Throughout the summer, we invite specialists to share their expertise daily in the field and through evening presentations.  You may want to time your visit at Camp Denali to coincide with one of our Special Emphasis Series sessions.  Our regular program of guided hiking occurs simultaneously. 

This series is available exclusively at Camp Denali.

For 2010 Special Emphasis Series information, click here.

2011 Special Emphasis Series

Stan Senner

Director of Conservation Science, Ocean Conservancy

June 6-9 & 10-12

Stan Senner brings a unique combination of skill and experience with birds, science, conservation, and public policy to his job as director of conservation science for Ocean Conservancy, which he has held since 2009. In his career of more than 35 years, he has worked for The Wilderness Society and U.S. House of Representatives during passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. He also served as executive director of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, as the state of Alaska's science coordinator following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and executive director of Audubon Alaska (from 1999-2009).

Birds are Mr. Senner’s great love. He holds an M.S. in biology from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and has published many articles on the ecology and conservation of birds. Bird migration is his particular interest.  Over the last 20 years, much of his work has focused on science and public policy related to energy development and its impacts on wildlife and ecosystems in Alaska. Mr. Senner is currently based in Portland, Oregon.

Emphasis:

Field trips will focus on observing and appreciating breeding birds in forest, tundra, and wetland habitats. Guests of all skill levels should find these outings rewarding.

Mr. Senner will give two evening presentations: one on bird migration and natural history of Denali’s bird life, and the other on conservation in the Arctic--Alaska's North Slope and Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Staff Naturalists and
Guest Lecturers

June 13-16 & 17-19

The wildflowers of Denali National Park and Preserve create an extravagant, multi-colored microcosm of nature’s handiwork amidst a vast mountain landscape. Whether you are simply attracted to observation of nature’s floral displays, lured by macro photography, or drawn to plant taxonomy, we invite you to join us for Denali’s season of wildflowers.

Emphasis:

Naturalist staff and guest specialists will lead field trips
for botanizing and wildflower photography. We will explore marshy lowlands, boreal forest, rolling tundra hillsides, and windswept heights, discovering plants that are strategically adapted to these unique biological niches of the Far North. We will discuss the characteristics of taiga and tundra, river bar colonizers, cushion plants, and sedge tussocks, and will talk about how plants flourish despite the rigors of mountain weather, glacial terrain, permafrost, and the brief growing season.

Evening programs will explore topics such as far northern plant adaptations, pollination, the role of wildfire, traditional uses of northern plants, and how some plants provide evidence of climate change at northern latitudes.

Shelton Johnson

Acclaimed Writer and Interpreter, Yosemite National Park

June 27-30 & July 1-3

Shelton Johnson, a native of Detroit, Michigan, currently serves as an interpretive ranger in Yosemite National Park.  As a child, he dreamed of mountains, though he had never been to a mountain range and had only experienced nature and wildlife through television and movie screens.  Mr. Johnson served with the Peace Corps in Liberia and attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, where he won several writing awards, including a Hopwood Award in poetry.  While enrolled in the MFA program, Mr. Johnson applied for a seasonal position in Yellowstone National Park. He thought it would provide a quiet place to write.  Little did he know this was just the beginning of a career dedicated to connecting people, especially inner city kids, with nature and the National Parks.
 
While working in Yosemite, Mr. Johnson stumbled upon archived photos of Buffalo Soldiers who had patrolled the park around the turn of the 20th century.  Since 1998, he has been bringing the history of the Buffalo Soldiers to life at venues around the country through his original living-history program, and has received many honors and awards for this work.  His recent book, Gloryland (Sierra Club, 2009) is a novel based on the life of a Buffalo Soldier stationed in Yosemite National Park.  Mr. Johnson is prominently featured in the Ken Burns documentary film The National Parks: America's Best Idea, and in September of 2009, he spoke at the White House with President Obama about his career in the national parks. Mr. Johnson lives with his wife and son just outside Yosemite National Park.

Emphasis:

Mr. Johnson will give two talks including a focus on the role the U.S. Army played in the early stewardship of national parks; and a presentation that tracks Shelton Johnson's own journey from inner city Detroit to the Range of Light.

Steve Young

Former Director of the Center for Northern Studies, Sterling College

July 15-17 & 18-21

Steve Young has degrees in Biology from Middlebury College and The University of Alaska Fairbanks. He did his Ph. D. work at Harvard, specializing in the flora of the Bering Strait Region. After several field seasons in Antarctica and islands in the Southern Ocean, he founded The Center for Northern Studies, in Vermont, and returned to Alaska for extended field work and consulting work for the National Park Service. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, he did field research in several areas in Siberia and, more recently, in northern Mongolia. His research specialty has been the ancient environments of arctic Alaska and Eurasia, and he has published extensively on this subject, including being co-editor and co-author of Paleoecology of Beringia (Academic Press, 1982). Dr. Young has also developed a broad array of college courses on various polar subjects and published To the Arctic, an introduction to the northern environment. He has led field courses to many parts of the North, including several taught through the Denali Institute.

Dr. Young is semi-retired from academic life, but continues to teach
occasional courses in his specialties. He lives in Wolcott, Vermont, with
his wife, Jan, does Zen meditation, and grows Rhododendrons.

Emphasis:

Dr. Young's talks will discuss the dynamic nature of the northern
environment: how it has changed over time, especially since the height of
the last Ice Age, and what forces are continuing to affect the ecosystems of
the tundra and boreal forest.

Margaret Williams

Director of Bering Sea Ecoregion Program, World Wildlife Fund

July 25-28 & 29-31

Margaret Williams is the director of World Wildlife Fund’s Bering Sea ecoregion program and Russia Projects, which entails leading a team of experts in climate change, wildlife biology, fisheries, oil and shipping, and communications to implement an international conservation strategy for the Bering Sea. She currently chairs WWF’s international Arctic Program.  Ms. Williams has focused much of her efforts on Russian conservation issues for the last sixteen years. From 1993 to 1995 she lived in eastern Siberia, northwestern Karelia, and Moscow and she is fluent in Russian. Ms. Williams founded and still edits Russian Conservation News, a quarterly journal on biodiversity conservation in Eurasia. Before joining WWF in 1997, she worked as a consultant to the World Bank on biodiversity projects in Russia and Central Asia. She graduated from Smith College and received a master's degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Emphasis:

Evening presentations by Margaret Williams will feature the images, history, and current issues in the area of Russian nature conservation. Few people realize that Russia has a long history of wilderness protection or that it harbors the world’s largest system of strictly protected natural areas. Many of Russia’s endangered species, from the regal Siberian tiger to the strange-looking saiga antelope, take refuge in these areas. From the heart of one of America’s most beloved parks, Denali, we will learn about Russia’s diverse landscapes and ecosystems, and the reserves and parks that protect these globally important treasures. 

Jim Stratton

Alaska Regional Director, National Parks Conservation Association

August 5-7 & 8-11

Jim Stratton holds a degree in Recreation and Parks Management from the University of Oregon, and an MBA from Alaska Pacific University.  His long interest in the outdoors, and particularly our National Park System, has led him to his current role as the Alaska Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association, a position he has held since December 2002.  Prior to joining NPCA, Mr. Stratton spent eight years as the director of the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and 11 years as the Program and Finance Director for Alaska Conservation Foundation.  He started his Alaska conservation career over 25 years ago as the Executive Director of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council.  He is currently Board Chair of the Great Land Trust, and also sits on the advisory board for the Brainerd Foundation.  When he’s not working or volunteering for conservation efforts, he enjoys fly fishing, birding and traveling to exotic places with his wife, Colleen Burgh.  National Parks are among his favorite places to visit.

Emphasis:

Mr. Stratton's first program will introduce the dynamic history behind the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), called by many the "conservation bill of the century."  This bill designated over 100 million acres of Alaska's wildest places as parks, refuges, and Wilderness areas.  His second talk will focus on the national parks protected by ANILCA.

Jeff Fair

Acclaimed Alaskan Author & Wildlife Biologist

August 15-18 & 19-21

Jeff Fair has studied loons and other wild spirits across the North from Maine to Alaska for 33 years.  A wildlife biologist by formal training, he wrote the original status report on the rare Yellow-billed Loon in Alaska, and began field research on the species in Alaska’s vast western arctic in 2002.  He has also made three recent trips to the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary in southwest Alaska, site of the world’s largest concentration of brown bears, in pursuit of his interest in the interspecific trust established there between humans and bears.

 Mr. Fair has published four books including The Great American Bear and is currently writing the biography of Larry Aumiller’s 30 years as manager of Alaska’s McNeil River State Game Sanctuary.  He is a regular contributor to Audubon and Alaska magazines; his essays have appeared in numerous other national periodicals and in several anthologies including Arctic Wings and have won awards from the National Wildlife Federation and the National Press Club.  He made Alaska his home in 1995, and lives in a small cabin on the toe of Lazy Mountain, just across the river from Palmer.

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Mr. Fair’s first evening program will describe the rare Yellow-billed Loon of Alaska’s western arctic, the austere beauty of that habitat, the surprising results of research into its ecology and migrations, and its 2009 inauguration as a Candidate Species for ESA-listing.  His presentation will discuss the conservation of this species in the context of other wildlife and political issues in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska.  His second program will focus on the brown bears of Alaska’s McNeil River Sanctuary, the rare trust there that allows human visitors to observe these awesome creatures very close at hand, and the outlooks and stories of the man who established that trust across three decades.

Ralph Lee Hopkins

Professional Nature Photographer

August 26-28 & August 29-September 1

Ralph Lee Hopkins is director of photo expeditions for Lindblad Expeditions and travels the world’s wild places aboard the National Geographic Explorer. An inspiring teacher, he is lecturer on tour with National Geographic Traveler digital seminars and teaches with National Geographic Expeditions, Arizona Highways Photographic Workshops, and Santa Fe Photographic Workshops.

Ralph’s work regularly appears in National Geographic publications and in major magazines including Arizona Highways, Outdoor Photographer, Outside, and Nature’s Best. His images are represented by the National Geographic Image Collection and fine-art prints are exhibited by the Ordover Gallery in San Diego and the Verve Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Ralph’s most recent book is Nature Photography—Documenting Wild Places (Lark Photography Books, 2010).

To view his online porfolio visit www.RalphLeeHopkins.com.

Emphasis:

Ralph’s evening programs will discuss simple tips and techniques for improving your travel and wildlife images with examples from the world’s wild places. Daily field trips will explore the wonders of Denali, from the grand landscape to wildlife encounters and intimate details. Our focus is on exploring artistic elements of composition and discovering our own creative vision. In autumn, the tundra is transformed into a magical carpet filled with limitless photographic opportunities.

*Please note that an additional program fee of $75/night is charged to each Autumn Nature Photography Workshop participant. The workshop is limited to 10 participants.

Dr. Neal Brown

Former Director of Alaska Space Grant Program and Poker Flat Research Range, and Science Enthusiast

September 5-8 & 9-11

After receiving a B.A. in physics from Washington State University in 1961, Neal Brown worked for NASA, where his interest in auroral phenomena was first sparked. At the time, the aurora was linked to understanding the earth’s atmospheric makeup, a key factor in spacecraft travel.

Dr. Brown went on to receive an M.S. and a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  He also directed its Poker Flat Research Range from 1971 through 1989. Poker Flat is one of the nation’s busiest space research facilities and the world’s only university-owned rocket range. In 2008, he retired from his faculty position in the Physics Department and Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Dr. Brown is a consummate teacher and has been featured on PBS, the Discovery Channel, and Good Morning America.

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Dr. Brown’s evening lectures will explore the aurora, its myths and science, sun dogs, noctilucent clouds, and other atmospheric phenomena. Hands-on instructional aids and displays will illustrate many of the discussed scientific concepts.

By early September, clear nights are finally dark enough to view the aurora. Join Dr. Brown in his enthusiasm for the north country’s mystical night skies!