Summer lecture series begins July 6 at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually refuge
Cynthia Iyall, a Nisqually Indian Tribe member and a descendent of Chief Leschi, will kick off the 2016 Summer Lecture Series on Wednesday at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
The 29th annual series will feature talks on environmental topics ranging from frogs to the Antarctic to the effects of climate change.
Iyall will talk about the Medicine Creek Treaty, signed in 1854 along what is now McAllister Creek. The Nisqually Tribe is one of nine tribes that signed the treaty.
Leschi disagreed with the treaty and led a protest in Olympia. Under orders from territorial Gov. Issac Stevens, Leschi was eventually arrested, tried twice and executed in 1858.
The free lectures are held every Wednesday evening during July and August. They will begin at 7 p.m. in the Norm Dicks Visitor Center auditorium. Lasting about an hour, the lectures are followed by a question-and-answer period.
Attendance is limited to 100 and seating will open at 6 p.m. The refuge’s entrance fee is waived for those attending the lectures. On lecture nights, the visitor center will be open until 7 p.m. and again after the lecture.
For more information, call 360-753-9467.
Here is a look at the remainder of the series:
July 13: “Adapting to Change: Climate Impacts and Innovation in Puget Sound,” by Lara Whitely Binder, a senior strategist for the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington.
July 20: “Antarctica: Past, Present, and Penguins,” by Nancy Wells, naturalist and photographer.
July 27: “Northwest Bats, Their Habits and Protection,” by Jim Nieland, a geologist with Nieland Consulting.
Aug. 3: “Common Northwest Marine Invertebrates,” by Don Ehlen, an educator and entomologist with Insect Safari.
Aug. 10: “Oregon Spotted Frog: Natural History, Threats and Recovery,” by Teal Waterstrat and Deanna Lynch, biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Aug. 17: “Refuge Through the Lens,” by nature photographer Ed Castleberry.
Aug. 24: “Global and Northwest Issues with Amphibians — An At-Risk Group in the Era of Climate Change,” by Marc Hayes, senior research scientist with the Aquatic Research Section, Habitat Program for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This story was originally published July 2, 2016 at 3:50 AM with the headline "Summer lecture series begins July 6 at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually refuge."