hummingbird E, W, r
-  Rufous Hummingbird E, W, A, ab
-  Calliope Hummingbird E, W, A, ab
-  Black-chinned Hummingbird E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Belted Kingfisher]
-
-  Kingfishers
-  Belted Kingfisher E, W, ab
-
-  Woodpeckers
-  Common Flicker E, W, ab
-  Pileated Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Red-headed Woodpecker E, W, r
-  Lewis' Woodpecker E, W, c
-  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker E, W, ab
-  Williamson's Sapsucker E, W, u
-  Hairy Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Downy Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker E, W, ab
-  Northern Three-toed Woodpecker E, W, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Ash-throated Flycatcher]
-
-  Flycatchers
-  Eastern Kingbird E, W, ab
-  Western Kingbird E, W, u
-  Ash-throated Flycatcher a
-  Say's Phoebe E, W, r
-  Willow Flycatcher E, W, c
-  Hammond's Flycatcher E, W, ab
-  Olive-sided Flycatcher E, W, ab
-  Western Flycatcher E, r
-  Western Wood Peewee E, W, c
-
-  Larks
-  Horned Lark E, W, A, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Barn Swallow]
-
-  Swallows
-  Violet-green Swallow E, W, A, ab
-  Tree Swallow E, W, ab
-  Bank Swallow E, W, ab
-  Rough-winged Swallow E, W, u
-  Barn Swallow E, W, u
-  Cliff Swallow E, W, A, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Common Crow]
-
-  Jays, Magpies, Crows
-  Gray Jay E, W, ab
-  Blue Jay E, W, r
-  Steller's Jay E, W, ab
-  Black-billed Magpie E, W, ab
-  Common Raven E, W, A, ab
-  Common Crow E, W, ab
-  Clark's Nutcracker E, W, A, ab
-
-  Chickadees
-  Black-capped Chickadee E, W, ab
-  Mountain Chickadee E, W, ab
-  Boreal Chickadee E, W, r
-  Chestnut-backed Chickadee E, W, u
-
-  Nuthatches, Creepers
-  White-breasted Nuthatch E, W, u
-  Red-breasted Nuthatch E, W, ab
-  Brown Creeper E, W, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Winter Wren]
-
-  Dippers, Wrens
-  Dipper E, W, A, ab
-  House Wren E, W, u
-  Winter Wren E, W, ab
-  Long-billed Marsh Wren a
-  Rock Wren E, W, u
-
-  Catbirds, Thrashers
-  Gray Catbird E, W, u
-
-    [Illustration: Mountain Bluebird]
-
-  Thrushes, Bluebirds, Solitaires
-  American Robin E, W, A, ab
-  Varied Thrush E, W, ab
-  Hermit Thrush E, W, ab
-  Swainson's Thrush E, W, ab
-  Veery E, W, c
-  Western Bluebird E, W, r
-  Mountain Bluebird E, W, A, ab
-  Townsend's Solitaire E, W, A, ab
-
-  Kinglets
-  Golden-crowned Kinglet E, W, ab
-  Ruby-crowned Kinglet E, W, ab
-
-  Pipits
-  Water Pipit E, W, A, ab
-
-    [Illustration: Cedar Waxwing]
-
-  Waxwings
-  Bohemian Waxwing E, W, ab
-  Cedar Waxwing E, W, ab
-
-  Shrikes
-  Loggerhead Shrike E, W, r
-  Northern Shrike E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: Starling]
-
-  Starlings
-  Starling E, W, c, i
-
-    [Illustration: Red-eyed Vireo]
-
-  Vireos
-  Solitary Vireo E, W, ab
-  Red-eyed Vireo E, W, ab
-  Warbling Vireo E, W, ab
-
-  Warblers
-  Black and White Warbler W, r
-  Tennessee Warbler E, W, r
-  Orange-crowned Warbler E, W, r
-  Nashville Warbler E, W, r
-  Yellow Warbler E, W, ab
-  Yellow-rumped Warbler E, W, ab
-  Townsend's Warbler E, W, ab
-  Northern Waterthrush E, W, ab
-  MacGillivray's Warbler E, W, ab
-  Common Yellowthroat E, W, ab
-  Wilson's Warbler E, W, ab
-  American Redstart E, W, ab
-  Yellow-breasted Chat ?
-
-    [Illustration: House Sparrow]
-
-  Weaver Finches
-  House Sparrow E, W, r, i
-
-  Blackbirds, Orioles
-  Bobolink E, r
-  Western Meadowlark E, W, u
-  Red-winged Blackbird E, W, ab
-  Northern Oriole E, W, r
-  Brewer's Blackbird E, W, u
-  Rusty Blackbird E, W, r
-  Yellow-headed Blackbird E, r
-  Common Grackle E, r
-  Brown-headed Cowbird E, W, c
-
-    [Illustration: Evening Grosbeak]
-
-  Tanagers, Grosbeaks
-  Western Tanager E, W, ab
-  Evening Grosbeak E, W, ab
-  Pine Grosbeak E, W, ab
-  Black-headed Grosbeak E, W, r
-
-    [Illustration: American Goldfinch]
-
-  Finches, Sparrows, Buntings
-  Lazuli Bunting E, W, c
-  Lark Bunting E, W, r
-  Snow Bunting E, W, c
-  Cassin's Finch E, W, A, ab
-  Gray-crowned Rosy Finch E, W, A, ab
-  American Goldfinch E, W, u
-  Common Redpoll E, W, c
-  Pine Siskin E, W, A, ab
-  Red Crossbill E, W, ab
-  White-winged Crossbill E, W, u
-  Rufous-sided Towhee E, W, u
-  Green-tailed Towhee E, W, r
-  Savannah Sparrow E, W, c
-  LeConte's Sparrow E, W, u
-  Vesper Sparrow E, W, ab
-  Tree Sparrow E, W, r
-  Chipping Sparrow E, W, A, ab
-  Brewer's Sparrow E, W, r
-  Harris' Sparrow E, W, r
-  White-crowned Sparrow E, W, A, ab
-  Fox Sparrow E, W, A, ab
-  Lincoln's Sparrow E, W, A, c
-  Song Sparrow E, W, ab
-  Dark-eyed Junco E, W, c
-  McCown's Longspur E, c
-  Lapland Longspur E, W, c
-  Chestnut-collared Longspur E, c
-
-
-
-
-                           Suggested Reading
-
-
-Alexander, Taylor R. and George S. Fichter, _Ecology_ (a Golden guide).
-      Western Publishing Co., Inc., Racine, Wis. 1973.
-
-Alt, David D. and Donald W. Hyndman, _Rocks, Ice and Water, the Geology
-      of Waterton-Glacier Park_. Mountain Press Publishing Co.,
-      Missoula, Mont. 1973.
-
-Baker, William, et. al., _Wildlife of the Northern Rocky Mountains_.
-      Naturegraph Co., Healdsburg, Calif. 1961.
-
-Borland, Hal, _The History of Wildlife in America_. National Wildlife
-      Federation, Washington, D.C. 1975.
-
-Brooks, Maurice, _The Life of The Mountains_. McGraw-Hill, New York.
-      1967.
-
-Costello, David F., _The Mountain World_. Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New
-      York. 1975.
-
-Craighead, John J., et. al., _A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain
-      Wildflowers_. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1963.
-
-Dobie, J. Frank, _The Voice of the Coyote_. Little, Brown and Co.,
-      Boston. 1950.
-
-Farb, Peter, _Face of North America_. Harper and Row, New York. 1963.
-
-Gildart, Robert C., _Meet the Mammals of Waterton-Glacier_. Glacier
-      Natural History Association, Inc. Thomas Printing, Inc.,
-      Kalispell, Mont. 1975.
-
-McCormick, Jack, _The Life of the Forest_. McGraw-Hill, New York. 1966.
-
-Milne, Lorus and Margery Milne, _The Balance of Nature_. Alfred A.
-      Knopf, Inc., New York. 1960.
-
-Nelson, Alan G., _Wildflowers of Glacier National Park_. Nelson, Great
-      Falls, Mont. 1970.
-
-Peattie, Donald Culross, _A Natural History of Western Trees_. Bonanza
-      Books, New York. 1953.
-
-Ruhle, George C., _Roads and Trails of Waterton-Glacier Parks_. John W.
-      Forney, Minneapolis, Minn. 1972.
-
-Shea, David S., _Animal Tracks of Glacier National Park_. Special
-      Bulletin No. 11, Glacier Natural History Association, Inc., West
-      Glacier, Mont., 1969.
-
-Storer, John H., _The Web of Life_. Devin-Adair Co., Old Greenwich,
-      Conn. 1953.
-
-Zwinger, Ann H. and Beatrice E. Willard, _Land Above the Trees_. Harper
-      and Row, New York. 1972.
-
-    [Illustration: WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK--GLACIER NATIONAL PARK]
-
-    Using Metrics
-
-    As we go to press with this book, the United States is in the early
-    stages of conversion to the metric system of measurement, and though
-    we urge you to think metric--for most of the world does--we provide
-    this table to help you understand the measurements given in the
-    book.
-
-  To convert from       to                    multiply by
-
-  Millimeters           Sixteenth-inches      0.6301
-  Centimeters           Inches                0.3937
-  Meters                Feet                  3.2808
-  Kilometers            Miles                 0.6214
-  Hectares              Acres                 2.4711
-  Hectares              Square miles          0.00386
-  Grams                 Troy Ounces           0.0322
-  Kilograms             Pounds                2.2046
-  Degrees--Celsius      Degrees--Fahrenheit   1.8, and add 32
-
-    [Illustration: Temperature Conversion Chart]
-
-    [Illustration: Length Conversion Chart]
-
-    Drawings from David S. Shea, _Animal Tracks of Glacier National
-    Park_
-
-    [Illustration: red fox,
-    hind foot, in mud
-    53 mm.]
-
-    [Illustration: mule deer,
-    adult buck, in snow
-    72 mm.]
-
-    [Illustration: badger,
-    left front foot, in mud
-    43 mm.]
-
-    [Illustration: coyote,
-    hind foot, in snow
-    63 mm.]
-
-    About the Author
-
-    Greg Beaumont's interest in Glacier National Park dates from 1963,
-    when he was a summer employee at Lake McDonald Lodge. In 1966 he and
-    his wife were fire-control lookouts on Numa Ridge in the Bowman
-    Valley. Now a free-lance writer-photographer, he lives with his
-    family in Lincoln, Nebraska.
-
-    National Park Service
-    U.S. Department of the Interior
-
-    As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the
-    Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public
-    lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use
-    of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife,
-    preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national
-    parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life
-    through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and
-    mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in
-    the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a
-    major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and
-    for people who live in Island Territories under U.S. administration.
-
-
-
-
-                          Transcriber's Notes
-
-
---Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
-  is public-domain in the country of publication.
-
---Corrected a few palpable typos.
-
---Included a transcription of the text within some images.
-
---In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
-  _underscores_.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Many-Storied Mountains, by Greg Beaumont
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-<pre>
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Many-Storied Mountains, by Greg Beaumont
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Many-Storied Mountains
-       The Life of Glacier National Park
-
-Author: Greg Beaumont
-
-Release Date: July 19, 2017 [EBook #55150]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MANY-STORIED MOUNTAINS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, MFR and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-<div id="cover" class="img">
-<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Many-storied Mountains: The Life of Glacier National Park" width="600" height="647" />
-</div>
-<div class="verse">
-<p class="t0">&#9733;GPO:1978-261-215/3</p>
-<p class="t0">For sale by the</p>
-<p class="t0">Superintendent of Documents,</p>
-<p class="t0">U.S. Government Printing Office,</p>
-<p class="t0">Washington, DC 20402.</p>
-<p class="t0">Stock Number 024-005-00709-1.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="verse">
-<p class="t0">Library of Congress Cataloging In Publication Data</p>
-</div>
-<div class="verse">
-<p class="t0">Beaumont, Greg, 1943-</p>
-<p class="t0">Many-storied mountains.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="verse">
-<p class="t0">(Natural history series)</p>
-<p class="t0">1. Natural history&mdash;Montana&mdash;Glacier National Park.</p>
-<p class="t0">2. Glacier National Park. I. Title. II. Series: Natural history series (Washington, D.C.)</p>
-<p class="t0">OH105 M9B43 <span class="hst">500.9&prime;786&prime;52</span> <span class="hst">78-606071</span></p>
-</div>
-<div class="box">
-<h1>Many-storied Mountains
-<br />The Life of Glacier National Park</h1>
-<p class="center"><span class="smaller">Written and
-<br />photographed by</span>
-<br />Greg Beaumont</p>
-<p class="center smaller">1978
-<br />Natural History Series
-<br />Division of Publications
-<br />National Park Service
-<br />U.S. Department of the Interior</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_i">i</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig1">
-<img src="images/p001.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="543" />
-<p class="pcap">The landform of Glacier National Park is a monument
-to the power of moving ice. This view from Stoney
-Indian Pass  is startlingly different
-from the scene of a million years ago, when the glaciers
-of the Pleistocene were sculpturing the land. Only the
-higher peaks would then have been visible above the
-blanket of ice that flowed like a slow-moving river
-down into the Mokowanis Valley and out into the
-Great Plains beyond.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_iii">iii</div>
-<h3>About This Book</h3>
-<p>This natural history of the mountain
-wilderness called Glacier National Park
-is not a guidebook, but provides an overview
-of the ecology of the region. At the
-same time, it is a personal statement,
-revealing one individual&rsquo;s response to this
-rugged, delicate land.</p>
-<p>For their consistent cooperation and
-helpfulness, I wish especially to thank
-Chief Naturalist Ed Rothfuss and his
-capable staff. Technical and field assistance
-came from many; for special
-thanks, I would like to single out Art
-Sedlack, Francis Singer, Bert Gildart,
-Walt Martin, Craig Kuchel, and Danny
-On. The manuscript profited greatly from
-the criticism of Douglas Chadwick, to
-whom I am deeply grateful.</p>
-<p><span class="lr">&mdash;G.B.</span></p>
-<p class="tb">The National Park Service Division of
-Publications gratefully acknowledges the
-financial support given this book project
-by the Glacier Natural History Association,
-Inc., West Glacier, Mont.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_iv">iv</div>
-<h2 class="center">Contents</h2>
-<dl class="toc">
-<dt><a href="#c1"><b>Song of the High Peaks</b></a> <b>1</b></dt>
-<dt><a href="#c2"><b>Cycles and Seasons</b></a> <b>5</b></dt>
-<dd><a href="#c3">Bedrock: The First Story</a> <b>6</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#c4">The Rising of the Sun and the Running of the Deer: A Glacier Year</a> <b>39</b></dd>
-<dt><a href="#c5"><b>Plant-and-Animal Communities</b></a> <b>43</b></dt>
-<dd><a href="#c6">Over Going-to-the-Sun Road</a> <b>44</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#c7">Groves and Grasslands: The Prairie Sea</a> <b>46</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#c8">The Forest</a> <b>70</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#c9">Scrub Forest</a> <b>105</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#c10">Tundra</a> <b>109</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#c11">Water Communities</a> <b>114</b></dd>
-<dt><a href="#c12"><b>Shooting Stars</b></a> <b>121</b></dt>
-<dt><a href="#c13"><b>Appendix</b></a> <b>125</b></dt>
-<dt class="jl"><b>Pictorial Features</b></dt>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig1">The Mountains of Glacier</a> <b>10</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig2">The Forests of Glacier</a> <b>48</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig3">The Vital Predator</a> <b>78</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig4">Protective Coloration</a> <b>84</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig5"><i>Ursus arctos horribilus:</i> The Vulnerable King</a> <b>88</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig6">Bald Eagles and Kokanee Salmon: A Recent Gathering</a> <b>92</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig7">A Triumph of Many Colors</a> <b>96</b></dd>
-<dd><a href="#f2fig8">Fire Succession: Key to Continuity</a> <b>100</b></dd>
-</dl>
-<p class="tb"><span class="small">Illustrations by Celia Strain/Morgan-Burchette Assoc.</span></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_v">v</div>
-<div class="img">
-<img src="images/p002.jpg" alt="Soaring eagle" width="700" height="770" />
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_1">1</div>
-<h2 id="c1"><span class="small">Song of the High Peaks</span></h2>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_2">2</div>
-<p>April again and the wind turns on the Great
-Plains. Wedges of geese, high and determined,
-began this storm of spring, their
-voices sharp as the morning frost. Sicklebills
-cry to claim the land, sandhill cranes wheel
-and talk overhead, and everywhere the killdeer
-shout. Pasqueflowers push the bleak
-soil aside, beginning the westward rush that
-I must join, seeking again the sight of
-mountains.</p>
-<p>In Glacier National Park the land is
-folded up. On the east, Chief Mountain, Curly
-Bear, and Rising Wolf break the prairie&rsquo;s
-hold. When the early French fur trappers
-saw these peaks glistening in the distance
-with summer-long snows and perpetual ice,
-they named this region &ldquo;the land of shining
-mountains.&rdquo; But for all the ice and snow
-that reflect the summer sun, the park&rsquo;s present
-glaciers are but snowflakes compared to
-the mighty rivers of ice that carved this
-land. Glaciation, the magnificent sculptor,
-left its bold signature everywhere, and this
-park honors with its name the force that
-shaped it.</p>
-<p>But the essential excitement of this land
-is more than cliff face, spire, and sudden
-storm. It comes to you when you realize
-that here is an aggregation of dramatically
-differing life zones, where a day&rsquo;s walk can
-easily take you from prairie and forest to
-treelimit and tundra; where a dense forest
-of redcedar and hemlock, similar to the rain
-forests of the Pacific coast, exists a score of
-kilometers from the great prairie sea.</p>
-<p>Or it comes when you discover that
-these mountains&mdash;young and sharp with
-shadows, snow-jeweled and newly gowned
-with forests&mdash;are chiseled from the oldest
-unaltered sedimentary rocks on earth.</p>
-<p>I come from the prairie and love its
-broad strokes; I&rsquo;ve learned to hear the singing
-in the grass and to see those long, slow
-seasons soar the level horizons like gliding
-hawks. But here I learned to match my days
-against a wild earth, and in me grew the
-mysterious need to know a mountain from
-its every side. Mountains that wear the dawn
-like yellow hats, repeated in the named and
-nameless lakes. Mountains that stretch the
-storms between them and balance rainbows
-ridge to ridge.</p>
-<p>I must see again the secret forest places,
-where the paleflowered wood-nymphs hover
-like a breath, and know once more the endless
-meadows painted camas blue.</p>
-<p>I need the perfect freedom of this land,
-to be able to say, <i>today I will climb Siyeh</i>:
-to stand, for a time, on the rugged shoulders
-of this upright earth.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_3">3</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig2">
-<img src="images/p003.jpg" alt="" width="681" height="700" />
-<p class="pcap">The sharp spire of little Matterhorn and the broad face
-of Mt. Edwards loom above Going-to-the-Sun Road in
-the upper McDonald Valley. During warm days in spring
-the valleys of the park resound with the thunder of
-avalanches.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_4">4</div>
-<div class="img">
-<img src="images/p004.jpg" alt="Twilight view." width="700" height="772" />
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_5">5</div>
-<h2 id="c2"><span class="small">Cycles and Seasons</span></h2>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_6">6</div>
-<h3 id="c3">Bedrock: The First Story</h3>
-<p>On the trail that connects the Logan Pass
-visitor center to Hidden Lake overlook
-there is a shallow pond. Near Hidden Pass,
-it collects its meltwater from the Continental
-Divide and sends it down the shallow gorge
-that drains the Hanging Gardens; as a
-waterfall it plunges into the upper St. Mary
-Valley where it becomes Reynolds Creek;
-joined by other tributaries, it continues its
-long journey to Hudson Bay.</p>
-<p>The surface of this pond is seldom still,
-for the wind treats it like a sea. Because the
-water is shallow, the wave action wrinkles
-the bottom mud into ripple patterns, mimicking
-the churning waves.</p>
-<p>I like to come here early in the morning.
-Sometimes, arriving before the wind awakes,
-I catch reflections of the surrounding mountains.
-Beyond the low bench of Logan Pass
-the Garden Wall begins, running northward
-with the Divide. In the eastern valley the
-pitched peak of Going-to-the-Sun hunkers in
-the morning light like a tensed warrior. To
-the south, the incisor Bearhat, beautiful
-cloud cutter of Hidden Lake Valley, juts
-above the nearby saddle of the pass. But
-over this place, standing as fresh monuments
-to an age of ice, tower the cliffs of Clements
-and the pyramid Reynolds.</p>
-<p>I am sitting on a wedge of red rock.
-Its surface exhibits a wrinkled pattern identical
-to the ripples in the soft mud of the
-shallow pond. The distance is not great;
-with a stick I could reach out and touch the
-mud. Yet this represents a gulf no bird can
-fly, for between the ripples of this rock and
-the ripples of this mud lie billions of vanished
-mornings, a constellation of years.</p>
-<p>These red, green, tan, white, black and
-purple bands of rock that layer Glacier&rsquo;s
-mountains comprise the oldest unaltered
-sedimentary rocks on Earth. They were laid
-down in Precambrian time, more than a
-billion years ago, when life was just beginning,
-as the deposits of an inland sea.</p>
-<p>For millions of years, sand, mud and
-carbonates washed into the ancient sea,
-compressing the lower layers into mudstones
-and limestones, building up a sediment
-thickness that may have been as much as
-10,000 meters (<i>see</i> metric conversion table
-on <a href="#Page_136">page 136</a>).</p>
-<p>When we look at the sharp contours of
-Glacier&rsquo;s mountains, we see the evidence of
-uplift, overthrust and glaciation. But on the
-geologic clock these are recent events, a
-mere eyeblink of time ago. For the vast
-majority of years, the rocks lay undisturbed
-and level beneath the sea and land.</p>
-<p>To understand better the tremendous
-time scale these rocks represent, we need a
-way to visualize the vast collection of years.
-If we were to make a movie of these geologic
-events, we would first need to determine
-how many years each minute should
-represent. Since the Pleistocene lasted about
-3,000,000 years (its four ice ages sculpting
-the present muscle of this land), let us make
-<span class="pb" id="Page_7">7</span>
-each minute portray a million years. To
-chronicle these rocks we will then need a
-film 60 hours long!</p>
-<p>Not until the fifty-seventh hour of our
-film will the Mesozoic lowlands begin to
-bulge with the coming Rocky Mountain
-chain. During the long preceding hours we
-would have seen little else but sea&mdash;withdrawing,
-advancing, deep and shallow; yellow,
-green, and brown with great colonies
-of algae. Unseen below the water, lava has
-spilled out occasionally on the sea bottom;
-once, it intruded between the rock layers
-below, forming the conspicuous, 60-meter-thick
-band of black diorite that we see today
-on many mountain faces in Glacier.</p>
-<p>During this time of initial uplift an
-amazing process is going on deep underground.
-A major fault has developed,
-fracturing the buckled layers of rock. A
-vast mountain plate begins to slide eastward,
-over-riding and submerging the rock layers
-to the east and opening the wide trench
-that is today the North Fork Valley. Known
-as the Lewis Overthrust, this gigantic earth-force
-has created an unusual situation: ancient
-rock strata lying atop recent rock
-strata.</p>
-<p>Now less than 3 minutes of film remain.
-The arrival of the ice is imminent. We look
-at the landscape of featureless mountains and
-wonder at the dramatic difference that this
-last 3 million years will make. We do not
-see the familiar forests and lakes, the
-savage peaks, and the broad, deep valleys
-of this present land. These mountains are
-gentle, arid, and shallow-valleyed. The
-vague outlines are there; we recognize the
-general alignments of the drainage systems,
-the bloated domes from which sharp peaks
-will be cut. The mountains are connected
-to one another by blunt ridges and smooth
-saddles, and the shadows they cast are dull,
-dunelike.</p>
-<p>Suddenly the ice is there, filling the
-landscape, with only the mountaintops protruding.
-Four times in these last 3 minutes
-of film the ice sheets advance and retreat,
-each time leaving an altered landscape.
-Strange lakes and forests fill the gaps between
-the glacial invasions. Then we
-see the mountains we now know come into
-being rapidly, as if the land were being
-hacked into shape by giant cleavers.</p>
-<p>After this flicker of Pleistocene time,
-the film ends, the forests return, and familiar
-lakes shine beneath the sun again&mdash;these
-lakes and forests we had thought to
-be timeless.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />Up springs the morning wind from Hidden
-Valley, making the nearby alpine fir branches
-whiz with its passing and shattering the perfect
-reflection of Bearhat Peak on the pond.
-From where I sit, it is a short distance to
-Hidden Pass; so I leave the pond and walk
-to the overlook to see again the fine basin
-quarried by an ancient glacier.</p>
-<p>Hidden Lake, deep, far below, so blue,
-<span class="pb" id="Page_8">8</span>
-fits into its cliffed, crooked valley like a
-polished boomerang. Closely ringed by
-ridge and peak&mdash;distant Sperry Glacier and
-pointed Gunsight peering up from the
-southern jumble, and broad Bearhat impossibly
-close&mdash;this lovely lake is almost lost
-amid such sharp proclamations of rock. Its
-outlet gorge gives a narrow view across the
-angled, hidden valleys of Avalanche and
-McDonald, past the pyramid of Stanton, to
-the low, faraway undulations of the Whitefish
-Range.</p>
-<p>Glaciation is a cruel master of mountains,
-biting deeply into their bulk and leaving
-sheer, spectacular contours when the
-glaciers disappear. The landforms here attest
-to their power, everywhere exhibiting
-the effects of glaciation.</p>
-<p>In eating back the mountain headwall,
-alpine glaciers formed rounded depressions,
-called cirques. Unlike the narrow
-clefts left by running water, these broad,
-deep basins look as though they were made
-by ice-cream scoops gouging into the rock.
-Hidden, Ptarmigan, Iceberg, and Avalanche
-Lakes sit in well-developed cirque basins,
-and many mountains are dimpled by the
-beginnings of other cirques&mdash;the conspicuous
-amphitheater on the south shoulder of
-Heaven&rsquo;s Peak, for example.</p>
-<p>Occupying all major drainage systems,
-glaciers modified the contour of the valleys,
-changing them from their narrow, stream-cut
-V-shapes into broad U-shapes. Into
-these wide main valleys, waterfalls plunge
-from higher, smaller valleys. Like rivers,
-flowing glaciers have tributaries. Lacking
-the ice mass and cutting power of the main
-glaciers, these tributary ice fingers could not
-bite as deeply into the bedrock. When the
-ice melted, hanging valleys were left
-stranded high above the main valley floor.
-Hidden Lake sits in one of these hanging
-valleys, and from it Hidden Creek plunges
-750 meters into Avalanche Basin toward
-McDonald Creek.</p>
-<p>On my many previous visits to this pass
-I have been too busy enjoying the wildflowers,
-the weather, or the scenery to realize
-what an open textbook of glaciation is
-everywhere displayed.</p>
-<p>I stand here on a small saddle of a pass.
-Wherever glaciers met, passes, or cols,
-were created. A high, notched pass like this
-one (or Swiftcurrent or Gunsight) reveals
-recent connections. Broad, lower passes,
-such as Logan, resulted where the ice early
-overran the mountain ridge and had a
-chance to work longer.</p>
-<p>Where two glaciers worked on opposing
-sides of a ridge and failed to meet, they
-formed an ar&ecirc;te&mdash;a thin, steep-walled remnant
-resembling a saw blade. Another ice
-age would probably consume the park&rsquo;s
-many thin ar&ecirc;tes, such as the Garden Wall
-and Ptarmigan Wall; but it would also
-create new ones from existing ridges.</p>
-<p>Further testimony to the sculpting
-power of ice is presented by Mt. Reynolds,
-looming to the east. The most dramatic
-<span class="pb" id="Page_9">9</span>
-feature of a glaciated landscape is the
-pyramid-shaped mountain called a horn&mdash;and
-Reynolds is a perfect example. Horns
-were formed when three or more glaciers
-cloaked the mountain, excavating its sides
-toward its core and gradually transforming
-its original domed shape into a sheer-sided
-peak. Glacier has many remarkable horns,
-from the sleek spire of St. Nicholas in the
-south to exquisite Kinnerly in the northern
-Kintla valley.</p>
-<p>Sperry Glacier stares back at me from
-the flank of Gunsight. Glaciers found in
-the park today are not remnants of the
-last ice phase, which ended here about
-8,000 years ago, but are newly formed,
-having come into existence some 4,000
-years ago. They reflect a cooling trend in
-the present climate.</p>
-<p>Shrinking steadily from their period of
-greatest extent in the middle of the last
-century, these modern glaciers finally stabilized
-in the late 1940s and since then have
-shown only a slight increase in area.</p>
-<p>Movement distinguishes glaciers from
-icefields, and the movement of ice is a force
-on as well as a feature of a landscape. A
-glacier excavates by abrading and plucking
-at the rock. Alternately melting and freezing,
-ice at the headwalls plucks out blocks of
-rock. Ultimately the rocks are deposited
-along the sides or at the feet of the glacier
-as moraine debris. But as they move in the
-grip of the ice, they constantly abrade the
-rock surfaces they encounter. Polished rock
-beds of past glaciers show striations&mdash;grooves
-gouged by rock fragments imbedded
-in the moving ice.</p>
-<p>Flow rate of a glacier depends upon
-the thickness of the ice and the degree of
-slope. Under tremendous pressure, ice becomes
-plastic, like thick taffy. Unlike kilometer-thick
-continental glaciers, which may
-move a hundred meters a day, small alpine
-glaciers seldom progress more than two or
-three centimeters per day.</p>
-<p>Although a glacier moves, it gets nowhere
-if in a state of equilibrium&mdash;when
-annual melting equals annual accumulation.
-Snow mass gained at the sun-shielded headwall
-is usually lost as melt at the exposed
-snout. Glaciers such as Sexton or Weasel
-Collar, whose snouts perch on cliff edges,
-also lose mass by calving. Thunder you hear
-on a late-summer day near such a glacier
-may actually be the sound of ice pushed off
-from the lip of a cliff.</p>
-<p>Walking back to the visitor center, I
-suddenly stop where the trail skirts the steep
-moraine of Mt. Clements. From the opposite
-side of the moraine five mountain goats have
-appeared. Spotting me on the trail below,
-they also halt. But before I can get to my
-camera they are off in a stiff-legged gallop,
-running in single file along the crest of the
-moraine to the distant safety of the mountain
-face.</p>
-<p>Moraines are ridges of rock debris piled
-up along the edges and terminuses of glaciers.
-Like a bracelet lying against the wall
-of this mountain, the circle of steeply piled
-debris marks the extent of a small, recently
-vanished glacier. Ghost of the power that
-once resided here, a stagnant icefield lies
-beneath the confining walls of the moraine.
-The recent accumulation of these rock fragments
-is a mighty accomplishment, attesting
-to the force of moving ice.</p>
-<p><span class="lr"><i><span class="small">continued on <a href="#Page_38">p. 38</a></span></i></span></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_10">10</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig3">
-<img src="images/p005.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="606" />
-<p class="pcap"><b id="f2fig1">The Mountains of Glacier</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Lying astride the Continental Divide in the
-Northern Rockies, Glacier is above all
-else a mountain park. The special beauty
-of its lakes, streams, and forests derives
-from the microclimates and varied
-topography and soil produced by
-mountain-building and mountain-eroding
-forces.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_12">12</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig4">
-<img src="images/p006.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="618" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>Overthrust Mountains</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>1</b> A hypothetical block of the Earth&rsquo;s
-crust in the region of Glacier National
-Park as it existed more than 60 million
-years ago. The two layers shown actually
-represent many strata of sedimentary
-rocks.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>2</b> Lateral pressure begins to force the
-rock layers to buckle.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>3</b> A large fold has been created, forcing
-the rock strata to double over and
-overturning some layers. A break, or
-<i>fault</i>, is forming at the plane of greatest
-stress.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>4</b> The break has been completed and the
-strata west of the fault have slid eastward,
-up and over the rocks east of the fault.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>5</b> The Glacier landscape today. Throughout
-the millions of years during which the
-folding, faulting, and overthrusting have
-been taking place, the process of erosion
-has continued; a thousand meters of
-stratified rocks have been worn away, so
-that only a remnant of the overthrust
-layers can be seen today. Because
-Glacier&rsquo;s eastern slope represents the
-eroded face of the overthrust block, the
-mountain range rises precipitously from
-the prairie, with no foothills breaking the
-abrupt transition from open prairie to
-mountain valley.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_13">13</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig5">
-<img src="images/p006a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="339" />
-<p class="pcap">The peaks in this photograph (a view to the northwest
-from Marias Pass) are remnants of the overthrust block,
-which moved eastward. The dividing line between
-the light-colored rocks and the gray talus slopes
-beneath them is the Lewis Overthrust Fault.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_14">14</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig6">
-<img src="images/p007.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="492" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>Glaciation</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>1</b> This is how the landscape in this region
-might have appeared before the onset of
-the Pleistocene, millions of years ago.
-Note the stream-eroded, V-shaped
-valleys. The climate at that time was dry.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>2</b> Glaciers began to form high on the
-peaks, crept downward, and joined to
-form larger glaciers.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>3</b> After many centuries of glaciation,
-tributary glaciers have cut back into the
-peaks, forming basins called <i>cirques</i>.
-Thick glaciers, moving rapidly and
-carrying rock fragments, have abraded
-the main valleys&rsquo; floors and sides,
-widening and deepening the valleys into
-characteristic U-shapes.</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>V-shaped Valley</dt>
-<dt>Tributary Glacier</dt>
-<dt>Unglaciated Peak</dt>
-<dt>Headwall</dt>
-<dt>Meltwater Stream</dt>
-<dt>Nose of Glacier</dt>
-<dt>Crevasse</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_16">16</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig7">
-<img src="images/p008.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="337" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>4</b> In the present landscape, free of all but
-remnant glaciers, small lakes called
-<i>tarns</i> occupy many of the cirque basins;
-and waterfalls plunge into the main
-valleys from higher, shallower, tributary
-valleys, called <i>hanging valleys</i>. <i>Alluvial
-cones</i>&mdash;recent accumulations of rock
-debris&mdash;have begun to build along the
-valley walls. In the main valley, a <i>moraine</i>
-(a deposit of rock materials left by the
-retreating glacier) has formed a dam that
-holds back a large lake.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">During all this time, all parts of the terrain
-not buried under ice and snow have been
-weathered and eroded by nonglacial
-forces. Thus the contours of the jagged
-peaks and sheer cliffs have been
-softened.</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Unglaciated V-shaped Valley</dt>
-<dt>U-shaped Valley</dt>
-<dt>Hanging Valley</dt>
-<dt>Cirque</dt>
-<dt>Tarn</dt>
-<dt>Alluvial Cone</dt>
-<dt>Moraine</dt>
-<dt>Morainal Lake</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_17">17</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig8">
-<img src="images/p008a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="332" />
-<p class="pcap">Glacial landforms can be identified in this view of the
-Mokowanis Valley.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_18">18</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig9">
-<img src="images/p009.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="456" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>A Divided Climate</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Because of an eastward flow of cool,
-moist Pacific air masses, the climate of
-northwestern Montana, including the
-western portion of Glacier National Park,
-differs from that of other portions of
-Montana. As a result of increased precipitation,
-Glacier&rsquo;s western valleys support
-a rich flora, more typical of the Pacific
-Northwest.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>West</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Moist Pacific air</p>
-<p class="pcapc">As the moisture-laden Pacific winds are pushed up the
-windward slopes of Glacier&rsquo;s mountains, the air cools
-and water vapor condenses, forming fog or clouds.
-Rain or snow begins to fall as the air continues to rise
-and cool. By the time the air mass reaches the crest and
-flows down the leeward slopes, most of the moisture
-has been lost.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Western slopes average about 70 cm. of precipitation at
-elevations between 900 and 1,100 m. Upper elevations
-average 200 to 250 cm., mostly in the form of snow; and
-300 to 500 cm. is common.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>East</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Dry chinook winds</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Eastern slopes, under the influence of Continental air
-masses, receive less annual precipitation. West Glacier&rsquo;s
-annual average is 66.5 cm. Babb, a small town east of the
-park, averages 49.3 cm. Frequent high winds east of the
-Divide further reduce moisture through evaporation.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Exposed to Arctic air masses flowing down from Canada,
-locations east of the Divide also suffer more severe
-winter conditions than do protected western valleys.
-Average January temperature is -5&deg;C at West Glacier,
--8&deg; at Babb.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Moreover, 80 percent of the winter days in the western
-portion of the park are overcast, a condition almost
-identical to that of Seattle, Wash. This serves to moderate
-winter temperatures and to minimize evaporation.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_20">20</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig10">
-<img src="images/p010.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" />
-<p class="pcap">Moss campion and mountain forget-me-not colonize a
-fellfield. Fellfields are rocky alpine sites that are
-slightly less than 50% bare rock, interspersed with
-such plant pioneers as cushion plants, mosses, and
-lichens.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_21">21</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig11">
-<img src="images/p010a.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="721" />
-<p class="pcap">High lakes generally occupy cirque basins. These
-depressions in the valley bedrock, quarried by glaciers,
-are deepest near the headwall where ice thickness was
-greatest. Cold and deep, and ice-free only weeks each
-year, tarns cannot support vascular plants or vertebrates.
-Iceberg Lake, shut off from the sun most of the
-year by the encompassing 1,000-meter walls of Mt.
-Wilbur and the Ptarmigan Wall, is never completely
-free of ice.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_22">22</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig12">
-<img src="images/p011.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="522" />
-<p class="pcap">Lake McDonald, 16 kilometers long, 2 kilometers wide,
-and 134 meters deep, is the largest lake in the park.
-Its basin is the classic U-shaped glacial valley.
-Forested lateral moraines on either shore gently rise
-600 meters above lake level. Going-to-the-Sun Road
-snakes along the eastern shore, and Logan Pass lies
-near the center of the photograph, behind the peaks
-of the Lewis Range.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_23">23</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig13">
-<img src="images/p011a.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="716" />
-<p class="pcap">Subjected to the drying and shaping effects of wind
-both winter and summer, this Douglas-fir, growing in
-the prairie community near St. Mary, will attain neither
-the symmetrical shape nor the great size of the
-Douglas-firs growing in moister, more sheltered sites
-on the western slopes of the Continental Divide.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_24">24</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig14">
-<img src="images/p012.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="512" />
-<p class="pcap">Freeze-and-thaw cycles continually fracture and loosen
-rocks along joints, making them subject to removal by
-the actions of water, gravity, and avalanche. The resulting
-fans of rock debris (talus cones) indicate the
-extent of erosion since the withdrawal of the
-Pleistocene glaciers.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_25">25</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig15">
-<img src="images/p012a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="509" />
-<p class="pcap">Although moving water is an agent of erosion&mdash;the
-primary destructive force of mountain masses&mdash;it also
-permits life. Even small watercourses, such as this
-freshet, abound with plant and invertebrate life.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_26">26</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig16">
-<img src="images/p013.jpg" alt="" width="457" height="495" />
-<p class="pcap">Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, towering above the St.
-Mary Valley, from the trail to Siyeh Pass. The coniferous
-forest at its base and the alpine tundra plants at
-its summit are closely juxtaposed in space; but if these
-two communities grew at the same elevation they would
-be separated by thousands of kilometers. Hiking from St.
-Mary Lake up to Siyeh Pass is going, in effect, from
-Montana to the Arctic Circle; but here the life zones
-are compressed and sharply divided rather than
-extended and overlapping.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig17">
-<img src="images/p013a.jpg" alt="" width="460" height="500" />
-<p class="pcap">Setting moon and snow shelf near the summit of
-Heavens Peak. Note stratification of Precambrian
-sediments.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_27">27</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig18">
-<img src="images/p013b.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="720" />
-<p class="pcap">Western redcedars line the shores of Lake McDonald.
-Because of prevailing air currents from the Pacific
-coast, winters in the protected western valleys are
-moist and comparatively mild, and this deep body of
-water freezes over an average of only one winter in
-four.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_28">28</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig19">
-<img src="images/p014.jpg" alt="" width="453" height="800" />
-<p class="pcap">Moose often follow the spring snowmelt upwards to the
-headwaters of drainages. This bull will remain at
-Thunderbird Pond, at the base of Brown Pass, until
-autumn, when it will return to its Waterton Valley
-wintering ground.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_29">29</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig20">
-<img src="images/p014a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="529" />
-<p class="pcap">Because of the high reproductive capacity of insects
-and small mammals, if all their offspring survived the
-earth&rsquo;s plant life would be consumed within one year.
-This is prevented by natural controls such as predation
-and parasitism. The American kestrel (&ldquo;sparrow hawk&rdquo;)
-feeds primarily on large insects and on small rodents
-such as the meadow vole here.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_30">30</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig21">
-<img src="images/p015.jpg" alt="" width="461" height="801" />
-<p class="pcap">Gray jays are found in the deep coniferous forests of
-the park. In some parks gray jays, or &ldquo;camp robbers,&rdquo;
-loiter about campgrounds and picnic areas begging or
-stealing food. In Glacier, however, they are seldom
-noticed as they search out seeds, berries, and insects.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_31">31</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig22">
-<img src="images/p015b.jpg" alt="" width="684" height="700" />
-<p class="pcap">A generalized predator, the coyote will eat almost anything,
-from berries to carrion. When man eliminated
-most of the coyote&rsquo;s enemies and competitors, including
-the wolf, grizzly, and cougar, it enlarged its range
-to fill the void. Intelligent and social, the coyote thrives
-despite man&rsquo;s persecution. Although most numerous
-in the prairie community, it ranges up to timberline.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig23">
-<img src="images/p015c.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="510" />
-<p class="pcap">The spruce grouse is a year-round resident of the
-spruce/fir and lodgepole communities. It forages on the
-ground for seeds and insects, in winter turning to
-needles. Several other species of grouse occupy
-different habitats in Glacier.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig24">
-<img src="images/p015d.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="520" />
-<p class="pcap">Chipmunks are found in every community, from prairie
-to tundra, in Glacier. Each of the park&rsquo;s three very
-similar species has its preferred habitat. The diurnal
-counterpart to nocturnally active mice, which have
-the same diet of seeds, berries and occasional insects,
-chipmunks adapt easily to the presence of people and
-become nuisances if encouraged by handouts. Feeding
-rodents is dangerous and is harmful to them. By altering
-their diets and blunting their cautious instincts,
-daily exposure to &ldquo;free lunches&rdquo; makes the animals
-less fit to face the harsh realities of their natural
-environment.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_32">32</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig25">
-<img src="images/p016.jpg" alt="" width="449" height="801" />
-<p class="pcap">Unlike whitetail deer, which remain in lowland areas
-all year, mule deer range upward into high meadows
-during the summer. The bucks, especially, are wanderers
-and travel together. Velvet antlers, worn during
-the time of summer sociability, presage the autumn
-contests to come.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_33">33</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig26">
-<img src="images/p016a.jpg" alt="" width="483" height="500" />
-<p class="pcap">The checkerspot butterfly belongs to the most diverse
-group of animals on the planet&mdash;the insects, whose
-importance can hardly be overestimated. They not only
-help recycle nutrients in the living community and
-provide an abundant food base for other lifeforms, but
-are instrumental in pollinating most of the earth&rsquo;s
-terrestrial plants.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig27">
-<img src="images/p016b.jpg" alt="" width="486" height="496" />
-<p class="pcap">Alpine vegetation must be able to survive freezing
-temperature during the growing season, since winter
-conditions are possible even in summer. Early bloomers,
-such as the glacier lily, endure repeated snowfalls
-during the unstable weather conditions of June.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_34">34</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig28">
-<img src="images/p017.jpg" alt="" width="456" height="800" />
-<p class="pcap">Unlike mountain goats, these bighorn rams will desert
-the alpine zone at the approach of winter; they will
-join other bighorns congregating in the lower valleys.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_35">35</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig29">
-<img src="images/p017a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="539" />
-<p class="pcap">In November bighorn sheep rams end their summer-long
-isolation from the ewes, move down from
-the higher slopes, and begin a bloodless but taxing
-ritual of strength and endurance to determine the
-harem master. The sharp reports of clashing horns
-may carry for kilometers, and the contests continue for
-weeks until the dominant ram emerges. (Note the Many
-Glacier hotel complex in the valley below.)</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_36">36</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig30">
-<img src="images/p018.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="507" />
-<p class="pcap">Hummingbirds, like shrews and other small-bodied,
-warm-blooded animals, exist at the theoretical thresh-hold
-of life. Because of their small size, body volume
-is not large enough in relation to surface area to
-prevent a rapid loss of body heat. To compensate for
-this, metabolic rates must be high; food is rapidly
-processed and used up. Thus, since fat reserves are
-not practical on such small animals, they must eat at
-frequent intervals.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Two species of hummingbirds&mdash;the rufous and the
-calliope&mdash;are found in Glacier. Pictured is a female
-rufous (which weighs about the same as a dime)
-landing on its lichen decorated nest to feed its two
-young on a protein-rich mixture of nectar and small
-insects.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig31">
-<img src="images/p018a.jpg" alt="" width="497" height="524" />
-<p class="pcap">The insect-eating yellowthroat prefers moist habitats.
-Unlike many of its treetop-dwelling relatives, this tiny
-(10-11 cm.) warbler is usually seen near or on the
-ground.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_37">37</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig32">
-<img src="images/p018b.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="720" />
-<p class="pcap">Bands of bighorn ewes and lambs do not summer as
-high as the rams and are often encountered in the
-scrub-forest zone. Note the gnarled limber pine in the
-foreground of this photograph taken on the south face
-of Altyn Peak.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_38">38</div>
-<p>Reaching the mountain wall, the goats
-scramble upward to a ledge, sending scree
-streams pouring from several clefts. Encountering
-a narrow, steep snowbank, they
-do not hesitate but continue across the
-slope. Above the rock fingers of this peak
-the gathering clouds grow black. A sudden
-crack of thunder hurries me down the trail.</p>
-<p>Although geologically young, the Rocky
-Mountains in Glacier are composed of soft
-sedimentary rocks that are easily assailed by
-the many agents of weathering and erosion.
-If not rejuvenated by continual uplift, these
-magnificent peaks will glimmer but briefly
-in the long memory of the planet.</p>
-<p>Already the sharp countenance of this
-land is being softened by the ongoing forces
-of erosion. Chief among these is water,
-which attacks the mountains everywhere.
-In addition, frost action continually exploits
-rock fractures, breaking down blocks of rock
-into talus and scree. Avalanche and rockfall
-sweep down the slopes. Layers of softer rock
-erode quickly, undercutting more resistant
-rock and creating overhangs which gravity,
-in time, will collapse.</p>
-<p>The lashing rain catches me on this
-sun-and-storm-contested pass. Ice, gravity,
-wind, and especially water&mdash;all attack a land
-that dares the clouds.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_39">39</div>
-<h3 id="c4">The Rising of the Sun and the Running of the Deer: A Glacier Year</h3>
-<p>As if to make up for the days-long darkness
-of this last blizzard, the peaks today wear
-snow plumes&mdash;long, graceful trails of white,
-curving up into an ice-blue sky. Yesterday
-the snow-mad wind raced through the forest.
-Today the motionless trees are cloaked in
-heavy, glistening robes, the leafless aspen
-and young larch bent down.</p>
-<p>Moderate snowfall helps many plants
-and animals survive the winter. For ground
-dwellers it provides insulation from the
-wildly fluctuating winter temperatures encountered
-east of the Divide, protecting the
-hibernators and providing cover for the
-many small mammals that remain active
-during the winter. Wind-swept ground
-freezes deep; but under a mantle of snow
-life-sustaining heat is trapped, permitting
-many animals to survive and allowing the
-work of decomposers to continue.</p>
-<p>But this has been a winter of too much
-snow and too many temperature extremes.
-The heavy snowpack has forced the sharp-hoofed
-deer to yard up in great numbers;
-unable to range freely in deep snow, they
-are forced into smaller and smaller confines
-where their numbers allow them to break
-and maintain trails. But in time they exhaust
-the food supply. Younger deer, unable
-to reach the increasingly higher browse line,
-starve first. Then the does, heavy with unborn
-fawns, grow weak and fall to predators.
-So the imprisoned herds dwindle quickly
-this year, sometimes less than a kilometer
-from plentiful browse.</p>
-<p>Deep snow is also death for many seed-eating
-birds. As they are unable to scratch
-for food, their body furnaces quickly fail,
-and during a night of cold wind their fluffed
-corpses drop into the snow.</p>
-<p>Exposed to the noon sun, the snow surface
-thaws; when refrozen, it is restructured
-to crystalline ice. If snow repeatedly thaws
-and freezes, an ice barrier is formed, shutting
-off vital air exchange. Plants are then
-subject to rot, and micro-animal life is
-smothered. Travel beneath the snow is made
-more difficult for mice and shrews and they
-are deprived of food and cover. Under such
-conditions their numbers rapidly decline.</p>
-<p>But while many starve in a winter of
-deep snow, others benefit. The exposed
-traffic of small mammals is to the owl&rsquo;s
-advantage. Foxes and coyotes more easily
-run down rabbits and hares on crusted snow.
-Deer and, to a lesser extent, wapiti and
-moose&mdash;their hoofs punching through the
-snowpack&mdash;swiftly tire in deep snow and
-become helpless before cougar or wolf,
-whose lighter weight is supported by the
-crust.</p>
-<p>Grim as this winter&rsquo;s toll becomes,
-enough will survive to begin the process of
-renewal in spring. Last winter, a season of
-light snow, was a time of hardship for predators.
-The deer remained strong, the wapiti
-remote on high, windswept ridges, and the
-<span class="pb" id="Page_40">40</span>
-small mammals hidden.</p>
-<p>Only the water ouzel, winter after winter,
-seems not to notice the hardships of the
-season. Lord of his small world of open
-water, he sings in February, wading and
-swimming his diminished stream to find a
-never-failing supply of water insects and
-small fish. It is a voice of spring&mdash;glad, wild,
-continual as the moving water&mdash;an incongruous
-song in this winter-shrouded land.</p>
-<p>But with the growing stature of the
-sun, the grip of winter softens. The firs and
-spruce send their loads of snow sliding to
-the ground. Streams begin to sing again and
-soon the lakes increase, the booming of
-splitting ice breaking the silence of the valleys.
-Avalanches thunder down the steeper
-slopes, carrying trees to the swollen streams.
-Rivers hiss and rage, speeding the debris
-along. A spring that comes too suddenly will
-bring flood to lower elevations.</p>
-<p>Snow geese thread through the valleys,
-and ground squirrels tunnel up through snow
-to find invasions of birds returning from the
-south. Soon the three-petaled wakerobins
-appear, chasing the snowline up the ridges.
-Glacier lilies and Calypso orchids are next,
-and with the shooting stars spring arrives.</p>
-<p>The melting snow releases a new group
-of animals to populate the winter-thinned
-land. Up come chipmunks. Bears reappear.
-Young red squirrels, helpless and blind,
-squirm in their nest holes. Hidden dens
-rustle with pups and kits. Soon warm days
-will bring them out and the business of
-learning to cope with their world will begin.</p>
-<p>All life responds irresistibly to the
-growing strength of the Sun. Cottonwood,
-willow, and maple come into flower and
-unfold new leaves; green needle clusters
-spot the limbs of larches that in winter
-had seemed lifeless snags among the other
-conifers. Beneath the soil of prairie,
-meadow, and forest, in the mud of lakes and
-ponds, other life stirs; armies of insects,
-spiders, crustaceans, amphibians, and fish
-will strive to complete their life cycles
-against the formidable odds of a predatory
-world.</p>
-<p>Spring reaches higher up the mountains,
-the lowlands passing into summer. Wapiti
-and mountain sheep follow the rising tide
-of succulent browse up to the high meadows.
-In forest, grove, and meadow and along the
-stream new fledglings appear&mdash;thrush, vireo,
-hummingbird, waxwing, harlequin duck,
-bluebird, osprey, and flicker&mdash;as holes, nests,
-and cavities brim with begging mouths.</p>
-<p>In the alpine meadows, where snow
-overlaps the spring and winter follows hard
-behind the summer, the growing season is
-short and the climate unstable. Sensing the
-stronger light, flowers push up impatiently
-through the snow and hasten into bloom.
-Pikas and marmots scurry and sunbathe
-among the rocks of scree slopes.</p>
-<p>Summer matures in ripening huckleberries,
-and the bears that grazed the spring
-grasses now gorge themselves fat. Dry days
-of August bring probing lightning, threatening
-<span class="pb" id="Page_41">41</span>
-the forests with fire.</p>
-<p>Sweeps of beargrass reach their climax
-now in the highest meadows. In dizzy succession
-wildflowers set seed. Fat and sluggish,
-marmots and ground squirrels disappear beneath
-the rocks. The golden eagle must
-search longer each day to find prey within
-its vast domain.</p>
-<p>Autumn lingers in the valleys and on
-the flanks of low ridges. The morning sun
-glints on hoarfrost, firing the yellow leaves
-of larch, aspen, birch, maple, and cottonwood,
-and shines on the blood-red berries
-of mountain-ash. Soon a night of killing
-frost will bring down the corpses of insects
-and spiders by the millions. The reptiles and
-amphibians, being cold-blooded animals,
-seem out of place in this long-wintered land.
-Unable to maintain body temperatures appreciably
-above their surroundings, they are
-the first to seek the protection of hibernation,
-collecting in dens or burying themselves
-beneath the ooze of pond bottoms.</p>
-<p>Songbirds gather and leave the valleys.
-The harsh cries of jays sound ominous now
-in the forest. Only the chickadees seem to
-ignore the long tree shadows; their ceaseless
-conversations carry through the leafless
-underbrush as they busily search for seed.</p>
-<p>Velvet has gone to bone, and in these
-final noon-warm days the rut runs through
-the land. It begins in the valleys in September
-with the joustings of deer and moose
-and the buglings of bull wapiti puncturing
-the forest silence. By November the higher
-meadows ring with the collisions of bighorn
-rams who compete for ewes by smashing
-together their massive, curled horns. On
-high slopes mountain goat billies posture and
-swagger; head to tail, they circle, threatening
-each other with dagger-like horns.</p>
-<p>From Flathead Lake, 100 stream kilometers
-to the south, kokanee salmon return to
-spawn in the clear, cold shallows of McDonald
-Creek. Gathering bald eagles surround
-the stream, again and again lifting
-vulnerable fish from pool and riffle. Perched
-by the hundreds along the stream course,
-their white heads and tails glistening against
-the dark trees, they stand out like lanterns
-strung for a banquet.</p>
-<p>Now the stinging wind comes down
-from the peaks and shuts the lakes. Life
-slows or sleeps. Ptarmigan, snowshoe hare,
-and longtail weasel, all wearing winter white,
-seek shelter and food in a silent land where
-spring and yellow lilies seem forever lost.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />All life faces one ultimate challenge: to survive
-or not, to reproduce or fail, to bring
-one&rsquo;s kind to tomorrow&rsquo;s sun or vanish forever.
-This land is harsh. To survive in nature
-demands skill in the individual, excellence
-in the species, and a chance from the
-environment.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_42">42</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig33">
-<img src="images/p019.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="752" />
-<p class="pcap">The mink, a solitary predator associated with low-elevation
-watercourses, preys on anything it can catch
-and subdue.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_43">43</div>
-<h2 id="c5"><span class="small">Plant-and-Animal Communities</span></h2>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_44">44</div>
-<h3 id="c6">Over Going-to-the-Sun Road</h3>
-<p>I like to begin with St. Mary, a lake the
-whitecaps love to run. From the far passes
-the several winds gather and collect, arranging
-long lines of white waves for the race
-downlake. Past the purple scree of Mahtotopa
-and Little Chief they go, white as the
-headdress of Going-to-the-Sun Mountain,
-colliding, collapsing along the promontory
-snares about the Narrows. Onward they
-press, spreading out and setting sail for the
-straight rush to the final shore where a line
-of cottonwoods sings with a sound like
-applause.</p>
-<p>Across the lake the timbered ridge
-starkly contrasts the finger of prairie that
-claims the north shore. This is a flower-glad
-place, a meeting-ground for mountain and
-prairie plants. Along the road the grassland
-holds the conifers back, allowing only
-scattered clumps of aspens.</p>
-<p>Finally, at Rising Sun, beneath the
-shadow of Goat Mountain, the prairie ends
-and wind-seasoned Douglas-firs announce
-the coming forest.</p>
-<p>There&rsquo;s excitement now, with the prairie
-heat gone, the wind scent raw with fir and
-high meadows, honed by waterfall and tall,
-dank rock. Our mountain thirst is never
-extinguished, and a road that tightens down
-to cliff face and sudden turn brings back
-to our blood the ancient need to go to the
-highest place.</p>
-<p>There is sword-edged Citadel, and the
-snow-flanked spike of Fusillade holding
-court like a queen in this valley of peaks;
-then the dome of Jackson and the Gunsight
-notch. Our eyes are kept high, transfixed at
-last by looming Heavy Runner and the distant
-promise of Reynolds.</p>
-<p>Looking for mountain goats, we scan
-the walls around the sweep of Siyeh Bend,
-catching a glimpse of the trail that crosses
-the scree to hidden Piegan Pass.</p>
-<p>Beargrass heads lean out above the road
-like old men conferring on the view. The
-purple trumpets of penstemon crowd the
-rocks, and spots of Indian paintbrush lead
-like a blood-trail to the higher slopes.</p>
-<p>Intoxicated now, feeling the fresh full
-force of the wind from Logan Pass, we race
-on. We hardly notice the struggle of the
-forest in Reynolds Creek far below, how it
-thins and loses strength in its own hard
-climb. We sweep past it on the broad magnificence
-of this pass.</p>
-<p>Level but a moment, the road dips to a
-shelf on the headwall above Logan Creek
-and swings over the great sculptured cliff of
-the Garden Wall. For several kilometers this
-masterpiece of a road glides down a constant
-grade, squeezed between rock face
-and space, twisting into tight drainages&mdash;a
-road for storm lovers, wet with spray and
-snow-seep, its quick turns concealing sudden
-winds.</p>
-<p>Mighty, snow-robed Heaven&rsquo;s Peak appears,
-taking our attention from the Pass-group
-mountains and the hanging valley
-<span class="pb" id="Page_45">45</span>
-that spills Birdwoman Falls. Northward is
-the great array of peaks encircling distant
-Flattop, jumbles of mountains and glaciers.
-How are we to notice the forest far below?</p>
-<p>Not until we have passed the Loop and
-are moving past the blackened snags of a recent
-burn do we realize the stature of this
-forest. The long road down will take us
-into a valley much deeper than any on the
-eastern side. Near Avalanche Creek are
-trees we have seen nowhere else in the
-park&mdash;giant western redcedars, western
-hemlocks with their nodding tops, monstrous
-black cottonwoods with bark so
-deeply furrowed that it looks hewn by
-hatchet.</p>
-<p>We take a long ride down the valley,
-past the low pyramid of Mt. Stanton, final
-peak in the Livingston Range. Near the outlet
-end of Lake McDonald, birch and aspen
-again appear in numbers, and the road
-enters a crowded stand of lodgepole pine.</p>
-<p>Our memories cluttered with mountains,
-waterfalls, and snowfields, we do not
-quite realize the significance of this 80-kilometer
-journey. We have crossed the boundaries
-of several different plant-and-animal
-communities, spanning a range of climate
-that would be encountered on a 5,000-kilometer
-north-south journey at sea level.</p>
-<p>At first glance the various trees, wildflowers,
-and animals seem randomly distributed,
-scattered about like the distant
-mountains. But mountainous terrain represents
-an organized high-rise approach to
-life. From the lowest, most protected valley
-to the highest wind-and-ice-cut summit, the
-life-forms align themselves, each according
-to its own climatic tolerance.</p>
-<p>Here too can be seen the great cycles
-of nature: fire and regrowth, the building of
-soil and its erosion, the incessant duel of the
-eaters and the eaten.</p>
-<p>In the following sections we will spend
-some time in these various communities,
-from prairie to tundra.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_46">46</div>
-<h3 id="c7">Groves and Grasslands: The Prairie Sea</h3>
-<p>There is something about spring on the
-prairie that gets me up before dawn. I like
-to watch the seasons change their guard
-over the landscape, from the wintry cold of
-pre-dawn dark to the spring-scented morning
-air to the hot summer-foretaste of the
-noon May sun.</p>
-<p>Hoarfrost surrounds these patches of
-pasqueflowers, blue goblets on downy
-stems. On this windless night, frost has
-formed everywhere, reclaiming for a time
-its vast winter range, sparkling over the
-green handiworks of spring.</p>
-<p>But the god of the growing grasslands
-is the sun, and it now proclaims itself,
-stretching out to make the mountains shine.
-With its assault the frost collapses, becoming
-bright beads on grass tip and leaf joint
-by which a beetle might refresh itself.</p>
-<p>Spring is best perceived ant-level, at its
-ground beginnings, where the bright yellow-green
-tips of new grass shoots reclaim the
-winter-blighted land. I look closely at a drag
-line of spider silk; a necklace of dewdrops
-slides down, collects to a moment&rsquo;s greatness,
-in which I briefly see a curved horizon,
-the morning sunburst, and myself, before it
-falls away.</p>
-<p>Getting up from my prone position, my
-belly damp from the prairie earth, I startle
-a whitetail jackrabbit; bounding high, it zigzags
-off. The commotion disturbs a distant
-badger, which faces about from its diggings
-to confront danger in whatever form it might
-take. It swings its snout to scent the air.
-Somewhat uncertainly, it returns to the business
-of hunting, then hesitates, swings about
-once more and waits, myopic, patient.</p>
-<p>Satisfied at last, the spurt of the now
-distant rabbit lost in its brain, the creature
-snorts a defiance at the mystery and resumes
-its morning gopher hunt.</p>
-<p>Overhead a marsh hawk skims past, its
-flight erratic as a butterfly&rsquo;s. Far away a
-magpie rattles at the passing hawk and
-takes flight, briefly flashing black and white.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />It is easy to see only pieces in the natural
-puzzle&mdash;a badger throwing dirt, horned
-larks dipping into wind, black ants dragging
-the rosette of a dead spider&mdash;and be satisfied
-with the scattered scenes. But at last, to
-make it meaningful, we must complete the
-picture. There is that special joy in discovering
-larger schemes: green plants utilizing
-sunlight; a rabbit building its days at the
-plants&rsquo; expense; the falcon tearing the rabbit
-meat for its young; magpies picking at
-the fallen falcon; and then, in the end, all
-returning to the earth.</p>
-<p>Here on the prairie, as in every plant-and-animal
-association, the ancient drama
-repeats itself over and over; the distant tundra
-is a drastically different stage with different
-actors, but the cycle is the same. Life
-depends upon the interaction of all its
-<span class="pb" id="Page_47">47</span>
-many forms. Unseen bacteria are as necessary
-to the land as green grass; the meadow
-vole and the coyote are as much a part of
-the prairie as the grasses.</p>
-<p>The secret of life rests in the wonder of
-photosynthesis. Only green plants can manufacture
-food from the earth&rsquo;s raw minerals.
-This is the vital first step upon which the
-great pyramid of animal and plant life is
-built. Using energy from the sun, green
-plants combine water and carbon dioxide to
-synthesize sugar, and give off oxygen as a
-by-product. The caterpillar takes its energy
-from the plant tissue, converting to protein
-the sugar and minerals in its body. The
-caterpillar is then food for a spider or other
-predator. A yellow warbler may take the
-spider and in turn be ambushed by the
-prairie falcon. Thus the energy produced by
-the plant travels through the food chain.
-When the prairie falcon dies, scavengers&mdash;including
-insects and other invertebrates,
-birds, and mammals&mdash;redistribute its wealth
-among themselves; the rest is decomposed
-by bacteria. Thus, eventually, the nutrients
-on which the plants depend return to the soil.</p>
-<p>When we look at any living organism,
-whether it is plant, herbivore, carnivore,
-parasite, scavenger, or decomposer, we are
-soon made aware of its associations with
-other living things, each puzzle piece leading
-us to another and another. We begin to see
-a picture whole&mdash;the fox, meadow mouse,
-grasshopper, bunchgrass, and sparrow hawk&mdash;all
-interlocked.</p>
-<p>Geologically speaking, grasslands are a
-recent development. As the Rocky Mountains
-were being uplifted, the prevailing
-warm, moist climate began to change. The
-rising mountain mass intercepted moisture-laden
-winds that blew in from the Pacific,
-creating a rain shadow that lengthened eastward
-as the mountains rose higher. A continental
-climate, characterized by severe
-winters and dry, wildfire summers gradually
-took shape, extinguishing the great forests
-that had grown across the continent&rsquo;s interior.
-Herbaceous plants, which had been evolving
-amid the forests, inherited the land.</p>
-<p>Unlike trees, grasses die back to the
-ground each winter, hoarding their life-germ
-beneath the protecting soil. Growing
-not from the tip but from the joints, grasses
-regenerate quickly after fire or grazing.
-Suspension of the normal metabolic processes
-enable the grasses to go dormant and thus
-survive periods of severe heat and drought.</p>
-<p>Although the great prairie sea washes up
-against Glacier&rsquo;s eastern boundary, with
-estuaries probing into the mountain valleys
-on the drier, south-facing slopes, the grassland
-community comprises less than 5 percent of
-the land area of Glacier National Park.
-This includes the puddles of prairie west of
-the Divide that interrupt the dense coniferous
-forests along the North Fork of the
-Flathead River.</p>
-<p>From the pasqueflowers that bloom in
-early May to the asters and goldenrod of
-September, these summer-long gardens of
-grasses and flowers lean with the wind. Here
-are timothy, oatgrass and the bunchgrasses&mdash;rough
-fescue, bluebunch fescue, and bluebunch
-wheatgrass. Among the grasses bloom
-bitterroot, blue camas, lupine, gaillardia,
-balsamroot, cinquefoil, sticky geranium, and
-wild rose.</p>
-<p><span class="lr"><i><span class="small">continued on <a href="#Page_68">p. 68</a></span></i></span></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_48">48</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig34">
-<img src="images/p020.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="617" />
-<p class="pcap"><b id="f2fig2">The Forests of Glacier</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">From the lush redcedar-hemlock forest in
-the McDonald Valley to the subalpine fir,
-whitebark pine, and Engelmann spruce
-struggling for existence near treeline, the
-forests of Glacier reflect the conditions
-of temperature, exposure, soil, and
-drainage prevailing; and each forest has
-its characteristic association of understory
-trees and shrubs, herbaceous
-ground cover, and vertebrate and
-invertebrate animal life.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_50">50</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig35">
-<img src="images/p021.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="443" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>Life Zones</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Many physical and climatic factors
-determine the range of Glacier&rsquo;s plant-and-animal
-communities. Boundaries
-between communities are seldom sharply
-defined, but rather merge together in
-broad zones of transition.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">With elevation gain, average daily temperature drops
-at the rate of 5&deg; per 900 meters. Precipitation, wind
-velocity, and evaporation loss increase. Soil thins.
-These factors, along with others such as fire frequency,
-north or south exposure, and availability of moisture,
-combine to determine the range of each community.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">In the forest community below 1,800 meters, Douglas-fir,
-lodgepole pine, and western larch predominate. In the
-valleys, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir are found.
-The somewhat lower and much better watered western
-valleys of the park support western redcedar and
-western hemlock.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Treeline is the upper limit to which the tolerances of
-trees to environmental conditions permit them to grow.
-Because there are so many controlling factors (wind,
-temperature, exposure to sunlight, snow cover, etc.)
-treeline in the diagram is only approximate. In Glacier
-it averages 2,000 meters. Avalanche chutes or sheer
-cliff walls may suppress it to below 1,500 meters; on
-protected slopes it may be as high as 2,150 meters.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">At the eastern edge of the park below 1,200 meters, the
-forest gives way to the prairie community, composed
-mostly of soft-stemmed plants adapted to the conditions
-of low precipitation that prevail here in the rainshadow
-of the mountain range. Clumps of aspen, found in the
-prairie in sheltered spots, occur here in the transition
-zone between prairie and forest.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_52">52</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig36">
-<img src="images/p022.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="650" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>A Mountain Profile</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">This diagram represents the eastward-facing
-slope of a hypothetical mountain
-near the eastern boundary of Glacier
-National Park. Its life communities are
-somewhat different from those of
-mountain slopes at the western edge,
-chiefly because of the differential in
-annual precipitation.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Illustration: Here, above approximately 2,750 meters, in a realm of
-ice, snow, and barren rock, there is little life.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>Alpine tundra</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Below 2,750 meters and above 2,000 meters, depending
-on other factors such as exposure to sun and wind and
-steepness of terrain, exists the alpine tundra community,
-with vegetation similar to that of the vast,
-essentially level, treeless zones of the Arctic.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>Scrub-forest</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Roughly between 1,800 and 2,000 meters, the dominant
-vegetation is scrub-forest. Trees here are stunted;
-except in sheltered spots they are more or less prone
-rather than upright. Net growth is slow, not only because
-of the short growing season but also because
-of the pruning effect of icy mountain winds. Very
-few tree species can survive in this harsh habitat.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>Coniferous forest</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc">In the forest community below 1,800 meters, Douglas
-fir, lodgepole pine, and western larch predominate. In
-the valleys, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir are
-found. The somewhat lower and much better watered
-western valleys of the park support western redcedar
-and western hemlock. See <a href="#Page_54">page 54</a></p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>Prairie</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc">At the eastern edge of the park below 1,200 meters,
-the forest gives way to the prairie community, composed
-mostly of soft-stemmed plants adapted to the
-conditions of low precipitation that prevail here in the
-rainshadow of the mountain range. Clumps of aspen,
-found in the prairie in sheltered spots, occur here
-in the transition zone between prairie and forest.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_54">54</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig37">
-<img src="images/p023.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="711" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>The Forest Community</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">A forest is organized vertically like an
-apartment house or office building, with
-layers corresponding to stories. The
-<i>canopy</i> is the branches and foliage of
-tall trees that form a roof over the
-community. Below the canopy are the
-<i>understory</i> trees: young individuals of
-the canopy species; and small, shade-tolerant
-trees that will never become part
-of the canopy. Beneath the understory
-branches is the <i>shrub layer</i>, occupied by
-knee-high-to-man-high woody plants;
-beneath that is the <i>herb layer</i>, where most
-of the ferns, wildflowers, grasses, and
-smaller woody plants grow. The <i>forest
-floor</i> is the zone of mosses, mushrooms,
-creeping plants, and forest litter (leaves,
-twigs, needles, feathers, bits of bark,
-animal droppings, etc.). The forest has a
-&ldquo;basement,&rdquo; too, interlaced by plant
-roots, mycelia of fungi, and tunnels of
-myriad animals.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Each layer of the forest has its characteristic
-animal species, but most forage
-over more than one level. Some nest in
-one story and feed in another. The red
-squirrel races back and forth from the
-forest floor to the highest branches.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The forest community also has a socio-economic
-organization. Every animal (and
-plant) takes up space and consumes
-a portion of the available nutrients.
-Each has a place in the community
-food chain&mdash;as, for example, <i>herbivore</i>,
-<i>carnivore</i>, or <i>scavenger</i>. Each directly or
-indirectly affects all the other organisms.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>The Forest Community</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">The role of a species in the community, like the job and social
-function of a person, is its <i>niche</i>. Similar species of animals have different niches,
-thus lessening competition for food and living space. Thrushes hunt close to the
-ground; vireos and kinglets hunt among the branches; flycatchers snap up
-airborne insects. The flicker feeds upon insects, excavates nesting holes that are
-later occupied by other species such as squirrels and owls, and is preyed upon
-by the great horned owl; its niche is <i>insect exterminator / food for carnivores / homebuilder</i>.
-The great horned owl, hunting mammals, birds, and reptiles by night,
-preys on species different from those hunted by the goshawk, and thus
-occupies a parallel niche. When it dies, its remains, like those of other animals,
-are decomposed and return to the soil.</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Canopy</dt>
-<dd>Great Horned Owl</dd>
-<dd>Yellow-bellied Sapsucker</dd>
-<dt>Understory</dt>
-<dd>Flying Squirrel</dd>
-<dt>Shrub Layer</dt>
-<dd>Ruffed Grouse</dd>
-<dt>Herb Layer</dt>
-<dd>Red Squirrel</dd>
-<dd>Western Toad</dd>
-<dt>Forest Floor</dt>
-<dd>Shorttail Weasel</dd>
-<dd>Scavenging Insects</dd>
-<dd>Deer Mouse</dd>
-<dd>Garter Snake</dd>
-<dt>Soil Layer</dt>
-<dd>Ground Squirrel</dd>
-<dd>Earthworm</dd>
-<dd>Masked Shrew</dd></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_56">56</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig38">
-<img src="images/p024.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="673" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>Sun, Green Plants, and Animals</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">The sun is the source of energy for any
-plant-and-animal community. Green
-plants draw nitrogen and minerals from
-the soil, and in a process called photosynthesis
-use sunlight to convert raw
-materials (carbon dioxide and water) into
-carbohydrates (sugar, starch, cellulose),
-giving off oxygen as a by-product.
-Besides burning oxygen, animals depend
-on plants for food.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>Green Plants</b>, trees and shrubs, grasses
-and sedges, wildflowers, ferns, mosses,
-algae and lichens&mdash;are fed upon by
-animals, which are unable to manufacture
-their own food.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>The Redback Vole</b>, like other rodents,
-pikas and hares, seed-eating birds,
-grazing and browsing hoofed animals,
-and herbivorous insects, derives its
-energy from the seeds and other parts
-of green plants that it eats.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>The Garter Snake</b>, feeding upon the vole,
-is dependent upon plants even though it
-does not eat them.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>The Great Horned Owl</b>, preying upon the
-garter snake, is one more step removed
-from the green plants&mdash;but still
-dependent on them.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>Scavengers</b> such as carrion beetles feed
-upon the carcass of the owl; the remains
-are then attacked by <b>Decomposers</b>,
-primarily bacteria, that break down the
-animal tissues into basic organic
-compounds.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><b>The Soil</b>, enriched by the minerals and
-carbon and nitrogen compounds added to
-it by the decomposers (and by other
-processes such as fire) supports new
-green plant growth.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Thus energy derived from the sun flows
-through the ecosystem in a food chain.
-A plant-and-animal community is a
-complex, interlocking web of such food
-chains.</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Sun</dt>
-<dd>Green Plants</dd>
-<dd>Redback Vole</dd>
-<dd>Garter Snake</dd>
-<dd>Great Horned Owl</dd>
-<dd>Scavengers, Decomposers</dd>
-<dd>Soil</dd></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_58">58</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig39">
-<img src="images/p025.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="655" />
-<p class="pcap"><b>A Pyramid of Numbers</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Necessarily, the number of plants in an
-ecosystem far exceeds the number of
-plant eaters, and the number of prey
-species must exceed the number of predators.
-During its lifetime, a golden eagle
-will consume a vast number of lesser
-animals. The combined mass of prey
-animals necessary to sustain an eagle
-greatly outweighs the eagle itself. Ecologists
-refer to this proportional relationship
-of mass between each link in the
-food chain as the <i>pyramid of numbers</i>.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The diagram represents a numbers
-pyramid for the alpine zone. Because of
-its limiting environment, the alpine zone
-supports a lesser plant mass than the
-forest zone. As a result, the carrying
-capacity of the alpine is less than that
-of the forest.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>1 Kilo</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc"><i>Tertiary</i> (third-order) <i>consumers</i> are the predators
-(Golden Eagle, Swainson&rsquo;s Hawk, etc.) that feed upon
-other predators. Because of the 90% loss of energy at
-each level of the food chain, there will be very few
-hawks and eagles in comparison to the numbers of
-marmots.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>10 Kilos</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc"><i>Secondary consumers</i> are the predators (weasels,
-shrews, carnivorous insects and birds, etc.) that eat
-herbivores. The animals at this level of the pyramid are
-often&mdash;though not always&mdash;larger than the animals they
-feed upon. But they are much less numerous, because
-it takes many prey animals to sustain one predator.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>100 Kilos</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc"><i>Primary consumers</i> (plant eaters, or herbivores) convert
-plant tissue into animal flesh. In the process about
-90% of the energy stored as plant food is lost, mostly
-as heat energy. In the alpine community the herbivores
-include pikas, marmots, ground squirrels, and ptarmigan,
-as well as herbivorous insects.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><span class="large"><b>1,000 Kilos</b></span></p>
-<p class="pcapc"><i>Producers</i> are the green plants at the base of the food
-pyramid, manufacturing food for the animals of the
-alpine community. The <i>biomass</i> (total weight) of each
-level of the food chain is ten times (more or less) the
-weight of the stage above it: 1,000 kilos of green plants
-will produce only 100 kilos of primary consumers.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_60">60</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig40">
-<img src="images/p026.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="578" />
-<p class="pcap">Great horned owls are the nocturnal equivalent of
-Cooper&rsquo;s hawks and goshawks in the low-elevation
-forests of the park. Large and powerful, they are
-capable of taking prey as big as skunks. This young
-bird, disturbed on its day roost, clacked its bill and
-fluffed its feathers in a menacing manner.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig41">
-<img src="images/p026a.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="720" />
-<p class="pcap">The only sizable mature stand of ponderosa pine found
-within the park is along the North Fork truck trail.
-A scattering of old ponderosas growing at the lower
-end of Lake McDonald suggests that at one time
-ponderosa forests were more extensive in this region
-than at present.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_62">62</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig42">
-<img src="images/p027.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="688" />
-<p class="pcap">A black bear near treelimit. Bears will eat almost anything,
-from ants to carrion, grass to garbage. Color
-phases include brown and blonde bears. Unlike the
-larger, more aggressive grizzly, which ranges out onto
-the plains, black bears are strictly forest creatures.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_63">63</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig43">
-<img src="images/p027a.jpg" alt="" width="487" height="500" />
-<p class="pcap">The water ouzel, or dipper, a creature of fast mountain
-water, is admirably outfitted to cope with its
-demanding environment. Stubby wings, chunky body,
-short tail, and oily plumage allow it to walk under
-water, where it scavenges for aquatic insect larvae and
-small fish. In flying up- and down-stream, ouzels never
-shortcut but follow the winding streamcourse.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">As long as there is open water, the dipper suffers no
-hardship from the mountain winter. Then, when the land
-is shut down and lakes are frozen over, this little bird
-carries on in its mountain-stream habitat, plunging into
-the cold water to find food, and pausing occasionally to
-sing.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig44">
-<img src="images/p027b.jpg" alt="" width="488" height="500" />
-<p class="pcap">Ouzels construct their nests of living moss on cliff
-faces or ledges where constant spray keeps the moss
-moist. At fledging, the four young of this nest in
-Avalanche Gorge tumbled one by one into the torrent
-below, to be collected by the adults in quieter water
-downstream. Within a day they appeared to have
-mastered the underwater gymnastics and were feeding
-on their own.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_64">64</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig45">
-<img src="images/p028.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="389" />
-<p class="pcap">From their lowland wintering grounds, wapiti move up
-to higher elevations in spring. Summer range in the
-park is abundant, but winter range is limited; as a
-result, wapiti have a tendency to increase their populations
-beyond the carrying capacity of available winter
-range. In a severe winter many starve. But in a
-balanced ecosystem such loss is not waste, for the
-carrion helps sustain scavengers; it is an important
-initial food source for bears emerging from hibernation.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_65">65</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig46">
-<img src="images/p028a.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="518" />
-<p class="pcap">Cedar waxwings nest in moist areas of low valleys
-where fruits and berries are abundant. Although they
-also subsist on insects (which they can capture on
-the wing), their weakness for fruit is so pronounced
-that the birds will sometimes gorge themselves until
-rendered incapable of flight.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig47">
-<img src="images/p028b.jpg" alt="" width="376" height="801" />
-<p class="pcap">The Columbian ground squirrel is found at all park
-elevations, from prairie to alpine meadow. Hibernation
-occupies almost three-quarters of its five-year lifespan.
-Unlike other park ground squirrels, it lives in colonies.
-Although not as tightly structured as a prairie dog
-town, the association is beneficial to all members in
-that danger is readily detected.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_66">66</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig48">
-<img src="images/p029.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="705" />
-<p class="pcap">The tundra community is encountered above Preston
-Park on the Siyeh Pass trail. Mt. Reynolds, a
-classic example of a horn, dominates the distant
-Logan Pass area.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_67">67</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig49">
-<img src="images/p029a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="508" />
-<p class="pcap">Camas blooms in the prairie community along the Red
-Eagle road. An important staple, camas bulbs were
-gathered as food by Indians.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_68">68</div>
-<p>Conspicuous also are many insects&mdash;including
-grasshoppers; flies; ants, wasps and
-bees; butterflies and moths; bugs; and beetles&mdash;which
-fulfill important roles as herbivores,
-carnivores, and scavengers while also acting
-as pollinators for flowering plants and providing
-an abundant food source for other
-animals.</p>
-<p>Below the ground are the tunnels. Burrowing
-is an important means of survival on
-the open prairie, and life underground is
-extensive. Some of the animals are rarely
-seen&mdash;the northern pocket gopher, for example,
-with a diet of underground insects,
-grubs, worms, and roots, spends most of its
-life tunneling just below the surface. Others,
-like the badger, leave their burrows during
-the day to dig for rodents. Most conspicuous
-of the burrowing animals in the park&rsquo;s
-grasslands is the Columbian ground squirrel.
-Its alert upright stance has earned it the
-nickname &ldquo;picket pin.&rdquo; When danger approaches
-from the air or on land, its shrill
-alarm whistle passes the warning to others
-of its kind.</p>
-<p>Where prairie and forest meet, a never-ending
-struggle for dominion is waged. The
-isolated patches of prairie that dot the
-North Fork Valley near Polebridge hold the
-great forest of the park&rsquo;s northwest region
-at bay.</p>
-<p>This broad valley, floored with coarse
-glacial outwash and terraced downward to
-the deep channel of the North Fork River,
-presents a graphic battleground between
-grass and tree. Lining the upper terraces,
-from which they glower down on the dry,
-well drained grass flats like a line of warriors,
-are the Douglas-fir, western larch, and
-ponderosa pine. Seedling trees continually
-invade the prairie. But most perish early,
-their shallow roots no match for the extensive
-root systems of the fast-growing, moisture-greedy
-grasses. If encouraged by a
-series of wet summers, however, the young
-lodgepoles quickly gain stature. They had
-made significant inroads at Big Prairie when
-the disastrously dry summer of 1967 killed
-most of these 15-year-old pioneer trees.</p>
-<p>These North Fork grasslands and the
-immediately surrounding lodgepole pine forests
-are an important spring range. Deer,
-wapiti, and grizzly&mdash;and, in the wetter
-areas, moose&mdash;graze or browse here. And
-here, low on the western slopes of the
-Livingston Range, are the park&rsquo;s only stands
-of ponderosa pine, a tree that prefers warm,
-dry habitats. As a result, at low elevations it
-often merges with the prairie community.</p>
-<p>Groves of aspen colonize the eastern
-prairies in areas where there is sufficient
-water and protection from wind. These aspen
-parklands are important havens for
-<span class="pb" id="Page_69">69</span>
-animals. Wherever two differing communities
-interact, a phenomenon known as
-&ldquo;edge effect&rdquo; occurs. Here wildlife exists
-in abundance; the animals that favor forest
-cover mingle freely with those that prefer
-open areas. Aspen groves&mdash;supporting
-grasses, herbs, and shrubs beneath their thin
-canopies&mdash;are favored haunts for grouse,
-varying hare, deer, and wapiti, all of which
-find among the trees abundant food, shelter
-and concealment. Populations of insects,
-small mammals, and birds, which are high
-for the same reasons, attract a wide range of
-predators.</p>
-<p>Isolated aspen groves are characteristically
-dome-shaped. Because aspens are
-capable of reproducing themselves vegetatively,
-the grove slowly expands outward
-from the parent tree. As a result, most of
-these groves are either exclusively male or
-exclusively female.</p>
-<p>Since quick-growing aspens provide a
-bountiful food source for beaver, streams
-near these trees are often dammed by the
-rodents flooding lowlands and creating additional
-habitat in the form of willow flats.
-Another &ldquo;edge effect&rdquo; is established, attracting
-animals found near water. Waterfowl,
-marsh birds, moose, mink, muskrat, skunks,
-amphibians, and many others find such areas
-to their liking.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />Before the appearance of the white man,
-these eastern prairies were a paradise for
-animals. Once, on the summit of Rising
-Wolf, light-headed from the climb and the
-view of endless prairie, I fancied that I saw
-that vast, undisturbed animal panorama
-spread before me.</p>
-<p>Principally there were the bison, darkening
-the uneven land. Pronghorn bands
-flashed white on ridgetops, and moose
-moved through the long fingers of willow
-that extended eastward with the rivers.
-Caribou and wolves inhabited the shadows.
-Among vast cities of prairie dogs, swift fox
-and grizzly roamed. There were the clamorings
-of sandhill crane, and white clouds of
-trumpeter swans.</p>
-<p>This land, endowed with a wealth of
-wild grass, wore its wilderness well.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_70">70</div>
-<h3 id="c8">The Forest</h3>
-<p>On Gunsight Pass, the rain lancing down, I
-found a sharpedged rock that split the
-continent in two. On both sides the rain
-rivulets ran down, a fraction of an inch
-determining the stream&rsquo;s destination: Pacific
-or Atlantic.</p>
-<p>The Continental Divide is a mighty
-barrier, a line of consequence that does
-more than determine watersheds. Its effect
-in Glacier is dramatic, as a look at the
-forests will reveal.</p>
-<p>Obstructing the eastward flow of the
-moisture-laden Pacific winds, the Divide
-extracts a heavy annual tribute of precipitation
-from the air mass, forcing it to rise
-up the mountain chain, where it cools and
-condenses. Chief benefactors are the low
-western valleys, which respond with a lush
-growth of Pacific coastal-type forests.</p>
-<p>The eastern valleys, however, deprived
-of abundant annual moisture and exposed to
-the wind and temperature ravages of the
-prairie&rsquo;s continental climate, support a
-dramatically different kind of forest. Here
-Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir are the
-climax trees, contrasted with such trees as
-the western redcedar and western hemlock
-of the mild and moist McDonald valley.</p>
-<p>Elevation exerts an additional restriction
-on the distribution of tree species.
-Since climatic conditions vary with change
-in elevation&mdash;lower temperatures resulting in
-shorter growing seasons, and increased wind
-exposure resulting in greater loss of moisture
-through evaporation&mdash;we would expect
-to find the forest composition change as
-we ascend a mountain slope. In Glacier,
-eastern valleys average 240 meters higher
-than western, and thus even if they had
-more moisture they would not sustain the
-redcedars and hemlocks. All plants have
-range limits, some narrow, some broad; and
-they excel where their particular set of
-preferences as to moisture, soil, sunlight,
-and wind exposure are best met. On sites
-that do not meet their optimum requirements,
-they face being crowded out by
-species better adapted to the prevailing
-conditions.</p>
-<p>Physical features of the land determine
-vegetation also. Certain trees prefer the
-moist areas along a streambed&mdash;the great
-black cottonwoods, for example. And on
-steep hillsides, avalanches prevent the
-growth of climax trees, permitting instead
-only shrubby, pliant growth&mdash;mountain-ash,
-mountain maple, alder, menziesia.</p>
-<p>Forest communities are named for
-their dominant tree species. Thus, an area
-in which Douglas-fir dominates is called a
-&ldquo;Douglas-fir forest.&rdquo; Glacier does have
-forests in which Douglas-fir is the climax
-species; these are chiefly dry areas, below
-1,800 meters, with south and west exposures.
-But we usually associate the park with its
-Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir forests,
-found extensively between 1,200 and 2,100
-meters, and with the western redcedar-western
-<span class="pb" id="Page_71">71</span>
-hemlock forests in the McDonald
-valley.</p>
-<p>Because forests mature slowly and
-change is usually imperceptible, we are
-tempted to think of them as static and eternal.
-But since a forest is a community of
-living things, it responds to changes in the
-environment. Subtle physical or climatic
-changes, such as a rising or falling water
-table or a slight increase or decrease in
-annual precipitation, will favor some species
-of trees and hinder others, eventually altering
-the composition of the forest.</p>
-<p>Other changes are more dramatic. Most
-notable of these is fire.</p>
-<h4>From Fire to Forest</h4>
-<p>Heat lightning, glimmering soundless behind
-the western peaks. Then the first low rumble.
-At first the flashing had been from
-cloud to cloud, but now, as the storm
-nears, the first ground-spears appear,
-lighting up the night. Here is a big storm,
-many-celled, engulfing more and more territory
-beneath its angry bulk. Lightning
-dances into the dry August forest. In their
-towers the lookouts stay awake.</p>
-<p>Close strike and a flare-up! The ridge
-snag burns like a Roman candle, sending
-bright embers down. Valley, ridge, and peak
-blink on and off with blue light as the
-storm roars like night-firing artillery.</p>
-<p>Passing overhead, the low cloud belly
-brings a sudden lash of rain. But it is not
-enough: tomorrow will mean long hours
-of fire watch.</p>
-<p>The next day dawns clear, a morning
-of heavy dew. The ridge strikes did not
-ignite the forest. Inspecting the storm path,
-aircraft and lookouts find no evidence of
-fire.</p>
-<p>But two days later, in a morning of
-high wind, thin smoke plumes rise upward.
-Smoldering in the thick duff of the forest
-floor, a lingering hot spot explodes with
-the fanning wind. It quickly spreads from
-a hectare to ten while the quadrants are
-called in and the hot-shot crews dispatched;
-then to a hundred, bringing in the smoke
-jumpers and mobilizing the vast fire-control
-network. A thousand hectares, perhaps ten
-thousand might burn this week of big fires.</p>
-<p>In the resulting skeleton forest, the
-scene of devastation is almost overpowering:
-life seems forevermore excluded from
-this blackened ruin. But fire is nothing new
-to forest communities. We may think fire
-demonic because it takes from our life span
-this block of mature forest, a sight we will
-never again see in this place. But nature
-does not operate in terms of human time
-scales. This forest is simply pushed back
-closer to its starting point, to begin again
-its long progression toward a climax vegetation
-cover.</p>
-<h4>Forest Succession</h4>
-<p>Through a series of complex vegetation
-stages, each characterized by different herbs,
-trees, and shrubs, the forest slowly returns
-<span class="pb" id="Page_72">72</span>
-to the type of vegetation best suited to the
-physical and climatic conditions of the site;
-this is called a climax community. The fact
-that most of Glacier&rsquo;s forests are in some
-stage of recovery from fire accounts in part
-for the mosaic of forest cover found here.</p>
-<p>The forest of Huckleberry Mountain
-on the Camas Creek road was consumed in
-the 1967 fire. By 1969, among the charred,
-lifeless trunks of the former forest, lush
-grass and sunloving fireweed, thistle, and
-paintbrush were growing. And by 1974 lodgepole
-pine seedlings along the road were a
-meter or two high. Lodgepole is a fast-growing
-tree that requires full sun to germinate.
-Forest fire is necessary for the regeneration
-of these trees: the intense heat causes the
-tightly closed cones to open, releasing
-the seeds that will establish the forest. So
-young pines developed among fireweed,
-spiraea, willow, and mountain maple shrubs.</p>
-<p>The lodgepole forest near the western
-entrance to the park has been developing
-since 1929, when fire destroyed the redcedar-hemlock
-forest in the area between Apgar
-and West Glacier. Beneath the scattered
-spires of old larch that survived the burn,
-the lodgepoles have now grown up, forming
-a canopy that shades the forest floor. Because
-lodgepole live only about 80 years
-and will not germinate in shade, this forest
-will not exist long. Shade-tolerant Douglas-fir,
-white pine, Engelmann spruce and
-western redcedar seedlings are now taking
-hold. But the physical characteristics of
-this area&mdash;the climate, terrain, and soil&mdash;are
-ultimately most favorable for western redcedar
-and hemlock; and unless other disruptions
-intervene, this area will eventually
-again become a dense redcedar-hemlock
-forest.</p>
-<p>But this will not happen quickly. The
-soil after hundreds of years of collecting debris
-will again become rich and moist. Young
-hemlocks will germinate on and near
-decaying logs. When old larches, firs,
-and pines fall, the slow-growing redcedars
-and hemlocks will take their places in the
-canopy.</p>
-<p>Forest succession is a more complicated
-story than this; it is a fascinating study involving
-herbs, shrubs, small and large
-trees, and animal populations. From location
-to location it will vary; only in its broad
-outlines is it predictable. It is based on the
-observation that, given time, a forest&mdash;or
-any other plant community&mdash;will progress
-until it reaches climax&mdash;that is, the stage
-that will perpetuate itself.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />How then are we to think about fire? Increasingly,
-experts are concerned not so
-much with fire suppression as with fire
-management. For suppression has at least
-three disadvantages: it allows the accumulation
-of unburned fuels that can result in
-&ldquo;fire storms&rdquo; when they are finally ignited;
-an undiversified climax forest is more vulnerable
-to disease than is a mixed forest;
-<span class="pb" id="Page_73">73</span>
-and a dense forest canopy discourages shrub
-growth, an important food source for deer,
-wapiti, moose, and smaller animals.</p>
-<p>As the well-being of the deer herd depends
-on the predators that thin its numbers,
-so the long-term well-being of the forest
-depends on fire to rejuvenate it periodically.
-We must realize that wilderness is identified
-with fire, landslide, avalanche, windfall, and
-flood. Nature not only has learned to cope
-with these agents of change&mdash;she depends
-upon them for maintaining the delicate
-balances between landscape and life. There
-is in the business of nature, after all, more
-than the pleasing of man&rsquo;s eye.</p>
-<h4>Spruce Morning</h4>
-<p>Of all times to get a rock in my boot! I had
-just started out, the morning was still cool
-in this eastern valley, and the heavy pack
-was not yet biting into my shoulders. Sitting
-down beside the trail, I leaned the pack
-against the base of an old spruce and began
-unlacing.</p>
-<p>I could hear the scratching of the red
-squirrel descending to investigate, but I
-didn&rsquo;t look up until it let go with long indignant
-chatter at finding its territory invaded.
-I plunked out the pebble and began relacing
-my boot. Cautiously the squirrel came down,
-pausing frequently to scold, its lower jaw
-quivering with rage and exposing yellow
-rodent teeth. Neighboring squirrels joined
-in and soon the trees danced with flicking
-tails.</p>
-<p>Down the squirrel came, almost to the
-ground, then raced back up the tree, stopping
-at each lateral branch to deliver a
-vocal broadside. Finding no danger to themselves,
-the other squirrels soon quit the
-uproar and went about their morning business.
-I was beginning to suspect that I was
-committing some graver offense than the
-mere exercise of squatters&rsquo; rights&mdash;perhaps I
-threatened its cache of fir cones. Then into
-the corner of my vision shot another form,
-streaking soundless as a shadow; the squirrel
-also saw it&mdash;but too late. With a thin
-terrified squeak, the rodent started to go
-higher; but the pine marten was above it.
-The squirrel quickly reversed itself, sending
-bits of bark showering down.</p>
-<p>As the squirrel leaped from the tree in
-desperation, the marten overtook it in mid-air;
-they came down together. Clamping the
-limp creature firmly in its jaws, the marten
-strode up the incline of a fallen spruce.
-Before it hopped off onto a shelf of higher
-ground to disappear, it looked briefly back
-at me. I fancied I could read, fixed in its
-eyes, a certain recognition of my having
-distracted its prey.</p>
-<p>A breeze made me shiver, snapping me
-back from that swift vision of luxuriant fur,
-that blinding grace which flashed its orange
-throat-patch through the trees, and I realized
-I was sweating. For a moment I had been
-that squirrel, eyes wide with terror, seeing
-fate bear down, and powerless before the
-natural order of things.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_74">74</div>
-<p>The incident got the other squirrels
-singing again; but the confidence was gone,
-and soon it was quiet. What dreams do
-squirrels dream, I wondered, looking
-around. I saw that place more clearly then,
-having been caught between a marten and
-its prey. I saw each spruce: its age, its condition,
-the onslaughts it had borne; the
-beargrass coming up in an opening; and
-down the trail a meadow that was yellow,
-white, and red with sulphur plant, mariposa,
-and Indian paintbrush. Bees, flies, spiders,
-and butterflies worked that little garden
-tucked among the crowding trees. Countless
-forms of life beneath the soil and bark, in
-tunnel, crevice, hole, and pocket, working
-unseen to sustain their lives, and somehow,
-when all were added up, maintaining the
-forest as well.</p>
-<p>A flicker called, its loud <i>Klee-yer</i> breaking
-the forest hush. Birds, mammals, plants,
-insects&mdash;all hide together here, their lives
-so skillfully embroidered that no loose
-thread exists that my mind might grasp
-to unravel and understand the work.</p>
-<p>The forest had once been a place that
-obstructed my view, a great blank to stride
-through, a few hours of necessary blur
-before the high lake or pass was reached.
-Now I was quite content to remain awhile
-beneath these great-boled trees.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />A forest, like the mountains themselves,
-supports various levels of life. The floor and
-substratum are a great processing plant where
-bacteria, fungi, and insects work, decomposing
-the plant and animal litter, recycling
-dead and discarded tissue back to simpler
-organic compounds, gases, and minerals,
-thereby providing sustenance for growing
-plants. As spiders, shrews, wrens, and
-thrushes seem to know, there is good hunting
-on the forest floor.</p>
-<p>Just above the forest floor is the herb
-layer, a seasonal layer of growth including
-flowers, mushrooms, grasses, and other
-small plants.</p>
-<p>Above that grows the shrub layer, then
-the understory of young trees awaiting their
-chance to take a place in the forest&rsquo;s canopy
-high above. From the swaying canopy, exposed
-to the full force of sun and wind, to
-the dim, moist floor, the forest provides a
-wide range of habitat.</p>
-<p>Relatively few animals live in the treetops.
-The almost incessant motion makes
-nesting too hazardous for birds. Red squirrels
-venture up to cut cones in the canopy,
-but store their booty and make their nests
-farther down.</p>
-<p>In the mid-range between canopy and
-understory, goshawks and Cooper&rsquo;s hawks
-nest. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and sapsuckers
-forage on the tree trunks and nest
-in cavities they excavate or appropriate. Red
-squirrels and the nocturnal flying squirrels
-create a major traffic here, along with the
-martens and owls that hunt them.</p>
-<p>The understory and shrub layers house
-<span class="pb" id="Page_75">75</span>
-the greatest numbers of nesting birds. Here
-the effects of storm and rain are minimized
-and protective cover is greatest. Vireos,
-thrushes, warblers, hummingbirds, bluebirds,
-flycatchers, and others can be found among
-the tangle of this sometimes impenetrable
-layer.</p>
-<p>The most populated area, the forest
-floor, supports an astonishing abundance of
-organisms. Below the busy traffic of mice,
-shrews, and larger animals is a bewildering
-array of insects and other invertebrates. The
-attrition rate in the litter of the forest floor&mdash;a
-continual battleground difficult to comprehend&mdash;is
-enormous. The smaller the organism,
-the greater its numbers are likely
-to be. This humus-rich, moist soil teems
-with bacteria, and a handful will contain
-surprising numbers of small spiders, pseudo-scorpions
-and almost microscopic mites.</p>
-<p>Each year some two to three thousand
-kilograms, dry weight, of falling material
-litter an average hectare of forest. All this
-plant and animal waste&mdash;twigs, leaves,
-limbs, fallen trees, feathers, hair, feces, and
-carcasses&mdash;is processed by the armies of
-decomposers that thrive on the forest floor.
-With the aid of larger creatures that break
-up the plant and animal tissue, most microscopic
-bacteria are able to decompose from
-a hundred to a thousand times their own
-weight every day.</p>
-<p>Few trees die of old age in the forest.
-The seedling mortality rate is necessarily
-high, since far greater numbers of seeds
-germinate each year than can reach maturity.
-Of those that do, many fall victim to
-the ever-present dangers of disease, insect
-infestation, windfall, stream erosion, and
-fire. Insects alone present a formidable
-threat to trees, for they have evolved every
-means of attack&mdash;chewing and mining
-leaves, boring into twigs, eating cambium
-and heartwood, sucking sap, triggering galls.
-If the insect world did not police itself,
-aided by spiders, insectivorous birds and
-other animals, forests and other plantlife
-would quickly fade before the chewing, boring,
-sucking horde.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />Through the trees the light on Citadel shows
-the morning slipping by. As I start to get
-up I see a garter snake sliding out into
-the dusty trail, seeking the sun-warmed
-earth. Moving slowly, alert for danger, it
-probes the air frequently with its sensitive
-tongue. But against the lightcolored duff
-its dark shape offers a fine target, begging
-attack. A chipmunk, watching from a nearby
-lookout stump, twitches its tail nervously
-over its back, curious&mdash;perhaps suspicious&mdash;at
-the sight of a snake. Very slightly the
-snake&rsquo;s head goes up, its tongue flickering.
-For a few seconds reptile and rodent regard
-each other. Then the chipmunk drops back
-soundlessly into its hollow stump, and the
-snake lowers its head onto warm ground.</p>
-<p>Some day soon, a sparrowhawk or weasel
-will interrupt the snake&rsquo;s morning sun-bath.
-<span class="pb" id="Page_76">76</span>
-The snake will fuel bird or mammal
-for a time, as mice, fledgling birds, and
-insects now sustain the snake. The chipmunk
-too, rummaging nearby, lives in
-shadows of talon and tooth.</p>
-<p>Until that time of sharp encounter,
-each has its own niche, a way of life, a shaft
-of sun, and food enough.</p>
-<h4>A Walk in the Redcedar Forest</h4>
-<p>Climax! The word takes on a true significance
-here, among these broad-based trees.
-When you enter this forest the road noise
-does not follow far&mdash;as, when you walk into
-a cave and turn a corner, sound and light
-are left behind. There is a surprising spaciousness,
-a feeling of openness in a mature
-western redcedar forest. With scant understory
-and the canopy so far above and
-everywhere complete, it seems like some
-vast, high-ceilinged catacomb, pillared by
-the huge, shaggy-barked cedars and the
-deeply scored trunks of the black cottonwoods.
-The floor is strewn with fallen giants
-in magnificent disarray, uplifted roots still
-grasping fractured rock.</p>
-<p>A rainy day is a good time to walk a
-cedar trail, when the dull light seems to
-shine from the wet moss, making the underleaves
-of devil&rsquo;s-club and Rocky Mountain
-maple glow. Wind and rain, like light,
-penetrate with difficulty the latticework of
-this canopy; thin lines of fog develop over
-the bogs. The air is fresh with growing
-plants, snow-cold still when the first spring
-flowers appear.</p>
-<p>Fiddleheads of unfolding lady ferns line
-the trail in May, pushing up from the hub
-of last year&rsquo;s leveled, lifeless fronds. Beds
-of trillium shine their white, three-pointed
-flowers like flashlights in the dark recesses.
-Unlike the small, hidden calypso orchid,
-which bears its purple spikes and yellow
-throat low above the moss, the trilliums
-make no secret of spring growth. They are
-bold, handsome plants, broad-leaved and
-tall, with waxy white petals that tinge to purple
-in their month-long bloom.</p>
-<p>Moss covers everything. Boulders are
-green and weightless-looking, resilient and
-topped with miniature forests of cedar
-seedlings. Ancient fallen trees are disguised
-with blankets of moss, sprouting
-hemlock here and there. The rich greens
-that characterize Glacier&rsquo;s summers seem
-to begin here amid the moisture-glossed
-leaves of twinflower, bunchberry and bead-lily.</p>
-<p>Later, the spiders will spin thousands of
-kilometers of gossamer filament among the
-trees. The orb-weavers will hang their webs
-high and low, suspended in every opening.
-Walking through the forest then, you will see
-shafts of sunlight whirling in the higher
-webs until they seem like tops set spinning
-among the treetrunks.</p>
-<p>Indianpipes, the &ldquo;ghost flowers&rdquo; that
-need no light to grow, will break through
-the forest soil. Like mushrooms, with fruiting
-bodies that are nourished by underground
-<span class="pb" id="Page_77">77</span>
-mycelia, these saprophytes absorb
-their nutrients from a fungus that covers
-their roots.</p>
-<p>Receiving an average of about 18 centimeters
-more annual precipitation than
-forests east of the Divide, Glacier&rsquo;s redcedar-hemlock
-community hoards its moisture.
-Its dense growth and the surrounding
-mountain walls inhibit the circulation of
-drying winds. Mosses and ferns transpire
-their moisture, which you can feel; place
-your hand close, and you will sense a coolness
-like the air exuding from an ice cave.
-Draped from the tree limbs are long filaments
-of squawhair and goatsbeard, black
-and grey lichen strands that flourish in the
-damp air.</p>
-<p>Except for the black bear, few large
-animals inhabit the deep forest. Grizzlies
-find better forage in meadows or along the
-forest edge. Since shade discourages shrubby
-undergrowth, deer and wapiti will search
-elsewhere for browse. In summer, wapiti,
-grizzlies, and mule deer bucks tend to
-wander up into high meadows.</p>
-<p>Contrasted to the noisy, conspicuous
-birds of the prairie&mdash;meadowlarks and bobolinks&mdash;birds
-of the forest seem elusive
-and secretive. Although numerous, the
-varied thrushes, Townsend&rsquo;s solitaires, and
-Swainson&rsquo;s thrushes are seldom seen; but
-when approached, they fly silently off and are
-swallowed by the forest shadow.</p>
-<p>There seems to be serenity in a mature
-forest, as though the struggle for life is
-somehow suspended, the needs of the animals
-here less urgent, muffled. The towering
-redcedar forest seems to be no battlefield
-at all, but rather a monument to what
-Earth can do.</p>
-<h4>The Perpendicular Night</h4>
-<p>Behind Avalanche campground a trail leads
-back toward Lake McDonald Lodge. I decided
-to follow it one June evening, to experience
-the sensation of the deep forest
-changing into night. With the nearby mountain
-wall intercepting the sun, dusk comes
-early to this valley. On the prairie, night
-passes across the landscape in an even line,
-forthright as a waxing tide; you can almost
-feel the globe in its turning from the sun.
-There is reassurance in the night&rsquo;s coming,
-its steady purple doming over the sky.</p>
-<p>But here darkness seems to sprout from
-the earth. It collects beneath the hemlock
-clumps, bridges the creekbottoms. It seems
-to flit from place to place. You look about,
-uneasy, trying to catch it here or there, but
-always miss its infiltrations. It captures the
-narrow clearings when you look away;
-pockets of tree-darkness join together,
-forcing the light upward until the tree-tops
-seem impossibly bright and distant.</p>
-<p>Through the trees I could see a dozen
-fires dance in the growing shadow, wood-smoke
-and camp sounds filling the air.
-Turning uptrail, I felt a reluctance to leave
-the presence of those fires&mdash;a senseless feeling,
-but strong. A growing forest-dread impelled
-me almost physically backward to
-those circles of firelight. I felt the need to
-be near a fire, to be reassured by heat and
-light. Fire was our greatest friend, our
-greatest weapon. With it we beat the long
-ages of ice and held the forest gloom
-away. There was no harm here, only silence;
-yet the longer I walked, with beard-moss
-hanging down like daggers all around,
-the more I craved the comradeship of fire.</p>
-<p><span class="lr"><span class="small"><i>Continued on <a href="#Page_104">p. 104</a></i></span></span></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_78">78</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b id="f2fig3">The Vital Predator</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">The merciless law of predation might at
-first thought seem cruel; but the predator
-plays a vital part in maintaining the
-balance of the biotic community. Without
-the controlling factor of predation, prey
-species quickly enlarge their populations.
-If plant eaters are not checked, the resulting
-excess population exceeds the
-carrying capacity of the range. Food
-supply rapidly diminishes. In a damaged
-range, competition and stress result,
-usually culminating in a massive die-off
-through starvation and disease.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Ironically, predators thus provide a service
-to their prey. First to fall to the predator
-are the old, the diseased, the unwary, and
-the young. By removing many young and
-old deer from a typical herd, cougars
-lessen competition among the deer for
-choice range, thus tending to keep herbivore
-numbers at parity with the land&rsquo;s
-carrying capacity. Only the strongest and
-wariest deer survive, ensuring that the
-fittest will continue the species. When
-man upsets this delicate balance&mdash;destroying
-predators in the hope of increasing
-numbers of game animals&mdash;the
-result is ecological disaster. In the 1930s,
-in a misguided attempt to &ldquo;preserve&rdquo; the
-whitetail deer herds of the park&rsquo;s North
-Fork area, many coyotes and cougars
-were exterminated. In 1935 alone, 50
-cougars were killed. Relieved of the pressure
-of predation, the deer flourished. In a
-few years, however, the normally adequate
-range was severely overbrowsed. Suffering
-also from this imbalance were wapiti
-(&ldquo;elk&rdquo;) and moose, ungulates that share
-the winter range with deer.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Some predators are more specialized
-than others. The Canada lynx, for
-example, has oversize feet, an adaptation
-that helps it move across deep snow
-without breaking the surface. As a result,
-it is an efficient predator of the snowshoe
-hare, another large-footed animal. Relying
-on this adaptation, the lynx feeds almost
-exclusively on snowshoe hares. Consequently,
-its numbers inevitably fluctuate
-with the 10-year &ldquo;boom and bust&rdquo; cycle of
-the snowshoe.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The coyote, on the other hand, is a
-generalized predator, exploiting whatever
-prey is currently abundant. Should mice
-or ground squirrels be in short supply, it
-will subsist on anything from grasshoppers
-to berries until favored prey again becomes
-available. (Animals that normally
-eat both plant and animal food are
-referred to as omnivores.) Generalized
-predators are thus better equipped to
-survive temporary ecological imbalances,
-maintaining their numbers at relatively
-consistent levels from year to year.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Carnivores all, the animals on these pages
-illustrate various adaptations for
-capturing prey.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_79">79</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig50">
-<img src="images/p030.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="580" />
-<p class="pcap">The population of the Canada lynx, which is widely distributed
-in Glacier&rsquo;s coniferous forests, fluctuates in
-cycles. The lynx is abundant or scarce depending on
-the population condition of its chief prey, the
-equally cyclic snowshoe hare.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_80">80</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig51">
-<img src="images/p031.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="817" />
-<p class="pcap">The cougar, which feeds primarily on deer, requires
-a large territory. Because of its strength, stealth, and
-speed, American folklore has given this wary cat a
-false reputation as a man-stalker.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_81">81</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig52">
-<img src="images/p031a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="597" />
-<p class="pcap">The red fox depends largely on a well-developed
-sense of smell to locate its prey; it also relies on
-its keen eyesight, speed, and agility to capture mice,
-hares, birds, and whatever else it can run down or
-surprise.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_82">82</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig53">
-<img src="images/p032.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="725" />
-<p class="pcap">To feed its demanding young, the Swainson&rsquo;s thrush
-hunts for insects along the forest floor and in the
-dense underbrush. This thrush relies on its secretive
-behavior to protect its nest near the ground from
-detection by other predators.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_83">83</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig54">
-<img src="images/p032a.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="514" />
-<p class="pcap">Armed with enlarged forelegs, the crab spider waits on
-or near flowers to ambush visiting bees, flies, or
-other insects. Its venom produces a quick kill, allowing
-it to attack insects many times its own size.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig55">
-<img src="images/p032b.jpg" alt="" width="463" height="800" />
-<p class="pcap">The spotted frog is a large-mouthed predator that not
-only eats water striders and other insects but also
-gulps down smaller frogs and small fish.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_84">84</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b id="f2fig4">Protective Coloration</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">To escape extermination, each species
-must in some manner foil its enemies.
-Protective coloration is one of the more
-common adaptations helping to do this.
-Most animals resemble their environment
-to some extent. The conspicuous
-markings of some, like the bitter-tasting
-monarch butterfly or the striped skunk,
-seem to function as a warning to
-prospective predators that it is in their
-best interest to look elsewhere for a meal.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Some animals, such as the white-tailed
-ptarmigan and the snowshoe hare, have
-seasonal changes in plumage or pelage,
-wearing white in winter and brown in
-summer. Even predators, such as
-longtail and shorttail weasels, benefit
-from seasonal camouflage. Protective
-coloration makes them less noticeable
-to prey species and to larger predators.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Many insects, too, change coloration with
-the season. Bright green grasshoppers of
-early summer become more brown with
-each molt, matching the changes in the
-surrounding vegetation.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><i>Obliterative shading</i> is especially important
-to animals that frequent more than
-one habitat. Seen from above, turtles
-match their dark background; from below,
-because of their lighter underbody
-shading they blend into the bright
-skylight.</p>
-<p class="pcapc"><i>Disruptive coloration</i> aids in breaking up
-an animal&rsquo;s outline. Butterflies and moths
-commonly have disruptive wing markings.
-The distinctive shapes of eyes can be
-concealed. Eye coloration may mimic
-body color&mdash;as in the green katydid&mdash;or
-the eye may continue disruptive body
-markings.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Ground-nesting birds are especially vulnerable
-to attack. Their eggs tend to be
-heavily blotched with earthy colors,
-making them less conspicuous. Chicks
-also carry these disruptive colorations on
-natal down.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Most mammals, with coats of brown or
-gray, are inconspicuous when motionless.
-Deer fawns are endowed with speckled
-coats, mimicking the sun-flecked forest
-floor; this disruptive coloration, coupled
-with absence of scent and their
-instinctive &ldquo;freezing&rdquo; behavior, makes it
-difficult for predators to detect them.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The whitetail deer not only uses its white
-&ldquo;flag&rdquo; to warn others in the herd of
-danger; it also allows a pursuing predator
-to use it as a target. When the tail is
-suddenly dropped&mdash;abruptly obliterating
-the bright white patch&mdash;the deer seems to
-disappear into its dim surroundings.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Since overly conspicuous animals are
-prone to predation, natural selection favors
-development of appropriate camouflage.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_85">85</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig56">
-<img src="images/p033.jpg" alt="" width="687" height="700" />
-<p class="pcap">For such ground-dwelling birds as the white-tailed
-ptarmigan, camouflage is an important survival adaptation.
-The ptarmigan changes its plumage to match its
-surroundings: it is white in winter, speckled in summer.
-Moving slowly and refraining from flight, it is less
-likely than more-active birds to be detected by sharp-eyed,
-motion-conscious predators.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_86">86</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig57">
-<img src="images/p034.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="618" />
-<p class="pcap">Birds that when hatched are covered with down and
-are able to move about freely are called <i>precocial</i>.
-They are less dependent upon their parents than are
-<i>altricial</i> young, which are naked and helpless when
-they hatch; but they must rely heavily on a resemblance
-to their surroundings for survival during their
-first flightless weeks. This spruce grouse chick, which
-blends into its sunflecked forest-floor habitat, is an
-example of a precocial bird.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_87">87</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig58">
-<img src="images/p034a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="518" />
-<p class="pcap">The bold disruptive pattern of the killdeer chick&rsquo;s
-plumage helps this precocial bird avoid detection in
-its open-prairie environment. This adaptation, coupled
-with the chick&rsquo;s instinct to freeze at the approach of
-danger, ensures that enough young will survive to
-perpetuate the species.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_88">88</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b><i id="f2fig5">Ursus arctos horribilus</i>: The Vulnerable King</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">At the apex of the food pyramid, this great
-beast is unquestionably the king of
-Glacier&rsquo;s biotic community. Yet the long-range
-future of the grizzly bear is uncertain.
-With the grizzly exterminated from
-most of its former range&mdash;which once
-extended into the midcontinent and south
-into Mexico&mdash;its numbers have dwindled
-in proportion to its diminished range.
-Present concentrations in the contiguous
-United States remain in and around
-Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.
-Probably fewer than 200 of these magnificent
-creatures live in Glacier National
-Park.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Grizzlies are easily distinguished from
-the more common black bear. In
-addition to larger size and heavier build,
-grizzlies have a characteristic shoulder
-hump; long, conspicuous claws; and a
-broad, concave face that gives them
-a &ldquo;dished-in&rdquo; appearance. Fur is usually
-brown; like the fur of the black bear,
-however, color may range from black
-to yellowish. Light tipped hairs make the
-fur appear frosted, giving rise to the
-nickname, &ldquo;silvertip.&rdquo;</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Grizzlies, popularly considered arch
-predators, are more accurately described
-as omnivores. Carrion, grasses, cow
-parsnip, and several species of berries,
-bulbs, and tubers make up a grizzly&rsquo;s diet,
-along with insects, small mammals, and
-an occasional ungulate that it can catch.
-As a result, grizzlies play several roles in
-the biotic community, functioning as
-herbivore, scavenger, and predator.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Ranging widely in all life zones, grizzlies
-follow the spring snowmelt up to the
-alpine meadows, returning to lower elevations
-to hibernate from November until
-April. One to three cubs are born in
-midwinter during hibernation. Since the
-maternal bond lasts two years, a sow will
-accept a mate only every other year.
-Mortality of subadults is high, resulting
-principally from competition among the
-bears themselves. As with most animals,
-range&mdash;habitat&mdash;appears to be the
-limiting factor of grizzly populations.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The grizzly is normally shy and fearful
-of man&mdash;but highly unpredictable.
-Wounded or sick bears, sows defending
-cubs, young adults, and bears that
-have become conditioned to human
-scent are the most dangerous. As
-humans continue to encroach on grizzly
-territory, odds of confrontation also
-increase. Recent fatalities and personal
-injuries inflicted by grizzlies pose a
-vexing problem to the National Park
-Service, which is charged with visitor
-safety on the one hand and protection
-of the park&rsquo;s remaining grizzly
-population on the other. Continuing
-study of grizzly ecology and increasingly
-enlightened bear management programs
-will, it is hoped, allow man and bear
-to co-exist in a wilderness both require.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_89">89</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig59">
-<img src="images/p035.jpg" alt="" width="690" height="700" />
-<p class="pcap">Grizzlies are fond of succulent spring grasses.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_90">90</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig60">
-<img src="images/p036.jpg" alt="" width="446" height="801" />
-<p class="pcap">Traversing all life zones in the park, the grizzly is a
-true opportunist, eating anything from ants and
-berries to wapiti.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_91">91</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig61">
-<img src="images/p036a.jpg" alt="" width="688" height="700" />
-<p class="pcap">Seldom will a grizzly exceed 225 kilograms in Glacier.
-This is a young adult.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_92">92</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b><a id="f2fig6">Bald Eagles and Kokanee Salmon: A Recent Gathering</a></b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">In 1916 the kokanee salmon, a small,
-land-locked form of the Pacific coast
-species, was planted in the Flathead
-drainage. With the first planting augmented
-by additional stockings, the fish
-thrived in cold, deep Flathead Lake, and,
-to a lesser extent, in Lake McDonald.
-The salmon fed almost exclusively on
-zooplankton.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">By the mid-1930s, salmon runs were
-becoming established. The outlet of Lake
-McDonald provides an ideal spawning site
-for the salmon. The fast-flowing water is
-clear, cold, and shallow, and the creek
-bed is gravelly.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Averaging 0.3 meters in length and weighing
-less than a half-kilo, the 4-year-old
-adult salmon cease feeding and begin to
-migrate. Many thousands swim the 100
-kilometers from Flathead Lake to
-McDonald Creek. Males appear in the
-creek first, arriving in late September, and
-are soon followed by the females.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Using her tail to dig a redd (a shallow
-nest depression), the female deposits
-about 650 eggs. After fertilization by the
-male, the eggs are covered over. The
-adults die within three weeks after spawning,
-their bodies exhausted from the
-rigorous migration journey and the weeks-long
-lack of sustenance.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Egg fatalities are high, due to stream
-erosion and disturbance by other spawning
-salmon. Hatching in late March, the
-fry work their way out of the gravel and
-migrate downstream.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Attracted to the 75,000-150,000 salmon
-concentrated in a 3-kilometer stretch of
-shallow water, bald eagles begin gathering
-at McDonald Creek in October. It is not
-known where the eagles come from or
-where they go after the spawning run.
-Glacier has fewer than 20 summer-resident
-bald eagles, and these are distributed
-among the remote lakes of the North
-Fork area.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">In 1939, 37 bald eagles were counted
-along the creek. By 1969, 373 were reported,
-representing approximately 10
-percent of that year&rsquo;s estimated winter
-population for the contiguous United
-States. Since 1960, the count has averaged
-240 birds. (In 1977 there were 444.)</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Eagles feed by swooping down to pluck
-salmon from the water or by wading out
-to grab a fish stranded on a shallow
-riffle. An eagle may consume as many as
-six fish a day. Immature birds are not as
-adept at catching fish and may harry
-adults or other immatures into releasing
-their catch.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_93">93</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig62">
-<img src="images/p037.jpg" alt="" width="684" height="700" />
-<p class="pcap">From its vantage point, this mature bald eagle
-examines the waters of McDonald Creek. Average
-weight is 5.7 kilograms; average wingspan is 2.2
-meters. Females are slightly larger than males.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_94">94</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig63">
-<img src="images/p038.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="483" />
-<p class="pcap">This immature bald eagle lacks the familiar white head
-and tail of the adult birds. It will not acquire those
-markings until it is several years old.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig64">
-<img src="images/p038a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="541" />
-<p class="pcap">Breeding male and female kokanee salmon are easily
-distinguishable; as spawning time approaches, they
-change appearance. The dark gray backs turn red;
-heads become green, and the males develop humped
-backs and hooked jaws.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_95">95</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig65">
-<img src="images/p038b.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="481" />
-<p class="pcap">Swooping upward with a fish, a mature eagle heads
-for a convenient perch to consume its catch. A
-strategically located tree may contain 30 birds.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_96">96</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b><a id="f2fig7">A Triumph of Many Colors</a></b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Grassland, meadow, tundra, or any other
-area in Glacier suitable for plant growth
-and supplied with abundant sunlight
-produces an extravagance of wildflowers.
-This display of various shapes and colors
-is neither an accident nor a mere decoration
-of nature. Nor would Earth&rsquo;s
-recent explosion of mammal and bird
-species have been possible without the
-evolution of flowering plants.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Two hundred million years ago, early
-in the Age of Reptiles, angiosperms
-(flowering plants) had not yet evolved.
-Plant reproduction still relied on spores
-and cones. Then, during the Cretaceous
-Period, the last sediments were being laid
-down in the inland sea that covered most
-of Montana. (It was these sediments that
-the ancient Precambrian rocks of Glacier&rsquo;s
-mountains later overrode, forming the
-Lewis Overthrust.) During this period
-the evolutionary miracle occurred:
-flowering plants&mdash;grasses, vines, shrubs,
-broadleaf trees, wildflowers&mdash;inherited
-the Earth.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The timing was important. As Earth&rsquo;s
-tropical climate gradually changed to
-temperate extremes during this period,
-the domination of cold-blooded dinosaurs
-ended and the moisture-demanding
-coniferous forests that had covered the
-earth in green monotony began to shrink.
-Angiosperms provided a solution to the
-ecological void: grasses and forbs grew
-where trees no longer could. Most important,
-relationships evolved between this
-new class of plants and the relatively
-few species of insects then existing.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Insects began to use the pollen of flowering
-plants; the angiosperms, in turn,
-evolved bright petals and nectar that
-exploited visiting insects for the plants&rsquo;
-own reproductive purposes. This partnership
-allowed insects to diversify rapidly,
-evolving new, specialized forms such as
-bees, moths, and butterflies. As a result,
-predatory forms of insects and arachnids
-also rapidly diversified.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The most dramatic change, however,
-involved warm-blooded birds and
-mammals, whose high rates of metabolism
-required high-energy fuels. Unlike
-gymnosperm seeds, which contain no
-protective covering, angiosperm seeds are
-surrounded by a fruit. The development
-of these highly nutritious seeds, and
-the attendant explosion of insect
-species, ensured survival of the newly
-evolved birds.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">As birds diversified into seed-eaters,
-insectivores, and carnivores, mammals,
-then uncertain little ratlike creatures
-darting among the feet of dinosaurs,
-began a rapid rise to dominance;
-grasslands promoted an explosion of
-herbivorous and carnivorous species.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">The evolution of angiosperms, and the
-animal revolution it made possible, came
-with amazing speed. Most significant, it
-was a vital first step upon which the
-meteoric rise of man depended.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_97">97</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig66">
-<img src="images/p039.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="715" />
-<p class="pcap">Indian paintbrush is common at all elevations
-below tundra. It may be white, yellow, orange,
-pink or red. The actual flowers, inconspicuous and
-green, are surrounded by brilliantly colored bracts.
-Semi-parasitic on other plants, paintbrush is normally
-found growing in conjunction with other wildflowers;
-its roots steal sustenance from neighboring plants.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_98">98</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig67">
-<img src="images/p040.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="509" />
-<p class="pcap">Yellow stonecrop, widely distributed in forest and
-scrub-forest zones, is one of the park&rsquo;s few plants
-having succulent leaves, an adaptation that helps it
-survive in such situations as dry, rocky outcrops.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig68">
-<img src="images/p040a.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="520" />
-<p class="pcap">The Calypso orchid grows in the cool, shadowed
-forest where light is dim. It lives in partnership with
-certain fungi that exist about the orchid&rsquo;s roots and
-seem to help nourish it.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_99">99</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig69">
-<img src="images/p040b.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="721" />
-<p class="pcap">Silky lupine, a legume, has nitrogen-fixing nodules on
-its roots, thus allowing it to grow in nitrogen-poor
-soil. It is widely distributed in grassland and forest
-communities.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_100">100</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b><a id="f2fig8">Fire Succession: Key to Continuity</a></b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Most of Glacier&rsquo;s fires are lightning-caused.
-Strikes may flare up immediately;
-or fires may smolder in the forest duff
-for days until fanned into flame by wind.
-<i>Ground fires</i> may race through the forest
-understory, causing minor damage; or
-they may bridge the understory and reach
-the canopy, thus becoming rapidly spreading
-<i>crown fires</i>. Under certain conditions,
-uncontrollable infernos may develop,
-generating terrific winds and heat. These
-rare conflagrations are called <i>fire storms</i>.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">Every type of forest habitat has <i>climax
-vegetation</i>&mdash;trees and shrubs that are best
-suited to the site and thus maintain
-themselves indefinitely if not disrupted.</p>
-<p class="pcapc">After a major fire, habitat conditions are
-usually so altered that the site must pass
-through several <i>seral stages</i> before conditions
-are such that climax vegetation can
-return. A <i>sere</i> is a series of plant communities
-that follow one another in orderly
-fashion until climax conditions are again
-reached.</p>
-<div class="img" id="fig70">
-<img src="images/p041.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="490" />
-<p class="pcap">Lightning fires occur most often during the hot, dry
-weeks of late summer.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_101">101</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig71">
-<img src="images/p041a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="486" />
-<p class="pcap">When the forest is dry, lightning often causes quick
-flare-ups.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig72">
-<img src="images/p041b.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="546" />
-<p class="pcap">The forest may continue to burn for days after the
-main conflagration has passed.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_102">102</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig73">
-<img src="images/p042.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="717" />
-<p class="pcap">After a major fire, sun-loving grasses, shrubs, and
-wildflowers quickly invade the former forest. Deer
-and wapiti benefit from these new food sources.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_103">103</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig74">
-<img src="images/p042a.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="512" />
-<p class="pcap">Lodgepole pine, a pioneer species quick to take over
-burned areas at lower elevations, grows rapidly. These
-trees are five years old.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig75">
-<img src="images/p042b.jpg" alt="" width="465" height="800" />
-<p class="pcap">This is a Glacier National Park forest 80 years after
-a major fire.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_104">104</div>
-<p>Sudden hammering made me jump.
-Above the forest darkness, a pileated woodpecker
-leaned out from a high larch snag,
-braced against the trunk by its specialized,
-stiff tail feathers. This was the first time I
-had seen this big white-and-black bird, the
-&ldquo;cock-of-the-woods.&rdquo; There was ample evidence
-of his work: the deep, oblong excavations
-in the trunk and the pile of large wood
-chips at its base, both characteristic of this
-species. Again he hammered, and I could
-see the chips falling. After a little edge-work
-around the hole, he extracted a grub
-and flew off, yammering against the advancing
-dark.</p>
-<p>Near a stream I stopped to sit down,
-to listen to the water and maybe catch sight
-of some small animal. Across the narrow
-defile, from a slope dense with young hemlock,
-came the buzzing note of a varied
-thrush. Several notes followed, all on a
-different pitch, all drawn out, level and
-clear; the quality was pure but songless, disjointed,
-deliberate, like someone testing the
-reed of a strange woodwind. There seemed
-no gladness in the heart of this thrush. The
-song was dark, haunting, lonely.</p>
-<p>On the trail ahead I could make out a
-bird hopping rapidly along. After passing
-the spot I could hear its song. There
-couldn&rsquo;t be a hundred meters between
-us, yet it seemed to be coming from a
-great distance. I listened for as long as it
-would sing. I tried to hear it for what it was,
-a male Swainson&rsquo;s thrush proclaiming its
-territory. But the ethereal, flute-like phrases
-seemed an evensong made not for man&rsquo;s
-ears but only for the forest itself.</p>
-<p>I hurried on after the bird had ceased.
-It was getting dark beneath the trees, but I
-was beginning to be aware of creatures
-underfoot, the mad dartings of shrew and
-vole, more imagined than seen. When a deer
-mouse jumped away I got out my flashlight.
-Soon the beam caught a woodrat sitting atop
-a fallen log. The light didn&rsquo;t bother him
-in the least; as I approached, he picked up
-his bushy tail in his forepaws. Whiskers
-twitching, he looked more caricature than
-real. Then he bounded off the log with
-graceful, arching hops, and disappeared into
-the night.</p>
-<p>Against a patch of sky that appeared in
-a clearing, I could make out bats, circling
-and dipping like swallows. Locating a
-hovering moth, I kept the light beam on it
-until it vanished into a furry streak of
-silence. It was time to head back.</p>
-<p>By now it had become utterly dark
-within the trees, a moonless, sightless, alien
-<span class="pb" id="Page_105">105</span>
-world, given over to the marble-black eyes
-of the small night mammals and the creatures
-that hunt them. I thought of the
-strange, unseen societies of the flying
-squirrels, the nocturnal counterparts of red
-squirrels; of the great-horned owls, inspecting
-the same ground the goshawks scanned
-during the day. Perhaps a foraging red fox
-moved through the darkness nearby, or a
-coyote on night patrol.</p>
-<p>The flashlight beam probed ahead along
-the trail. The exposed roots were given unnatural
-shading and they seemed to thicken
-and squirm as I approached. On either side
-the tree trunks appeared to step backward
-from the dim glow of the light. I felt lost
-in this night, thinking of the great darkness
-in all the timbered ridges that ran westward
-from the Divide. In this vast cathedral
-of crowded tree and peak, night was stood on
-end, the stars shrunken to a circle overhead,
-as if seen from the bottom of a well.
-Mouselike, shivering, insignificant in this
-wilderness, I scurried back to find a fire
-and fill my empty senses with its heat and
-snap and light, holding off the fright of
-night and thinking of tomorrow&rsquo;s sun.</p>
-<h3 id="c9">Scrub-Forest</h3>
-<p>The crowning beauty of Glacier&mdash;the high,
-cirqueheld meadows that scent the wind with
-wildflower and waterfall&mdash;belongs to the
-zone of scrub-forest.</p>
-<p>At Logan Pass you are introduced to
-the highlands. Here an exquisite upland
-basin holds the Hanging Gardens, a wildflower-clothed
-gradient laced with stair-step
-bogs and lines of wind-bent subalpine fir. In
-the dawn sun, before the first engine noise, it
-shines unbroken, dewbright and sagging like
-a spider web secured to the circle of surrounding
-peaks.</p>
-<p>This is the region the hiker remembers
-best. The tall mountains wear this zone close
-to the cliffs, and the trails encounter it
-near the passes or follow it for long, level
-stretches, as along the Garden Wall. I
-remember Preston Park and Fifty Mountain,
-the fire-touched bench of Granite
-Park and the first sight of Sperry chalet,
-built on a brow of rock at the upper reach
-of trees. But most of all I remember the
-terrible waterfall that becomes Bowman
-Creek, the plunge of nearly a kilometer
-that drains the magnificent upland bench
-called Hole-in-the-Wall.</p>
-<h4>Hole-in-the-Wall</h4>
-<p>September. The season is growing late, the
-meadow-rue dying and the leaves of the
-wild strawberry failing at last. Everywhere
-the red contagion of autumn surrounds the
-<span class="pb" id="Page_106">106</span>
-vital green. The lower valleys have lost the
-whistle of ground squirrels. They sun themselves
-no longer these late, mild days. Ripe,
-sluggish, and hawk-vulnerable, they sensed
-the need of hibernation.</p>
-<p>It has been eight years since I last
-visited Hole-in-the-Wall, but I retain its
-dimensions and hear its dozen waterfalls
-at will. Once you have seen this basin you
-have a measure by which to judge the high
-country and a thirst for the meadows at
-tree-line.</p>
-<p>In Glacier, treelimit ranges between
-1,850 and 2,300 meters, depending on local
-conditions. The upper limit of tree growth&mdash;rarely
-an even, horizontal line&mdash;is generally
-an indistinct band running erratically across
-a mountain&rsquo;s face: a tension zone reflecting
-variations in wind and sun exposure, degree
-of slope, snowpack accumulations, and the
-presence of adequate soil and water.</p>
-<p>Subalpine fir, whitebark pine, and Engelmann
-spruce do not relinquish easily their
-upward climb; where conditions become
-severe, their growth is retarded and their
-stature dwarfed. Deformed and pruned by
-wind, their leaders winter-killed when they
-outreach the protection of the winter snowpack,
-trees become shrubs, forced to hug
-the ground. Size belies age in these elfin
-forests, or krummholz, where the growing
-season is painfully brief and progress is
-always uncertain. A twisted, gnarled little
-bush, more snag than live branch, bearing
-a single cone or two, may be senior by a
-century to the giants of its race in the valley
-below, which yearly shower the ground
-with an abundant crop of cones.</p>
-<p>This time I will come from Goathaunt,
-passing Lakes Janet and Francis, reaching
-Brown Pass from the east, and camp in
-the spectacular garden between Brown and
-Boulder Passes.</p>
-<p>Meadows and rock slides break the
-forest as the trail gains elevation and distance
-through the valley. The spruce and fir thin
-out rapidly at the valley head, the trail
-climbing the grassy slope to low, broad
-Brown Pass. Below the pass is Thunderbird
-Pond, which receives the meltwater from
-a glacier high on a shelf of Thunderbird
-Mountain and is bordered by a low jungle
-of willow. In the water stands a bull moose,
-its heavy, fully formed antlers ready for the
-season&rsquo;s impending business.</p>
-<p>I was hoping again to see Cassin&rsquo;s
-finches and Audubon&rsquo;s warblers on the pass;
-but the fir grove is quiet. Sitting down to
-rest and listen, I become aware of a strange
-silence. No birds sing or flit among the
-trees, no alarms pass back and forth among
-alert ground squirrels. There is no wind&mdash;an
-odd condition for the Continental Divide.
-This place seems to be holding its breath.
-High overhead, a veil of cirrus cloud arranges
-long spears across the sky.</p>
-<p>Moving off the pass, along the dome of
-Mt. Chapman, I experience anew the old excitement
-of this high country. Abruptly the
-gorge of Bowman valley opens up, revealing
-<span class="pb" id="Page_107">107</span>
-the twisting blue snake of Bowman Lake
-far down the narrow, cliff-imprisoned valley.
-Here again are the northern titans&mdash;Numa,
-Peabody, Boulder, Thunderbird, and Rainbow;
-and Carter, with its high glacier
-baring blue ice teeth to the sun.</p>
-<p>It is not the climb that makes your
-heart pound now; the trail is suddenly narrow
-and cliff-defiant, cut by the plunging
-waters of snowbanks far above. These are
-splendid peaks, unmatched in a land of
-muscled, brutal earth. Even the air seems
-to retain the scent of glacier work.</p>
-<p>At last the view of Hole-in-the-Wall, a
-staircase cirque excavated between the gigantic
-spread ribs of Mt. Custer. The slopes
-of beargrass are seed-spotted and gaunt
-now, the white fullness gone. Western pasqueflowers
-have accomplished their magic
-transformation; known in this season as old
-man&rsquo;s beard, they nod their tufts of grizzled
-seedhead silk in the wind. Red and yellow
-monkeyflowers bloom yet, crowding along
-the many stream courses, and waterloving
-sedges and mosses surround pools of collected
-water on the broad horseshoe tiers.</p>
-<p>A spur trail drops down into the campground
-on the last ledge. Through a cleft in
-its lip plummets the gathered water of the
-basin. From the valley below, the waterfall
-appears to be springing from a hole in the
-headwall, giving this basin its name. Down,
-down, down, roars the water where once a
-mighty glacier ground its teeth.</p>
-<p>I leave until later the making of camp;
-by now the sharp shadows of Boulder
-Peak stab the valley forest and are beginning
-the upward assault of Thunderbird.</p>
-<p>Around the basin headwalls, last winter&rsquo;s
-snowbanks remain formidable. Snow
-caves send out meltwater torrents. Glacier
-lilies and patches of spring beauty line their
-fringes. Pasqueflowers bloom in pockets.
-Here, among the asters of August, bloom
-also the first flowers of spring, shooting up
-as the snowbanks shrink, making these spots
-of snow-free ground a patchwork of May
-and July, August and June. The shrubs that
-line the furious water are willows, still bud-swollen
-this tenth day of September. The
-coming days will bring a sharp surprise.</p>
-<p>Winter will soon stop the melting of this
-snow. Could it be that I am seeing the first
-year of a reawakening ice age? If so, each
-year the snowfields would grow thicker and
-broader, connecting the shelves into one ice
-mass again, lilies and willows entombed, the
-summer heat failing to rescue them, until the
-ice at last began to slide, stripping the soil
-and once more plucking at living rock.</p>
-<p>Then these dwarfed fir, which cling
-precariously to the cliffs and hide behind the
-backs of boulders, would be in more danger
-than they were from their recent antagonists.
-Engulfed by ice, they would know the shearing
-wind no more. Their skeletons would
-rain down into the valley below, signalling
-another long forest retreat. But they have
-waited out the mountain ice before and
-would send their seeds again to this valley,
-<span class="pb" id="Page_108">108</span>
-changed however it might be, as they have
-always done.</p>
-<p>Evening brings out two sleek mule deer
-does. As they graze, their large ears stand
-erect, sorting out the lesser sounds from
-the ceaseless roar of water. Both raise
-their heads and point their ears, statue
-straight, at the scuttle of a porcupine. A
-noise among the rocks draws a backward
-glance and focus of those ears. I would
-like the sensitivity of such fine equipment, to
-hear what deer have always heard.</p>
-<p>Setting about the business of camp, I
-wonder about those animals that watched
-me for a while, then moved off, having
-seen a tent go up before. With the appearance
-of the moon the wind increases and
-they test the air more often now. Do they
-have visions of cougar or grizzly with every
-snap the wind delivers?</p>
-<p>In summer these high meadows see a
-surprising variety of animal life. Briefly
-out of hibernation are marmots and the
-handsome golden-mantled ground squirrels.
-Mice, voles, shrews, and woodrats run
-among the shadows, feeding on the season&rsquo;s
-feast of seeds and insects. A nightmare
-for these are the fierce little weasels that
-haunt the rocks.</p>
-<p>Tracks of cougar and wolverine are
-sometimes seen, often teasingly fresh; to
-glimpse either of these elusive predators is
-to taste the finest wine of wilderness.</p>
-<p>Before the berry season, grizzlies grub
-the meadows for the tasty bulbs of glacier
-lilies and the tubers of spring beauty; often
-distracted by the scent of a ground squirrel
-in its burrow, they sometimes make a huge
-excavation for a small reward.</p>
-<p>White-crowned sparrows sing in July
-from the low tops of the battered trees,
-though their nests are on the ground below.
-Grey-crowned rosy finches patrol the drier
-ground for seeds while water pipits hunt
-insects in the wet areas. High above, a
-golden eagle scans the basin again, circling
-slowly before following a ridge south to
-sight another likely slope in its 10,000-hectare
-territory.</p>
-<p>The moon shines through the tent top.
-The wind, blowing more violently now,
-shivers the nylon and interrupts the voice of
-the waterfall. I have followed the pasqueflower
-run from the April prairies here to
-its highest bloom near treeline. I think about
-the triangular seed pods of the glacier lilies,
-colonies of steep-throated blue gentians, and
-the season&rsquo;s last glory of goldenrod. Indian
-paintbrush, from white to fire red, blazes the
-slopes that light the fringes of sleep.</p>
-<p>I awake to a determined rain, the moon
-gone and the tent shuddering with wind-blast.
-I try not to think of the steel-cold air,
-and slip into a fitful sleep that seems an
-endless treadmill of rocky trail.</p>
-<p>Stiff and unrefreshed, I look out into
-the dawnless morning. The tip of Thunderbird
-is detached from its base by grey clouds
-swirling at its throat. A wave of sleet slants
-down, dancing on the rocks, chanting triumph
-<span class="pb" id="Page_109">109</span>
-over the buried, bent, and broken
-flowers of yesterday.</p>
-<p>So I must make my escape, short of
-Boulder Pass. Unattainable now, invisible
-above the cirque, that high pass grows in
-my memory. This testament to what a
-glacier can do, to the struggle of trees and
-the life-pioneers that invade such harsh
-places, is at my feet but shrouded with
-snow. My hands grow stiff and numb in the
-blunt work of packing up.</p>
-<p>I had wished to see Kinnerly Peak again,
-rising from the western Kintla valley,
-and walk along black ledges of the lava that
-floors the pass. Beyond it grows a grove of
-subalpine larch, stately, seldom encountered,
-the least common tree species in Glacier.
-Confined to this narrow zone between forest
-and alpine, it reaches up tall and proud,
-impervious to the gruelling climate that
-makes cowering shrubs of other trees.</p>
-<p>But all must wait another year, for this
-season comes down hard. And the will of
-winter is to erase whatever summer had
-devised.</p>
-<h3 id="c10">Tundra</h3>
-<p>Porcelain-cold, the November sun dawns
-in the southeast sky. The ledges, ice-encrusted,
-layered with sleet from a recent
-squall, whistle the cold morning wind aside.
-Rattling down, a slide of rock plunges off the
-final ledge, seconds passing before the hollow
-sounds of impact clatter back. Like an
-apparition of winter itself, white beard bent
-sideways by the wind, a mountain goat
-steps to the precipice edge. Looking out
-across the vast white void, its long belly
-hair and pantaloons streaming with the
-ceaseless wind, this strange animal, product
-of some unfathomable ingenuity, hesitates
-but a moment; dropping down from step to
-invisible step along the sheer rock face,
-fracturing the ice glaze as it goes, it turns a
-wall and disappears. A nimble, eight-months-old
-kid follows.</p>
-<p>Blinking and twisting in the dull light,
-the shower of shattered ice clinks softly
-downward against rock, fading away like
-the short summers of this place.</p>
-<p>But while the wind chants winter,
-life has made a passage here, and also
-waits, hidden in seed and root and den.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />The nanny and her kid have bedded down
-now, looking across the deep, snowy basin
-below. Their ledge shines with the first spear
-of sunlight.</p>
-<p>Far below the pass that connects Mount
-<span class="pb" id="Page_110">110</span>
-Siyeh to the snow-giants Matahpi and Going-to-the-sun,
-three male white-tailed ptarmigan
-emerge from their night&rsquo;s huddle
-within a snowbank and step out to peck at
-an exposed mat of willow. Ptarmigan, the
-only birds on the winter tundra, wear white
-plumage in this season, helping to camouflage
-them in the snow, just as their mottled
-brown summer plumage makes them difficult
-to detect among bare rocks. There are
-few predators here to hunt them now, but
-they move with habitual slowness; quick
-movement can be fatal when summer brings
-numerous eyes to scan the slopes. With legs
-and feet heavily feathered and sharp claws
-to scratch for food beneath the snow, the
-ptarmigan live at truce with winter. When
-blizzards rage between the peaks, they nestle
-together in snow dens, beyond the reach of
-the winds. Ptarmigan hens winter lower in
-taller willow thickets, but the males prefer
-to take their winter as high as possible.</p>
-<p>Now they crouch behind the wind-deflecting
-rocks, dozing in the meager warmth
-of the morning sun.</p>
-<p>Near the snowless summit crags, a flash
-of brown fur zigzags among the rocks. That
-would be a pika. Only for a moment does
-it show itself, so quickly does it move.</p>
-<p>Also called the rock rabbit, the diminutive
-pika belongs to the order of hares and
-rabbits. Resembling a small guinea pig, this
-sturdy creature spurns hibernation as a way
-to beat the challenge of winter. Instead, it
-spends the summer laying in a store of hay
-for the lean season, spreading cut grass to
-cure upon the rocks and tending its &ldquo;haystacks,&rdquo;
-on which its survival hangs.</p>
-<p>Winter is a great peril to small mammals.
-Their small bodies, because of a large
-surface area in relation to volume, retain
-heat poorly, and their high metabolic fires
-consume calories quickly. Great amounts of
-energy are required to sustain an active
-animal in rough terrain, placing further
-demands on the animal&rsquo;s capacity to survive
-the cold. The pika may need to stack
-as much as 25 kilos of hay; to keep its
-furnace burning during winter it will have
-to fuel its stomach almost hourly.</p>
-<p>Small animals of cold climates often
-show distinctive body adaptations. On the
-pika the small, rounded ears lie flat along
-the head, the tail is inconspicuous, the legs
-are short; heat loss from exposed surfaces
-is thus reduced. Fur insulates the soles of
-the pika&rsquo;s feet while at the same time providing
-good traction on steep rock faces.</p>
-<p>Hidden below these rocks are the hibernating
-marmots and the sleeping ground
-squirrels. Beneath the snow the mice,
-shrews, and pocket gophers struggle on with
-their lives. But above ground, directly confronting
-this arctic climate, are the pika,
-the ptarmigan, and the mountain goat.</p>
-<p>A triumph of adaptation, the mountain
-goat faces the winter day without benefit of
-either the pika&rsquo;s den or the ptarmigan&rsquo;s snow
-roost.</p>
-<p>The nanny and kid descend from their
-<span class="pb" id="Page_111">111</span>
-ledge to search out browse at treeline with
-other members of a loose band&mdash;yearlings,
-young males, other nannies with kids. At
-the fringes of the band a solitary adult billy
-only grudgingly associates with other members
-of his kind; for this is the season of rut.</p>
-<p>Not really goats at all, these relatives of
-the European mountaineering chamois are
-insulated from the wind by coats of long,
-hollow-haired fur overlying woolly underfur.
-They are stocky, stiff-legged, and deliberate,
-able to negotiate the walls and pinnacles
-with their superbly adapted hoofs. The
-unique design of these hoofs gives the animal
-great traction and stability on precarious
-crags. Opening towards the front, the
-cleft between the two hoofs spreads each
-outward as the animal descends a slope,
-helping to grip the rocky surface. In addition,
-the large, rough, and pliant sole of
-each foot conforms to the bare rock, increasing
-traction.</p>
-<p>There is little need for the goat to leave
-its steep sanctuaries; it can subsist on
-lichens and mosses if browse is not available.
-It depends on the inaccessibility of the
-cliffs for its security. Accidents, avalanches,
-and rockfall are greater enemies than predators.
-Golden eagles sometimes attempt to
-knock newborn kids from ledges and a
-young goat quickly retreats under its nanny
-when an eagle soars by. With the protection
-of sharp spike horns and a terrifying terrain,
-adult goats seldom fall victim to cougar
-or grizzly.</p>
-<p>It will be a long time before the snow
-releases this land and wapiti, bighorn,
-grizzly, and cougar wander back into these
-high basins. In this winter minimum of life,
-the spring songs of rosy finches, water pipits
-and white-crowned sparrows seem an impossible
-extravagance.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />I am drawn to the spring tundra&mdash;to the
-vigor and tenacity of its sparse life&mdash;where
-survival itself seems ceremony enough. But
-it is a strange world, where a man is out of
-perspective. Here the plant cover is carpet-high,
-and distance, for the lack of trees,
-tricks the eye. Here the wind, snow, and sun
-quickly burn skin, and the intense light,
-reflected from snowbanks, stabs at the eyes.
-Almost instantly, a sandwich is sucked dry
-of its moisture. The desiccating wind probes
-the ears until it seems at last to pierce your
-brain. Except for fearful mountain walls the
-only shadow is your own. Animals seem
-somehow remote and unknowable, as if seen
-through glass. A day on the tundra and you
-feel the want of a company of trees.</p>
-<p>Yet once exposed, you acquire a craving
-for the look of tundra. Nowhere else is
-there such an impatience for spring&mdash;the
-flowers rush into bloom; the male water
-pipit soars, its skylark song crystal sharp in
-the thin air. The nesting birds are restless,
-for sun-days and warm days are few, precious,
-and quickly spent. Insects and spiders
-abound&mdash;flying about the peaks or crawling
-<span class="pb" id="Page_112">112</span>
-among the rocks.</p>
-<p>Summer brings bands of bighorn rams
-up from the valley to explore the highest
-meadows. Though not so sure-footed as the
-goats, they too have hoofs adapted to climbing
-steep faces, and they walk the slopes
-not far below the goats.</p>
-<p>Marmots, which whistle sharply when
-threatened, spend their days sunbathing and
-grazing; they must fill out their now loose-hanging
-fur coats with life-sustaining fat for
-the coming winter.</p>
-<p>Alpine animals are blessed with mobility
-and can choose their weathers, retreating
-to burrow, den, or rock-harbor to escape the
-worst fury of storms. But what about the
-plants, rooted forever in one spot, assaulted
-by an untempered sun and a drying wind,
-and facing the almost daily threat of freeze
-and storm?</p>
-<p>Alpine plants, through their design and
-growing habits, have adapted themselves to
-the rigorous demands of this climate in
-many ways. Most plants are perennial: there
-just aren&rsquo;t enough days or nutrients available
-for the growing of entire plants each year
-from seed. And they have the ability to
-grow and carry on photosynthesis at temperatures
-just above freezing, thus extending
-their season. In this zone, temperatures are
-rarely above 15&deg; C; the mean summer temperature
-is about 10&deg; C. But a flower such
-as the alpine buttercup, which is found at
-treeline or above, can grow through several
-centimeters of snow; heat given off during
-the plant&rsquo;s respiration will create an opening
-through which it can emerge.</p>
-<p>Plants have various adaptations to meet
-the demands of the alpine environment.
-Yellow stonecrop, not restricted to this zone,
-is nevertheless able to survive here because
-of its fleshy succulence and a waxy covering
-that prevents water loss. On some plants,
-protective hairs covering leaves and stems
-help retard the burning effects of wind and
-sun. Often this pubescent foliage looks more
-grey than green, for the soft hairs mute the
-color.</p>
-<p>Cushion growth is another alpine adaptation.
-The moss campion cushion, covered
-with delicate pink flowers, grows to about
-one-third of a meter across and only 3
-to 5 centimeters high. Spreading out close
-to the ground, the plant avoids the major
-violence of the wind and hoards moisture
-like a sponge.</p>
-<p>The dryad, growing abundantly on the
-windy sweep of Siyeh Pass, shows alpine
-adaptations in several ways. The energy of
-the mature plant is channeled primarily into
-reproduction: its large flower, supported by
-a short stem, matures quickly; and it produces
-many seeds, ensuring germination of a
-few. An evergreen, it begins to synthesize
-water and carbon dioxide into food as soon
-as the snow is gone; and its rolled leaves prevent
-rapid evaporation. It grows as a low and
-woody mat that year by year extends itself
-through the production of new shoots that
-carpet the rock. Mat growth has the advantage
-<span class="pb" id="Page_113">113</span>
-of retaining dead plant material and
-capturing wind-blown grains of soil, allowing
-the plant slowly to enlarge its soil base.</p>
-<p>Compared to the forest, the heartbeat
-of the tundra is painfully slow. Here a plant
-may grow for a quarter of a century before
-it has acquired the reserves necessary for
-flowering. Contrasted with the progress on
-the tundra, forest succession races by with
-dizzying speed. Yet imperceptible as the
-change may be the alpine plant community
-also passes from pioneer to climax.</p>
-<p>Beyond the limit of other plants, lichens
-thrive, encrusting rocks with their rainbow
-colors. A lichen is actually a primitive and
-highly successful association between a
-fungus and an alga, working together for
-mutual benefit. The fungus protects the
-delicate alga, trapping and holding moisture;
-the green alga, in turn, produces enough
-food to sustain the needs of the fungus.</p>
-<p>Generating rock-disintegrating acids
-that help secure this partnership to the rock,
-lichens, along with physical weathering,
-help break down the rocks into soil particles.
-Collected in pockets by run-off or
-wind, rudimentary soil is slowly invaded by
-cushion plants. After centuries of colonization
-by these, while the meager soil is deepened
-and enriched and moisture retention is
-increased, other plants move in, climaxing
-at last in hardy grasses and sedges. As in the
-forest, pioneer species change the environment
-to their detriment, creating a habitat
-better suited to other species.</p>
-<p>Although it will progress with geologic
-slowness, the rocky ground of Siyeh Pass&mdash;its
-plant cover presently scant and wind-rowed
-by frost-heave and relentless wind&mdash;will
-in time develop grasses and sedges, the
-climax vegetation of the alpine meadows.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />Simplicity rules the alpine zone. Here life is
-reduced to bare essentials. Chief controlling
-force is climate; but the plants and animals
-that live here are well adapted. Compared
-to the lower realms, where both
-competition and predation are fierce, life
-here looks secure.</p>
-<p>There is a penalty to simplicity. In the
-lowland, the long food chains and diversity
-of species, the long growing season, and the
-abundant food supply give the forest an
-adjustment mechanism and healing power
-not found on the critically balanced tundra.
-The greater the variety in a plant and animal
-community, the greater the stability. So
-in the alpine world there exists a paradox: the
-most durable life forms constitute the most
-fragile community.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_114">114</div>
-<h3 id="c11">The Water Communities</h3>
-<p>Snowfields begin again their summer-long
-melt. The alpine stream, vocal again, collects
-its water from a thousand places. Miniature
-gorges drain the meadow, gurgling
-with the sparkle and rush of meltwater in
-the lengthening spring days.</p>
-<p>Gathering volume, the stream seems to
-hurry faster; at the first rock staircase, it
-begins to sing. I follow the gully downward,
-drawn like the water. There is excitement
-in the growing dash and roar, a wind-gust
-sweeping spray into the air. A rainbow appears,
-holding steady to the swirling cloud
-of spray, then doubles and abruptly disappears.</p>
-<p>At the first great plunge the water
-lunges outward over the lip. Like glass at
-shattering, long shards lance out. But the
-wind feathers the sharp edges as they fall.</p>
-<p>The close thunder of a waterfall beats
-at your head, and your mind must shout to
-think. Here is water, a most amazing and
-most important substance. Perhaps some
-of this same water was once part of the
-ancient sea in which was laid down the mudstone
-of this ledge; was once drunk by
-dinosaurs; has coursed the globe countless
-times; and has flowed in this very stream
-before. In solid, liquid, or gaseous form,
-it goes through its own cycle. Together with
-sunlight, water makes possible and maintains
-all life on Earth.</p>
-<h4>Ouzel Music</h4>
-<p>A glacier might cling to a winter snow a
-hundred years and turn it to ice, a blue
-tool to rasp and pluck at rocks, before
-letting it go. Lingering summer snowfields
-might delay its passage for a time. But the
-water always wins at last, becoming, in one
-decisive instant, liquid again, and beginning
-its long journey to the sea. Plants and dry
-air will intercept some of its molecules, sending
-them back into the atmosphere to bloom
-as fog and cloud; but as rain, snow, or dew,
-these are soon commissioned to the land
-again.</p>
-<p>Water is so familiar to us that we
-seldom think about it. We know that fish
-swim in the lower lakes, and we are vaguely
-aware of the bewildering assortment of life-forms
-abounding in a pond. But life begins
-in the streams.</p>
-<p>Even cups of cold meltwaters, scooped
-out of a rivulet only a few meters away from
-its snowbank source, contain some life.
-Snow algae, which grow on the snowbank
-surface, often sufficiently dense to give the
-snow a distinctive red complexion, are released
-into the meltwater. In summer, small
-invertebrate life can be discovered in the
-standing pools of even the highest cirque.</p>
-<p>But conditions are not good for the
-development of complete aquatic food
-chains in the streams and lakes of higher
-elevations. Alpine lakes, or tarns, support
-little visible life. Often flanked by high
-ridges and peaks, many tarns receive scant
-<span class="pb" id="Page_115">115</span>
-direct sunlight during the day. Since these
-lakes occupy basins that capture tremendous
-amounts of snowfall, the snowbanks persist
-in the mountain shadows, and summer
-makes little progress in warming the water.
-Iceberg Lake, for example, is seldom free
-of floating ice, and its temperature never
-rises above 4&deg; C in summer, even at the
-surface.</p>
-<p>Moving out of the cirque lakes, water is
-soon churning again, dashing downward
-many hundreds of meters to the valleys
-below, in rapids, cascades, and breathless
-waterfalls. Not surprisingly, few plants and
-animals are adapted to life in fast-moving
-water.</p>
-<p>Algae can be found covering streambed
-rocks and stranded, water-polished tree
-trunks. Securely attached by holdfasts, these
-small plant forms survive the rigorous
-stream flow that would destroy the larger
-vascular plants. Several species exist, from
-microscopic forms to branched filamentous
-algae whose long hairlike strands wave in
-the current.</p>
-<p>A surprising number of insects live on
-the stream bottom, finding a measure of
-protection from the current in the jumble
-of rocks. Underwater beetles live under the
-gravel or among the debris at the stream-edge,
-or cling to stones and sticks. Scurrying
-and creeping among the rock-crannies
-are the larvae of stoneflies, mayflies, and
-caddisflies. These and the small fish that
-venture up from lower lakes are the food
-of the water ouzel, a creature that loves the
-places where the waters thunder.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />The noise of the water is overpowering. A
-slip into this boiling rage would mean quick
-death. Looking 10 meters across the dim,
-mist-slippery, water-scoured canyon, I see a
-young water ouzel peering out of its unique
-nest, on the lookout for its parents. Clouds
-of spray keep the nest of living moss continually
-wet; but this bird is waterproofed
-with an oily plumage and keeps its vigil
-at the nest opening. Peering into the torrent
-below, then upstream and downstream, it
-awaits patiently the delivery of the next
-meal.</p>
-<p>With the approach of one of the adults,
-three other heads crowd the opening, begging
-yellow mouths agape. Flying low, the
-ouzel parent zeros through the heavy spray,
-alighting on a slippery boulder below the
-nest ledge. Preparing to fly up to the nest
-with its load of insect larvae, the ouzel
-spots me across the water. At its sharp
-<i>jigic, jigic</i> alarm, the bills of the young
-snap instantly shut. Nervously the bird regards
-my close presence, dipping its entire
-body rapidly up and down, as if keeping
-time with the surging torrent.</p>
-<p>Discovering no danger, the dusky blue-grey
-bird bobs more slowly. The other adult,
-returning from an upstream forage, alights
-on the same rock, occasioning a new outcry
-from the fledglings. Each in turn, the parent
-<span class="pb" id="Page_116">116</span>
-birds fly up to feed their young, beating
-their wings to maintain their position at the
-perchless nest. Not pausing to regard me
-further, they split the stream between them
-again, one flying upstream and one down, to
-continue the hunt. Blinking and shaking
-the collected mist from its bill, the single
-young sentry renews its watch.</p>
-<h4>In Shallow Waters</h4>
-<p>Life abounds in the shallow lakes and ponds.
-Calm, protected John&rsquo;s Lake offers a
-fine example of how a complex aquatic
-plant-and-animal community can exist in
-balance in a confined space. The water
-teems with the microscopic algae, protozoans,
-and rotifers that sustain the barely
-visible zooplankton. Dancing, flitting, hopping,
-and swaying through the water, these
-zooplankton in turn support the larger
-plankton-eating animals.</p>
-<p>Dragonflies and damselflies shoot past,
-crackling their wings, and perch in the bog
-grass. Looking into the shallow water, you
-will see a wealth of small animal life. A
-spotted frog swims into view, floating to the
-surface beside a lily pad so that its eyes
-protrude above the water.</p>
-<p>The ribbonlike form of a leech swims
-across the bottom toward deeper water.
-Looking closer, you see that the water
-swarms with bizarre shapes&mdash;water boatmen
-propelling themselves with oarlike
-appendages, a gliding mayfly nymph, then
-a predacious diving beetle surfacing, grasping
-a bubble of air beneath its shiny brown
-wing plates and disappearing downward
-again&mdash;the bubble&rsquo;s edge shining silver&mdash;into
-the brown bottom debris. Suddenly a
-whirligig beetle sets the surface to spinning,
-wrinkling the view below.</p>
-<p>Everywhere in the water there is animal
-life, forms that are attached, free-swimming,
-crawling on the bottom, and clinging to or
-swimming on the surface film. The gray,
-slimy encrustation on a sunken log looks
-like a covering of lichen but is really a
-freshwater sponge, a colonial animal that
-feeds by filtering minute plankton from the
-water. Another attached creature is the
-barely visible hydra; this twig-shaped predator,
-related to marine jellyfish, captures
-water fleas and other small animals in its
-several poisonous tentacles.</p>
-<p>Water beetles, backswimmers, water
-boatmen, and many other creatures move
-about more or less freely in the water, propelling
-themselves along with jerky movements.
-Suspended between surface and bottom
-are the zooplankton, the tiny water
-fleas, cyclops, daphnia, and others, which
-feed by filtering minute algae. On the bottom
-and below live scavenging worms.
-Water striders skate on the surface film.</p>
-<p>Along the shore, frogs, salamanders,
-garter snakes, and water shrews are hunting.
-Dabbling and diving ducks patrol about,
-tipping or submerging for the bottom
-plants. Moose tracks circle the muddy shore.
-<span class="pb" id="Page_117">117</span>
-Because it produces vegetation abundantly,
-John&rsquo;s Lake sustains a great diversity of
-animal life.</p>
-<h4>Beaver Ponds</h4>
-<p>Fully 10 percent of all the present meadow
-area in the Rocky Mountains is estimated
-to have been created by beaver, the only
-animal besides man that engineers extensive
-changes in the environment to suit its own
-needs.</p>
-<p>When beavers dam a stream, they set
-in motion another form of succession. If
-the resulting backwater floods a forest area,
-the trees are soon killed, creating a broad
-opening in the forest canopy. Water-associated
-plants and shrubs quickly invade the
-pond and shoreline, creating favorable habitat
-for waterfowl, moose, blackbirds, amphibians,
-wading birds, warblers, marsh
-hawks, and a score of other animals.</p>
-<p>After many years the water becomes
-shallow, filling in with silt and plant debris.
-When the beavers abandon the site, the dam
-may rupture for lack of maintenance and
-the pond will rapidly drain. Or it may continue
-to hold, delaying for several more
-years its slow conversion to meadow. Stimulated
-by the nutrient-rich mud, the water
-grasses, sedges, and shrubs finally choke the
-water with their accumulating debris, transforming
-the area into a bog.</p>
-<p>Gradually the ground firms as more
-humus is created and more silt is trapped.
-The area becomes meadow, supporting
-grasses, sedges, and other flowering plants.
-Trees begin to reinvade the drier ground,
-and eventually the meadow reverts to
-forest. Centuries may be required to see
-this cycle through, from forest to pond, to
-bog, to meadow, to forest again. At each
-stage many of the animal inhabitants
-change: the song of the western robin and
-the chatter of a red squirrel in the original,
-pre-beaver forest give way to the croak
-of a heron; the heron is replaced by the
-insect-and-berry-eating cedar waxwing; the
-waxwing is followed by the tree-dwelling
-western robin and red squirrel.</p>
-<h4>Lakes Cold and Deep</h4>
-<p>Seeming to skate on its own reflection, a
-spotted sandpiper comes in low over the
-quiet water, wingtips almost touching the
-surface of the lake. It alights at the shore
-and folds its wings. Amid the rounded
-rocks, this plain but elegant little shorebird
-is all but swallowed up. Teetering constantly
-on long legs, it sets off along the water&rsquo;s
-edge, pecking here and there, coming
-closer and closer, never forgetting to stop
-and curtsy, as if acknowledging, while
-hurrying offstage, the applause of an
-audience.</p>
-<p>As it draws near, several water striders
-skate away from the shore. A stonefly,
-scuttling between two rocks, is deftly
-speared. So large a morsel makes the bird
-<span class="pb" id="Page_118">118</span>
-pause and rough its feathers, then scamper
-into the water to take a drink. Teetering
-again, it passes in front of me and continues
-down the shore, where I soon lose sight of
-it rounding a rocky point.</p>
-<p>I am sitting at the foot of Lake McDonald,
-watching the darkness gather over
-the valley, seeing the last light slide upward
-to the tips of the distant mountains. As
-daylight dissolves, this long fleet of familiar
-peaks seems almost to glide toward darkness,
-slow and silent as sailing ships.</p>
-<p>The sheet of motionless water stretches
-many kilometers away between tree-covered
-moraines. The water is deep and cold. No
-emergent plants line the barren shore. It
-would seem that no life, except for the
-single gull that rests on the water far away,
-exists in this nearly thousand-meter-high
-lake.</p>
-<p class="tb">&#9632;<br />Considering the great volume of Glacier&rsquo;s
-large, deep lakes, the life they support is
-indeed meager. A large part of the reason
-lies with the nature of their shores, where
-almost no plants grow. A combination of
-factors prevents the development of a lush
-shoreline growth.</p>
-<p>Contoured like bathtubs, these steep-sided
-lakes exhibit narrow or non-existent
-shoreline shallows, which are vital for the
-production of rooted plants. Strong wave
-action and extensive seasonal fluctuations in
-the level of these natural reservoirs prevent
-the development of emergent water plants
-in locations where they might otherwise
-be expected.</p>
-<p>Since sunlight cannot penetrate to the
-bottom of these deep lakes, they are deprived
-of bottom-anchored plants in midlake
-as well. As a result, herbivorous animal life
-must depend almost wholly on algal growth.
-Wave action inhibits the spread of free-floating
-algae by washing much of it onto
-the shore. Deep lakes are also low in available
-oxygen, preventing the development of
-bottom decomposers, which would rapidly
-release nutrients as they break down the
-accumulating debris washed into the lake.
-Without a steady supply of nutrients, plant
-growth is retarded.</p>
-<p>Since the food chain depends upon
-green plants, the ability of a lake to support
-higher animals such as fish depends upon its
-ability first to produce adequate plant
-growth. The production of one kilo of trout
-requires that a lake produce about 1,000
-kilos of plants to support 100 kilos of
-herbivorous invertebrates, which are eaten
-by 10 kilos of carnivorous insects, on which
-the trout feed.</p>
-<p>Compared to smaller shallow lakes,
-which teem with visible life, cold, deep,
-nutrient-poor lakes such as McDonald appear
-to be watery deserts. Yet because of
-their great volume&mdash;Lake McDonald contains
-5 or 6 cubic kilometers of water&mdash;these
-large lakes do sustain significant numbers
-of fish. Of the 22 kinds of fishes found
-<span class="pb" id="Page_119">119</span>
-within the park, most are coldwater species.
-Trout, whitefish, grayling, suckers, minnows,
-and carp fill the roles of herbivore, carnivore,
-and scavenger. Agile, highly mobile, and
-acutely sensitive, fish represent the most
-successful total adaptation to the aquatic environment.</p>
-<p>Through the stocking of nonnative
-species, including plantings in formerly fish-free
-lakes, the natural aquatic communities
-of many of Glacier&rsquo;s lakes and streams have
-been permanently modified.</p>
-<p>Aquatic food chains are not confined
-to the water. Ospreys, ducks, mergansers,
-otter, mink, and many other semi-aquatic
-or terrestrial birds and mammals utilize the
-plants and animals of the water. In fall, a
-remarkable spectacle occurs along the outlet
-of Lake McDonald. Attracted to the kokanee
-salmon concentrations, which run
-from Flathead Lake to spawn and die in
-these clear, shallow waters, bald eagles
-collect to exploit the vulnerable fish. In
-1977, 444 eagles were counted in one census.
-This food resource is also exploited by
-grizzlies, coyotes, skunks, gulls, loons, and
-other animals. On occasion, even white-tail
-deer have been observed swallowing
-salmon!</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_120">120</div>
-<div class="img">
-<img src="images/p043.jpg" alt="Sunset" width="700" height="775" />
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_121">121</div>
-<h2 id="c12"><span class="small">Shooting Stars</span></h2>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_122">122</div>
-<p>This park is very special. The people who
-know it well feel proprietary toward its
-mountains, scattered lakes, and glaciers. Perhaps
-it is the arrangement of the land, an
-unsurpassed concentration of American
-wilderness. Time and again I have thought,
-as I regarded some aspect of this country,
-<i>yes, this is exactly right</i>&mdash;almost, it would
-seem, as if some magic existed that could
-translate thought and emotion into rock and
-bark.</p>
-<p>Glacier remains largely unexploited,
-bearing still the aspect of the Earth the
-Indians knew for 500 generations&mdash;a land
-where it is yet possible to feel a sense of
-discovery, sense that a single man matters.
-On too many mountains, man has tarnished
-whatever he has touched; but here the land
-has shed, as a fir sloughs snow, a long succession
-of traders, trappers, explorers,
-hunters, surveyors, prospectors, loggers,
-settlers, and tourists.</p>
-<p>You may walk the same trail a dozen
-times and not tire of the view. I have given
-up wondering why. I know only that these
-are mountains a man might grow old with,
-and that mountain-fever never diminishes
-but only changes its look, as a forest does
-over many years.</p>
-<p>Repeatedly I have noticed that this park
-creates an instant bond between strangers.
-A certain pause intrudes at the first mention
-of Glacier National Park, and a look of
-distance comes, as Red Eagle becomes real
-again, or the wind at Firebrand is remembered,
-or the flowers of Fifty-Mountain
-converge once more upon the senses.</p>
-<p>Never are we quenched. If a goshawk
-rushes past, straining upward with its
-squirming load of ground squirrel, forever
-afterward our blood demands more. The
-sight of a wolverine running is not enough.
-Nor the magnificent assemblage of bald
-eagles feasting on November salmon. More
-days of this: mountain goats leaping impossible
-ledges, wave tracks from a beaver
-reaching out on dawn water. There are
-messages here, loud as kingfishers. The land
-has languages, stories to tell.</p>
-<p>But in wilderness there is no moral,
-save that it must continue. For all our probings
-and plottings we discover no adequate
-interpretation of the forces we find swirling
-about us. A larch you must touch to know;
-your neck must feel the ache of too much
-looking up. Watch its treepoint pirouette.
-Then, looking back at the world level, you
-will find that you have lost all answers. We
-have learned the art of building bridges,
-cataloging plants, predicting what a shrew
-might do. Of the essential mystery, we know
-nothing.</p>
-<p>For nature assigns no &ldquo;roles&rdquo; to its
-creatures; there is no &ldquo;reason&rdquo; for a forest
-fire, which burns mightily but with no intent.
-Life&rsquo;s only &ldquo;purpose&rdquo; is the feeding of
-life, and the beauty we see therein is but
-its lack of guarantee: for the chipmunk
-and the weasel, and the man who measures
-his life to theirs, no assurance of long days
-<span class="pb" id="Page_123">123</span>
-and tempered seasons, abundant seeds,
-ample meat. In wilderness there is mystery
-yet, unsimplified, not reduced, resplendent
-and immense.</p>
-<p>Whatever the conclusion of this planet,
-however many the acts to follow in this
-consuming drama&mdash;mountains coming up,
-mountains going down, forests, lakes, and
-seas skimming past like wind-driven scud
-clouds before a storm&mdash;at least in the scant
-shadow of this present age there is an
-achievement of sorts. For now, with this
-creature man, such things as mountains can
-be loved. And men have memories to fill.</p>
-<p>Tomorrow I will look for shooting
-stars&mdash;purple spring flowers that point their
-fire down, always down toward the center of
-the Earth, as if to give in their brief term
-beneath the sun a tribute to this most excellent
-mystery.</p>
-<p>Today I can say nothing more, neck-sore
-now from looking at larchtops swaying
-with the wind of this splendid morning.</p>
-<div class="img" id="fig76">
-<img src="images/p044.jpg" alt="" width="449" height="799" />
-<p class="pcap">Shooting star.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_124">124</div>
-<div class="img">
-<img src="images/p045.jpg" alt="Mountain goats." width="645" height="700" />
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_125">125</div>
-<h2 id="c13"><span class="small">Appendix</span></h2>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_126">126</div>
-<h3 id="c14">Mammals of Glacier National Park</h3>
-<p>Distribution information was obtained from
-<i>Meet the Mammals of Waterton-Glacier International
-Peace Park</i>, by Robert C. Gildart
-(see Reading List). Nomenclature follows, for
-the most part, <i>a Field Guide to Mammals</i>, by
-William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider.</p>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Key to symbols:</b></dt>
-<dt>E&mdash;occurs east of Continental Divide (spruce-fir forest; aspen; bunchgrass meadows)</dt>
-<dt>W&mdash;occurs west of Continental Divide (redcedar-hemlock-lodgepole-fir-larch forest; some meadows)</dt>
-<dt>A&mdash;occurs in alpine areas (above upper edge of continuous forest)</dt>
-<dt>R&mdash;rare in Glacier National Park</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Shrews</b></dt>
-<dt>Masked shrew, <i>Sorex cinereus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests, meadows, pond and stream edges</dt>
-<dt>Vagrant shrew, <i>Sorex vagrans</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, moist forests and grasslands, marsh and stream edges</dt>
-<dt>Northern water shrew, <i>Sorex palustris</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, stream edges</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Bats</b></dt>
-<dt>Little brown myotis, <i>Myotis lucifugus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests, often around buildings, caves; nocturnal</dt>
-<dt>Long-eared myotis, <i>Myotis evotis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, R, coniferous forests, meadows; nocturnal</dt>
-<dt>Long-legged myotis, <i>Myotis volans</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, coniferous forests, meadows; nocturnal</dt>
-<dt>Big brown bat, <i>Eptesicus fuscus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests; often around buildings, caves; nocturnal</dt>
-<dt>Silver-haired bat, <i>Lasionycteris noctivagans</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests; meadows; nocturnal</dt>
-<dt>Hoary bat, <i>Lasiurus cinereus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests; mostly nocturnal</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig77">
-<img src="images/p046.jpg" alt="" width="492" height="210" />
-<p class="pcap">Cougar</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Cats</b></dt>
-<dt>Bobcat, <i>Lynx rufus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, open forests, brushy areas</dt>
-<dt>Lynx, <i>Lynx canadensis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests</dt>
-<dt>Cougar, <i>Felis concolor</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Raccoon, bears</b></dt>
-<dt>Raccoon, <i>Procyon lotor</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, R, open forests, stream bottoms</dt>
-<dt>Black bear, <i>Ursus americanus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, forests, slide areas, alpine meadows</dt>
-<dt>Grizzly, <i>Ursus arctos</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, forests, slide areas, alpine meadows</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig78">
-<img src="images/p046a.jpg" alt="" width="278" height="166" />
-<p class="pcap">Coyote</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Canines</b></dt>
-<dt>Red Fox, <i>Vulpes vulpes</i></dt>
-<dt>E, grasslands, open forest</dt>
-<dt>Coyote, <i>Canis latrans</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, forests, grasslands</dt>
-<dt>Gray wolf, <i>Canis lupus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, R, coniferous forests</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig79">
-<img src="images/p046b.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="205" />
-<p class="pcap">Wolverine</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig80">
-<img src="images/p046c.jpg" alt="" width="389" height="219" />
-<p class="pcap">Longtail weasel</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Mustelids</b></dt>
-<dt>Striped skunk, <i>Mephitis mephitis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, open forests, grasslands</dt>
-<dt>Badger, <i>Taxidea taxus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, grasslands</dt>
-<dt>River otter, <i>Lutra canadensis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, R, rivers, lakes</dt>
-<dt>Wolverine, <i>Gulo gulo</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, coniferous forests, alpine meadows</dt>
-<dt>Least weasel, <i>Mustela rixosa</i></dt>
-<dt>E, R, open forests, grasslands</dt>
-<dt>Shorttail weasel, <i>Mustela erminea</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, coniferous forests, meadows</dt>
-<dt>Longtail weasel, <i>Mustela frenata</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, open forests, meadows</dt>
-<dt>Mink, <i>Mustela vison</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, creek and lake edges</dt>
-<dt>Marten, <i>Martes americana</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, coniferous forests</dt>
-<dt>Fisher, <i>Martes pennanti</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, R, coniferous forests</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_127">127</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Lagomorphs</b></dt>
-<dt>Pika, <i>Ochotona princeps</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, rockslides</dt>
-<dt>Snowshoe hare, <i>Lepus americanus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests</dt>
-<dt>Whitetail jackrabbit, <i>Lepus townsendii</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, R, grasslands</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Squirrels</b></dt>
-<dt>Hoary marmot, <i>Marmota caligata</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, rocky areas, alpine meadows</dt>
-<dt>Richardson ground squirrel, <i>Spermophilus richardsonii</i></dt>
-<dt>E, R, grasslands</dt>
-<dt>Columbian ground squirrel, <i>Citellus columbianus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, open woodlands, grasslands, alpine meadows</dt>
-<dt>Thirteen-lined ground squirrel, <i>Spermophilus tridecemlineatus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, R, grasslands</dt>
-<dt>Golden-mantled squirrel, <i>Spermophilus lateralis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, high, open forests; rocky areas</dt>
-<dt>Least chipmunk, <i>Eutamias minimus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, high, open forests; brushy, rocky areas; alpine meadows</dt>
-<dt>Yellow pine chipmunk, <i>Eutamias amoenus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, open forests; brushy, rocky areas</dt>
-<dt>Redtail chipmunk, <i>Eutamias ruficaudus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, open forests; brushy, rocky areas</dt>
-<dt>Red squirrel, <i>Tamiasciurus hudsonicus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests</dt>
-<dt>Northern flying squirrel, <i>Glaucomys sabrinus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests; nocturnal</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Pocket gophers</b></dt>
-<dt>Northern pocket gopher, <i>Thomomys talpoides</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, meadows</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig81">
-<img src="images/p046f.jpg" alt="" width="341" height="151" />
-<p class="pcap">Beaver</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Beaver</b></dt>
-<dt>Beaver, <i>Castor canadensis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, streams, lakes</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Voles and kin</b></dt>
-<dt>Deer mouse, <i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, forests, grasslands, alpine meadows</dt>
-<dt>Bushytail woodrat, <i>Neotoma cinerea</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, rocky areas, old buildings</dt>
-<dt>Northern bog lemming, <i>Synaptomys borealis</i></dt>
-<dt>W, R, coniferous forests</dt>
-<dt>Mountain phenacomys, <i>Phenacomys intermedius</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, coniferous forests, alpine meadows</dt>
-<dt>Boreal redback vole, <i>Clethrionomys gapperi</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests</dt>
-<dt>Meadow vole, <i>Microtus pennsylvanicus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, open forests, meadows; along streams; marshy areas</dt>
-<dt>Longtail vole, <i>Microtus longicaudus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests, grasslands</dt>
-<dt>Water vole, <i>Arvicola richardsoni</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, high-elevation stream and lake edges</dt>
-<dt>Muskrat, <i>Ondatra zibethica</i></dt>
-<dt>W, streams, lakes, marshy areas</dt>
-<dt>Western jumping mouse, <i>Zapus princeps</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, grasslands, alpine meadows</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_128">128</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Deer</b></dt>
-<dt>Wapiti (American elk), <i>Cervus canadensis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, open forests, meadows</dt>
-<dt>Mule deer, <i>Odocoileus hemionus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, open forests, meadows, often at high elevations</dt>
-<dt>Whitetail deer, <i>Odocoileus virginianus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests, meadows, creek and river bottoms</dt>
-<dt>Moose, <i>Alces alces</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, coniferous forests, lakes, slow streams, marshy areas</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig82">
-<img src="images/p047.jpg" alt="" width="242" height="200" />
-<p class="pcap">Mountain goat</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Bovids</b></dt>
-<dt>Mountain goat, <i>Oreamnos americanus</i></dt>
-<dt>E, W, A, high peaks and meadows</dt>
-<dt>Bighorn, <i>Ovis canadensis</i></dt>
-<dt>E, A, open mountainous areas</dt></dl>
-<h3 id="c15">Reptiles and Amphibians of Glacier National Park</h3>
-<p>Note: This check list is based upon actual
-specimens in the Park and other collections,
-according to Dr. Royal Brunson, Montana
-State University.</p>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Reptiles</b></dt>
-<dt>Great Basin Garter Snake, <i>Thamnophis elegans vagrans</i></dt>
-<dt>A large garter snake of mountainous areas, usually with large spots.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Great Plains Red-sided Garter Snake, <i>Thamnophis ordinoides parietalis</i></dt>
-<dt>Dorsal stripes varying from yellow to blue or black. Usually found near water.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Hypothetical List:</b></dt>
-<dt>Rubber Boa, <i>Charina bottae utahensis</i></dt>
-<dt>May occur in rock slides or, possibly, in forested areas, on either side of the Divide.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Gopher Snake, <i>Pituophis catenifer sayi</i></dt>
-<dt>May occur along eastern boundary (Great Plains).</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Yellow-bellied Blue Racer, <i>Coluber constrictor mormon</i></dt>
-<dt>May occur on eastern boundary of Park along border of Great Plains.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Painted Turtle, <i>Chrysemys picta</i></dt>
-<dt>May occur in ponds and sluggish waters from Upper Sonoran Zone to Canadian Zone.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Western Skink, <i>Eumeces skiltonianus</i></dt>
-<dt>May occur in Transition Zone along western border of Park.</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig83">
-<img src="images/p047a.jpg" alt="" width="321" height="141" />
-<p class="pcap">Northern Alligator Lizard</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Northern Alligator Lizard, <i>Gerrhonotus coeruleus principis</i></dt>
-<dt>May occur in Transition Zone along western border of Park.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Amphibians</b></dt>
-<dt>Tiger Salamander, <i>Ambystoma tigrinum melanostrictum</i></dt>
-<dt>Ground color either black or bluish-black, with large spots or blotches of yellow.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Long-toed Salamander, <i>Ambystoma macrodactylum</i></dt>
-<dt>Ground color black or dark brown; wide band of yellow extends from back of head to tip of tail.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Northwestern Toad, <i>Bufo boreas boreas</i></dt>
-<dt>Widely distributed over entire Park. (Also known as Columbian, Northern, or Western Toad.)</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig84">
-<img src="images/p047b.jpg" alt="" width="209" height="247" />
-<p class="pcap">Western Spotted Frog</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Western Spotted Frog, <i>Rana pretiosa pretiosa</i></dt>
-<dt>Widely distributed over entire Park. (Also known as Western or Pacific Frog.)</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Green Frog, <i>Rana clamitans</i></dt>
-<dt>One specimen, from Bowman Lake. (Chicago Natural History Museum)</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_129">129</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Tailed Frog, <i>Ascaphus truei</i></dt>
-<dt>Should be fairly common, although it is not often taken.</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Pacific Tree-toad, <i>Hyla regilla</i></dt>
-<dt>Small size and disks on fingers and toes identify this species. Common throughout Park.</dt></dl>
-<h3 id="c16">Fishes of Glacier National Park</h3>
-<p>Classification and common scientific names
-are from: &ldquo;A List of Common and Scientific
-Names of Fishes from the United States and
-Canada,&rdquo; American Fisheries Society
-Publication No. 2, 1960.</p>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Key to symbols:</b></dt>
-<dt>N Species native to at least one major drainage of the Park.</dt>
-<dt>I Non-native species, having been introduced into Park waters by man.</dt>
-<dt>S A species of sporting qualities and valued for recreational angling.</dt>
-<dt>1 Waterton Drainage</dt>
-<dt>2 Belly River Drainage</dt>
-<dt>3 Swiftcurrent Drainage</dt>
-<dt>4 St. Mary Drainage</dt>
-<dt>5 Two Medicine Drainage</dt>
-<dt>6 Middle Fork Flathead River Drainage (exclusive of McDonald Valley)</dt>
-<dt>7 McDonald Valley Drainage</dt>
-<dt>8 North Fork Flathead River Drainage</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig85">
-<img src="images/p047c.jpg" alt="" width="331" height="209" />
-<p class="pcap">Lake Trout</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Family <i>Salmonidae</i> (trouts, whitefishes, and grayling)</b></dt>
-<dt>Lake Whitefish, <i>Coregonus clupeaformis</i> (I) (1, 2, 3, 4, 7)</dt>
-<dt>Pygmy Whitefish, <i>Prosopium coulteri</i> (N) (7)</dt>
-<dt>Mountain Whitefish, <i>Prosopium williamsoni</i> (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Kokanee (Sockeye) Salmon, <i>Oncorhyncus nerka</i> (I) (S) (3, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Cutthroat Trout, <i>Salmo clarki</i> (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Rainbow Trout, <i>Salmo gairdneri</i> (I) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7)</dt>
-<dt>Brook Trout, <i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i> (I) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)</dt>
-<dt>Dolly Varden, <i>Salvelinus malma</i> (N) (S) (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Lake Trout, <i>Salvelinus namaycush</i> (N) (S) (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Arctic Grayling, <i>Thymallus arcticus</i> (I) (S) (2, 8)</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Family <i>Esocidae</i> (pikes)</b></dt>
-<dt>Northern pike, <i>Esox lucius</i> (N) (S) (1, 2, 3)</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig86">
-<img src="images/p047d.jpg" alt="" width="217" height="92" />
-<p class="pcap">Redside Shiner</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Family <i>Cyprinidae</i> (minnows and carps)</b></dt>
-<dt>Longnose Dace, <i>Rhinichthys cataractae</i> (N) (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Northern Pearl Dace, <i>Margariscus margarita</i> (N) (3, 5)</dt>
-<dt>Redside Shiner, <i>Richardsonius balteatus</i> (N) (7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Streamline Chub, <i>Hybopsis dissimilis</i> (N) (1, 3)</dt>
-<dt>Northern Squawfish, <i>Ptychocheilus oregonensis</i> (N) (7, 8)</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig87">
-<img src="images/p047e.jpg" alt="" width="375" height="160" />
-<p class="pcap">White Sucker</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Family <i>Catostomidae</i> (suckers)</b></dt>
-<dt>White Sucker, <i>Catostomus commersoni</i> (N) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)</dt>
-<dt>Largescale Sucker, <i>Catostomus macrocheilus</i> (N) (6, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Longnose Sucker, <i>Catostomus catostomus</i> (N) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_130">130</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Family <i>Gadidaie</i> (codfishes and hakes)</b></dt>
-<dt>Burbot, <i>Lota lota</i> (N) (S) (1, 4)</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Family <i>Cottidae</i> (sculpins)</b></dt>
-<dt>Mottled sculpin, <i>Cottus bairdi</i> (N) (5, 6, 7, 8)</dt>
-<dt>Spoonhead sculpin, <i>Cottus ricei</i> (N) (1, 2, 3, 4)</dt></dl>
-<h3 id="c17">Birds of Glacier National Park</h3>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Key to symbols:</b></dt>
-<dt>E&mdash;occurs on east side of the park (east of the Divide)</dt>
-<dt>W&mdash;occurs on west side of the park (west of the Divide)</dt>
-<dt>A&mdash;occurs in alpine areas</dt>
-<dt>ab&mdash;abundant</dt>
-<dt>c&mdash;common</dt>
-<dt>u&mdash;uncommon</dt>
-<dt>r&mdash;rare</dt>
-<dt>i&mdash;introduced</dt>
-<dt>a&mdash;accidental</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig88">
-<img src="images/p048.jpg" alt="" width="311" height="188" />
-<p class="pcap">Common Loon</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Loons</b></dt>
-<dt>Common Loon E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Arctic Loon?</dt>
-<dt>Red-throated Loon?</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig89">
-<img src="images/p048a1.jpg" alt="" width="367" height="193" />
-<p class="pcap">Western Grebe</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Grebes</b></dt>
-<dt>Red-necked Grebe E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Horned Grebe E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Eared Grebe E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Western Grebe E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Pied-billed Grebe E, W, r</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Pelicans, Cormorants</b></dt>
-<dt>White Pelican E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Double-crested Cormorant E, r</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig90">
-<img src="images/p048a2.jpg" alt="" width="258" height="333" />
-<p class="pcap">Great Blue Heron</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig91">
-<img src="images/p048b.jpg" alt="" width="202" height="222" />
-<p class="pcap">American Bittern</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Herons, Bitterns</b></dt>
-<dt>Great Blue Heron E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Black-crowned Night Heron a</dt>
-<dt>American Bittern, W, r</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig92">
-<img src="images/p048c.jpg" alt="" width="389" height="291" />
-<p class="pcap">Mallard</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig93">
-<img src="images/p048d.jpg" alt="" width="281" height="239" />
-<p class="pcap">Wood Duck</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig94">
-<img src="images/p048e.jpg" alt="" width="315" height="257" />
-<p class="pcap">Ruddy Duck</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Swan, Geese, Ducks</b></dt>
-<dt>Whistling Swan E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Trumpeter Swan E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Canada Goose E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Snow Goose E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Ross&rsquo; Goose E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Mallard E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Gadwall E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Pintail E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Green-winged Teal E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Blue-winged Teal E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Cinnamon Teal E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>European Widgeon E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>American Widgeon E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Northern Shoveler E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Wood Duck E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Redhead E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Ring-necked Duck E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Canvasback E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Lesser Scaup E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Greater Scaup?</dt>
-<dt>Common Goldeneye E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Barrow&rsquo;s Goldeneye E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Bufflehead E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Harlequin Duck E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>White-winged Scoter E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Ruddy Duck E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Hooded Merganser E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Common Merganser E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Red-breasted Merganser, E, W, u</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig95">
-<img src="images/p048f.jpg" alt="" width="246" height="309" />
-<p class="pcap">Cooper&rsquo;s Hawk</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig96">
-<img src="images/p048g.jpg" alt="" width="507" height="374" />
-<p class="pcap">Marsh Hawk</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Vultures, Hawks, Eagles</b></dt>
-<dt>Turkey Vulture E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Goshawk E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Sharp-shinned Hawk E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Cooper&rsquo;s Hawk E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Red-tailed Hawk E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Red-shouldered Hawk a</dt>
-<dt>Swainson&rsquo;s Hawk E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Rough-legged Hawk E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Ferruginous Hawk E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Golden Eagle, E, W, A, c</dt>
-<dt>Bald Eagle, E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Marsh Hawk E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Osprey E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Prairie Falcon E, W, A, r</dt>
-<dt>Peregrine Falcon E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>American Kestrel E, W, c</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_131">131</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig97">
-<img src="images/p048h.jpg" alt="" width="344" height="341" />
-<p class="pcap">Sharp-tailed Grouse</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Grouse, Ptarmigans</b></dt>
-<dt>Blue Grouse, E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Spruce Grouse E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Ruffed Grouse E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Sharp-tailed Grouse E, r</dt>
-<dt>White-tailed Ptarmigan A, c</dt>
-<dt>Willow Ptarmigan ?</dt>
-<dt>Ring-necked Pheasant E, W, r, i</dt>
-<dt>Gray Partridge E, W, r, i</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt>Cranes</dt>
-<dt>Sandhill Crane E, r</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig98">
-<img src="images/p048i.jpg" alt="" width="248" height="170" />
-<p class="pcap">American Coot</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Rails, Coots</b></dt>
-<dt>Sora E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>American Coot E, W, ab</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig99">
-<img src="images/p048j.jpg" alt="" width="253" height="251" />
-<p class="pcap">Greater Yellowlegs</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Shorebirds</b></dt>
-<dt>Killdeer E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Black-bellied Plover E, r</dt>
-<dt>Common Snipe E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Long-billed Curlew E, r</dt>
-<dt>Upland Sandpiper E, r</dt>
-<dt>Spotted Sandpiper E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Solitary Sandpiper E, r</dt>
-<dt>Willet, E, r</dt>
-<dt>Pectoral Sandpiper E, r</dt>
-<dt>Baird&rsquo;s Sandpiper E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Lesser Yellowlegs, E, W r</dt>
-<dt>Greater Yellowlegs E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>American Avocet E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Northern Phalarope E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Wilson&rsquo;s Phalarope E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Black Turnstone ?</dt>
-<dt>Long-billed Dowitcher E, W, r</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig100">
-<img src="images/p048k.jpg" alt="" width="305" height="391" />
-<p class="pcap">Herring Gull</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Gulls, Terns</b></dt>
-<dt>Herring Gull E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>California Gull E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Ring-billed Gull E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Franklin&rsquo;s Gull E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Bonaparte&rsquo;s Gull E, u</dt>
-<dt>Forster&rsquo;s Tern E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Common Tern E, r</dt>
-<dt>Caspian Tern a</dt>
-<dt>Black Tern E, W, u</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig101">
-<img src="images/p048l.jpg" alt="" width="336" height="321" />
-<p class="pcap">Mourning Dove</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Doves, Pigeons</b></dt>
-<dt>Band-tailed Pigeon E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Mourning Dove E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Rock Dove E, W, r, i</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig102">
-<img src="images/p048m.jpg" alt="" width="473" height="254" />
-<p class="pcap">Great Horned Owl</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Owls</b></dt>
-<dt>Screech Owl E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Great Horned Owl E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Snowy Owl E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Hawk Owl E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Pygmy Owl E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Barred Owl E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Great Gray Owl E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Long-eared Owl E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Short-eared Owl, E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Boreal Owl E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Saw-whet Owl E, W, u</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig103">
-<img src="images/p048n.jpg" alt="" width="284" height="313" />
-<p class="pcap">Common Nighthawk</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Nighthawks, Swifts</b></dt>
-<dt>Common Nighthawk E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Black Swift E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Vaux&rsquo;s Swift E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>White-throated Swift W, A, r</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Hummingbirds</b></dt>
-<dt>Broad-tailed Hummingbird E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Rufous Hummingbird E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Calliope Hummingbird E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Black-chinned Hummingbird E, W, r</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_132">132</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig104">
-<img src="images/p049.jpg" alt="" width="432" height="328" />
-<p class="pcap">Belted Kingfisher</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Kingfishers</b></dt>
-<dt>Belted Kingfisher E, W, ab</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Woodpeckers</b></dt>
-<dt>Common Flicker E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Pileated Woodpecker E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Red-headed Woodpecker E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Lewis&rsquo; Woodpecker E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Yellow-bellied Sapsucker E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Williamson&rsquo;s Sapsucker E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Hairy Woodpecker E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Downy Woodpecker E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Northern Three-toed Woodpecker E, W, ab</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig105">
-<img src="images/p049a.jpg" alt="" width="338" height="327" />
-<p class="pcap">Ash-throated Flycatcher</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Flycatchers</b></dt>
-<dt>Eastern Kingbird E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Western Kingbird E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Ash-throated Flycatcher a</dt>
-<dt>Say&rsquo;s Phoebe E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Willow Flycatcher E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Hammond&rsquo;s Flycatcher E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Olive-sided Flycatcher E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Western Flycatcher E, r</dt>
-<dt>Western Wood Peewee E, W, c</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Larks</b></dt>
-<dt>Horned Lark E, W, A, ab</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig106">
-<img src="images/p049b.jpg" alt="" width="410" height="411" />
-<p class="pcap">Barn Swallow</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Swallows</b></dt>
-<dt>Violet-green Swallow E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Tree Swallow E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Bank Swallow E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Rough-winged Swallow E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Barn Swallow E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Cliff Swallow E, W, A, ab</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig107">
-<img src="images/p049c.jpg" alt="" width="513" height="275" />
-<p class="pcap">Common Crow</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Jays, Magpies, Crows</b></dt>
-<dt>Gray Jay E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Blue Jay E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Steller&rsquo;s Jay E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Black-billed Magpie E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Common Raven E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Common Crow E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Clark&rsquo;s Nutcracker E, W, A, ab</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Chickadees</b></dt>
-<dt>Black-capped Chickadee E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Mountain Chickadee E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Boreal Chickadee E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Chestnut-backed Chickadee E, W, u</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Nuthatches, Creepers</b></dt>
-<dt>White-breasted Nuthatch E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Red-breasted Nuthatch E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Brown Creeper E, W, ab</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig108">
-<img src="images/p049d.jpg" alt="" width="241" height="240" />
-<p class="pcap">Winter Wren</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Dippers, Wrens</b></dt>
-<dt>Dipper E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>House Wren E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Winter Wren E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Long-billed Marsh Wren a</dt>
-<dt>Rock Wren E, W, u</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Catbirds, Thrashers</b></dt>
-<dt>Gray Catbird E, W, u</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig109">
-<img src="images/p049e.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="233" />
-<p class="pcap">Mountain Bluebird</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Thrushes, Bluebirds, Solitaires</b></dt>
-<dt>American Robin E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Varied Thrush E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Hermit Thrush E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Swainson&rsquo;s Thrush E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Veery E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Western Bluebird E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Mountain Bluebird E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Townsend&rsquo;s Solitaire E, W, A, ab</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Kinglets</b></dt>
-<dt>Golden-crowned Kinglet E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Ruby-crowned Kinglet E, W, ab</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_133">133</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Pipits</b></dt>
-<dt>Water Pipit E, W, A, ab</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig110">
-<img src="images/p049f.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="257" />
-<p class="pcap">Cedar Waxwing</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Waxwings</b></dt>
-<dt>Bohemian Waxwing E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Cedar Waxwing E, W, ab</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Shrikes</b></dt>
-<dt>Loggerhead Shrike E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Northern Shrike E, W, r</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig111">
-<img src="images/p049g.jpg" alt="" width="243" height="210" />
-<p class="pcap">Starling</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Starlings</b></dt>
-<dt>Starling E, W, c, i</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig112">
-<img src="images/p049h.jpg" alt="" width="373" height="166" />
-<p class="pcap">Red-eyed Vireo</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Vireos</b></dt>
-<dt>Solitary Vireo E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Red-eyed Vireo E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Warbling Vireo E, W, ab</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Warblers</b></dt>
-<dt>Black and White Warbler W, r</dt>
-<dt>Tennessee Warbler E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Orange-crowned Warbler E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Nashville Warbler E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Yellow Warbler E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Yellow-rumped Warbler E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Townsend&rsquo;s Warbler E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Northern Waterthrush E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>MacGillivray&rsquo;s Warbler E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Common Yellowthroat E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Wilson&rsquo;s Warbler E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>American Redstart E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Yellow-breasted Chat ?</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig113">
-<img src="images/p049i.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="250" />
-<p class="pcap">House Sparrow</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Weaver Finches</b></dt>
-<dt>House Sparrow E, W, r, i</dt></dl>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Blackbirds, Orioles</b></dt>
-<dt>Bobolink E, r</dt>
-<dt>Western Meadowlark E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Red-winged Blackbird E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Northern Oriole E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Brewer&rsquo;s Blackbird E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Rusty Blackbird E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Yellow-headed Blackbird E, r</dt>
-<dt>Common Grackle E, r</dt>
-<dt>Brown-headed Cowbird E, W, c</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig114">
-<img src="images/p049j.jpg" alt="" width="328" height="468" />
-<p class="pcap">Evening Grosbeak</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Tanagers, Grosbeaks</b></dt>
-<dt>Western Tanager E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Evening Grosbeak E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Pine Grosbeak E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Black-headed Grosbeak E, W, r</dt></dl>
-<div class="img" id="fig115">
-<img src="images/p049o.jpg" alt="" width="355" height="298" />
-<p class="pcap">American Goldfinch</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent pcap"><dt><b>Finches, Sparrows, Buntings</b></dt>
-<dt>Lazuli Bunting E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Lark Bunting E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Snow Bunting E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Cassin&rsquo;s Finch E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Gray-crowned Rosy Finch E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>American Goldfinch E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Common Redpoll E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Pine Siskin E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Red Crossbill E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>White-winged Crossbill E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Rufous-sided Towhee E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Green-tailed Towhee E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Savannah Sparrow E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>LeConte&rsquo;s Sparrow E, W, u</dt>
-<dt>Vesper Sparrow E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Tree Sparrow E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Chipping Sparrow E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Brewer&rsquo;s Sparrow E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>Harris&rsquo; Sparrow E, W, r</dt>
-<dt>White-crowned Sparrow E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Fox Sparrow E, W, A, ab</dt>
-<dt>Lincoln&rsquo;s Sparrow E, W, A, c</dt>
-<dt>Song Sparrow E, W, ab</dt>
-<dt>Dark-eyed Junco E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>McCown&rsquo;s Longspur E, c</dt>
-<dt>Lapland Longspur E, W, c</dt>
-<dt>Chestnut-collared Longspur E, c</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_134">134</div>
-<h2 id="c18"><span class="small">Suggested Reading</span></h2>
-<p class="book">Alexander, Taylor R. and George S.
-Fichter, <i>Ecology</i> (a Golden guide).
-Western Publishing Co., Inc., Racine,
-Wis. 1973.</p>
-<p class="book">Alt, David D. and Donald W. Hyndman,
-<i>Rocks, Ice and Water, the Geology of
-Waterton-Glacier Park</i>. Mountain Press
-Publishing Co., Missoula, Mont. 1973.</p>
-<p class="book">Baker, William, et. al., <i>Wildlife of the
-Northern Rocky Mountains</i>. Naturegraph
-Co., Healdsburg, Calif. 1961.</p>
-<p class="book">Borland, Hal, <i>The History of Wildlife
-in America</i>. National Wildlife Federation,
-Washington, D.C. 1975.</p>
-<p class="book">Brooks, Maurice, <i>The Life of The
-Mountains</i>. McGraw-Hill, New York. 1967.</p>
-<p class="book">Costello, David F., <i>The Mountain World</i>.
-Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York. 1975.</p>
-<p class="book">Craighead, John J., et. al., <i>A Field Guide
-to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers</i>.
-Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1963.</p>
-<p class="book">Dobie, J. Frank, <i>The Voice of the Coyote</i>.
-Little, Brown and Co., Boston. 1950.</p>
-<p class="book">Farb, Peter, <i>Face of North America</i>.
-Harper and Row, New York. 1963.</p>
-<p class="book">Gildart, Robert C., <i>Meet the Mammals of
-Waterton-Glacier</i>. Glacier Natural History
-Association, Inc. Thomas Printing, Inc.,
-Kalispell, Mont. 1975.</p>
-<p class="book">McCormick, Jack, <i>The Life of the Forest</i>.
-McGraw-Hill, New York. 1966.</p>
-<p class="book">Milne, Lorus and Margery Milne, <i>The
-Balance of Nature</i>. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.,
-New York. 1960.</p>
-<p class="book">Nelson, Alan G., <i>Wildflowers of Glacier
-National Park</i>. Nelson, Great Falls,
-Mont. 1970.</p>
-<p class="book">Peattie, Donald Culross, <i>A Natural
-History of Western Trees</i>. Bonanza
-Books, New York. 1953.</p>
-<p class="book">Ruhle, George C., <i>Roads and Trails
-of Waterton-Glacier Parks</i>.
-John W. Forney, Minneapolis, Minn. 1972.</p>
-<p class="book">Shea, David S., <i>Animal Tracks of Glacier
-National Park</i>. Special Bulletin No. 11,
-Glacier Natural History Association, Inc.,
-West Glacier, Mont., 1969.</p>
-<p class="book">Storer, John H., <i>The Web of Life</i>.
-Devin-Adair Co., Old Greenwich, Conn.
-1953.</p>
-<p class="book">Zwinger, Ann H. and Beatrice E. Willard,
-<i>Land Above the Trees</i>. Harper and Row,
-New York. 1972.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_135">135</div>
-<div class="img" id="map1">
-<img src="images/map50_lr.jpg" alt="" width="728" height="800" />
-<p class="pcap">WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK&mdash;GLACIER NATIONAL PARK</p><p class="center"><a class="ab1" href="images/map50_hr.jpg">High-resolution Map</a></p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_136">136</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b>Using Metrics</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">As we go to press with this book, the
-United States is in the early stages of
-conversion to the metric system of
-measurement, and though we urge you to
-think metric&mdash;for most of the world does&mdash;we
-provide this table to help you
-understand the measurements given in
-the book.</p>
-<table class="center" summary="">
-<tr class="th"><th>To convert from </th><th>to </th><th>multiply by</th></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Millimeters </td><td class="l">Sixteenth-inches </td><td class="l">0.6301</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Centimeters </td><td class="l">Inches </td><td class="l">0.3937</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Meters </td><td class="l">Feet </td><td class="l">3.2808</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Kilometers </td><td class="l">Miles </td><td class="l">0.6214</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Hectares </td><td class="l">Acres </td><td class="l">2.4711</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Hectares </td><td class="l">Square miles </td><td class="l">0.00386</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Grams </td><td class="l">Troy Ounces </td><td class="l">0.0322</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Kilograms </td><td class="l">Pounds </td><td class="l">2.2046</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="l">Degrees&mdash;Celsius </td><td class="l">Degrees&mdash;Fahrenheit </td><td class="l">1.8, and add 32</td></tr>
-</table>
-<div class="img" id="fig116">
-<img src="images/p051.jpg" alt="" width="185" height="599" />
-<p class="pcap">Temperature Conversion Chart</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig117">
-<img src="images/p051a.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="99" />
-<p class="pcap">Length Conversion Chart</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_137">137</div>
-<p class="pcapc">Drawings from David S. Shea, <i>Animal Tracks of Glacier National Park</i></p>
-<div class="img" id="fig118">
-<img src="images/p051b.jpg" alt="" width="324" height="325" />
-<p class="pcap">red fox,
-<br />hind foot, in mud
-<br />53 mm.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig119">
-<img src="images/p051c.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="436" />
-<p class="pcap">mule deer,
-<br />adult buck, in snow
-<br />72 mm.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig120">
-<img src="images/p051d.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="265" />
-<p class="pcap">badger,
-<br />left front foot, in mud
-<br />43 mm.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="fig121">
-<img src="images/p051e.jpg" alt="" width="351" height="389" />
-<p class="pcap">coyote,
-<br />hind foot, in snow
-<br />63 mm.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_138">138</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b>About the Author</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">Greg Beaumont&rsquo;s interest in Glacier
-National Park dates from 1963, when he
-was a summer employee at Lake
-McDonald Lodge. In 1966 he and his wife
-were fire-control lookouts on Numa Ridge
-in the Bowman Valley. Now a free-lance
-writer-photographer, he lives with his
-family in Lincoln, Nebraska.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_139">139</div>
-<p class="pcap"><b>National Park Service
-<br />U.S. Department of the Interior</b></p>
-<p class="pcapc">As the Nation&rsquo;s principal conservation
-agency, the Department of the Interior
-has responsibility for most of our
-nationally owned public lands and natural
-resources. This includes fostering the
-wisest use of our land and water
-resources, protecting our fish and wildlife,
-preserving the environmental and
-cultural values of our national parks and
-historical places, and providing for the
-enjoyment of life through outdoor
-recreation. The Department assesses our
-energy and mineral resources and works
-to assure that their development is in the
-best interests of all our people. The
-Department also has a major responsibility
-for American Indian reservation
-communities and for people who live in
-Island Territories under U.S.
-administration.</p>
-<h2>Transcriber&rsquo;s Notes</h2>
-<ul>
-<li>Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.</li>
-<li>Corrected a few palpable typos.</li>
-<li>Included a transcription of the text within some images.</li>
-<li>In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.</li>
-</ul>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Many-Storied Mountains, by Greg Beaumont
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