In partnership with the Sun River Watershed Group, the Library will host a FREE speaker series starting tomorrow, January 15, that runs through May, focusing on conservation efforts, the Sun River Watershed, and the authors and books that shaped the area. The talks will be held on the third Thursday of each month in the Cordingley Room from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.
The Library is excited to kick off the series by welcoming Hal Herring, who will discuss “The History, Present, and Future of the American Public Lands.” Herring is a long-time contributing editor and writer for Field and Stream magazine, and has covered conservation, the environment, and public lands issues as a reporter for national publications for almost thirty years. His work was featured in the 2020 film Public Trust; and he has been at work for the past five years on a book for Patagonia publishing about the history, present, and future of the American public lands. That book is slated for release in 2027.
The following speakers will give their presentations throughout the spring as well:
February 19: Dr. Kurt Fausch
Dr Kurt Fausch gives a speech at the Library in FebruaryDr. Kurt Fausch is an award-winning scientist and author. He is a professor emeritus at Colorado State University, where he taught for 35 years. His research with scores of students and collaborators on streams and their fish and other organisms took him throughout the Midwest and West, and to northern Japan. His experiences with Japanese colleagues were chronicled in the documentary Riverwebs, broadcast widely on PBS. He received lifetime achievement awards from the American Fisheries Society and World Council of Fisheries Societies, and the Leopold Conservation Award from Fly Fishers International. Dr. Fausch will give a Zoom talk hosted by the Library about his latest book, For the Love of Rivers: A Scientists Journey.
March 19: Pete Fromm
Pete Fromm gives a talk at the Library in March 2026. Pete Fromm is the author of five story collections, eight novels, and two memoirs about his times in the wilderness. A five-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Literary Award, he may be best known in the U.S. for INDIAN CREEK CHRONICLES, the recounting of a winter spent alone in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. He also has a long history of being published in Europe, most notably France, where his new novel, EMPRESS OF THE AIR, came out last spring. After a decade as a river ranger for the National Park Service and more than 25 years in Great Falls, he now lives in Missoula.
Pete will read from Indian Creek Chronicles and from The Names of the Stars, discussing about a career where he got to stay outside and avoid “real work”.
April 16: Tony Bynum
Tony Bynum speaks at the Great Falls Public Library in April 2026. Tony Bynum is a Montana-based photographer, media professional, scientist, and conservationist. Current projects include a long-term photography project in Central Montana, focusing on Square Butte and its changing land use, which will be the focus of his presentation.
In October, he completed a conservation photography project, “Grasslands of Montana,” for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. In September of 2025, Tony completed a two-week assignment about Native Americans and Buffalo restoration for Terre Sauvage, a prominent French nature and travel magazine that focuses on the planet’s wild and authentic nature, featuring in-depth articles, stunning photography, and stories on environmental protection and adventure. The name translates to Wild Earth or Savage Land.
May 21: Amy Grisak
Listening to the Wild
Amy Grisak gives a talk at the Library in May 2026. The Library welcomes back Amy Grisak to speak in May on the subject “Listening to the Wild.”
Prior to her freelance writing career, Amy worked for a decade on natural history programs for National Geographic Television, specializing in grizzlies and mountain lions, but pika have always had her heart! Besides writing for hundreds of magazines and online publications, Amy is the author of Nature Guide to Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Park, Found Photos of Yellowstone, and 100 Things to Do in Bozeman Before You Die. When she is not frantically working to meet a deadline, you’ll find her on the river or trail with family and friends, or trying a new gardening experiment in her Gore Hill (the windbreak for Great Falls) backyard.
During her decade working on natural history programs for National Geographic Television, Amy Grisak’s favorite role was sound recordist— capturing the subtle, often overlooked sounds that bring wild places to life. From the clicking of caribou ankles to the near-silent footfalls of stalking coyotes, she learned to listen deeply and to notice a world most of us rarely hear.
In this presentation, Listening to the Wild, Amy shares some of her most intriguing field experiences from television production while exploring the art and importance of deep listening in our daily lives. We’ll hear surprising animal vocalizations, reflect on why true quiet is becoming increasingly rare, and talk about how — and where — we can still find it.
Audience members will leave with a new awareness of the soundscapes around them, simple ways to practice deeper listening in everyday settings, and a renewed appreciation for silence as a form of connection—not only to the natural world, but to our own sense of presence and place. For those who are curious, Amy will also touch on accessible ways to begin capturing these sounds themselves, whether in wild landscapes or close to home.
For more information, contact Jake Sorich at js*****@***************ry.org or
406-453-0349 ex. 220.
Author: Staff
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