RDRN Members Meeting/Coffee Time – 7:30 p.m.

Speaker: Wes Olson – 8:00 p.m.

Topic: The Ecological Bison

Bison once occupied most of North America and they had complex interactions with almost every other bird, mammal, amphibian and reptile that shared their ecosystem. With stunning photographs of bison across their historical range, this presentation highlights some of these fascinating relationships and explores the keystone role that bison continue to play in maintaining healthy landscapes wherever they are found.

Wes Olson has had a life-long association with wild places and wildlife. Wes worked for several years as a Wildlife Technician for the Yukon Government and then, after a stint at the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1981, began a career with Parks Canada as a National Park Warden. He focused on bison management in Banff, Waterton Lakes, Elk Island, Prince Albert and Grasslands National Park, where he retired in 2012. This long history with bison and the spectacular natural areas they occupy has given Wes an international reputation for his knowledge about both plains and wood bison. Wes has combined his extensive scientific knowledge about bison with his wife Johane’s photography to create compelling stories about this charismatic animal.