Fireside Lectures return to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center on Friday

Feb 5

1 min read

By Laurie Craig

Juneau Independent

The U.S. Forest Service’s free public Fireside Lectures return to their original venue at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center at 7 p.m. on Friday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The decades-long series of talks was temporarily moved this year to the Juneau Ranger District on Mendenhall Loop Road while the visitor center was closed for repairs due to problems caused by freezing conditions.

Richard Carstensen, lead naturalist and co-founder of nonprofit education organization Discovery Southeast, is scheduled on Friday to present an hour-long lecture titled “Goatlandia” featuring mountain goats and their habitat on slopes around Juneau.

The Forest Service operates the visitor center. Other Friday night talks are scheduled through February. Lectures may be live-streamed at the Tongass National Forest Facebook page. As of Wednesday the parking lots and walkways are icy and lightly graveled, making some surfaces slippery.

• Contact Laurie Craig at lauriec@juneauindependent.com.