Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission
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All programs take place at the Prospect Heights Public Library's AB meeting room or on Zoom. Talks start promptly at 7:00. Nature Speaks is free admission but registration is necessary.
May 7th, 2026 - 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Live and in-person, Bill Glass
“Brown Bears of Katmai National Park, Alaska”
Brown bears are the largest land-dwelling carnivore. They have the most extensive geographic distribution of any bear species - they can be found in North America, Europe and Asia. In North America they are frequently called grizzly bears. We’re going to take a close look at the brown bears that live along the Alaska Peninsula, usually called coastal or peninsula brown bears.
Playtime in the river - Photo Bill Glass
Big guy running - Photo Bill Glass
Katmai National Park, one of the best places to see these magnificent animals, has one of the largest if not the largest concentration of brown bears in the world. Coastal brown bears are larger than their inland cousins. The large numbers of bears and large individual bear size is a result of the food sources that inland bears don’t have, primarily salmon. Katmai National Park allows visitors to get up close and observe the bears and their behavior. We’ll see different fishing techniques, parental care, bear interactions, and other behaviors.
Grazing - Photo Bill Glass
Looking around - Photo Bill Glass
Bill Glass is a retired restoration ecologist who is especially interested in restoration of the tallgrass prairie. He got his master’s degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he studied approximately 100 prairie remnants in Iowa. He worked with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as a Natural Heritage Biologist where he managed state-owned prairie, wetlands and woodlands in a multi-county area and worked with rare plants and animals.
He finished his career with the USDA Forest Service as the ecologist at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. This was his dream job - restoring a large tallgrass prairie. After retiring he has spent time exploring and photographing the natural wonders of North America. He is especially interested in large-scale animal congregations such as the brown bears and salmon of Katmai National Park.
Admission is free of charge but you must register for this in-person presentation. This program will be recorded for distribution at a later date. Registration will be open soon.
Coastal bears at picturesque Katmai National Park - Photo Bill Glass