In easternNorth America, alpine ecosystems range fromNew YorkandNew Englandnorth through portions ofQuebec,Newfoundland, andLabrador. These mountains support unique communities of arctic-alpine vegetation and fauna. Some of the more wild and remote ranges still harbor populations of caribou and wolves… and perhaps even wolverine?

Michael Jones of Beyond Ktaadn will present his organization’s recent research in the eastern alpine zone, includingNew Hampshire’sWhite Mountains. As part of a collaborative study to detect wolverine in remote mountains in Québec, Beyond Ktaadn has launched a project to study the behavior of the wolverine’s more local cousin, the elusive American marten, at alpine sites in Québec and theWhite Mountains. Though generally considered to be an inhabitant of mature spruce-fir forest, martens in fact forage on alpine tundra throughout the northeast. Using remotely-captured videos and still photos, Mike will present a wide-ranging overview of martens and large mammals in eastern alpine tundra, and while doing so, take a tour of some of the breathtaking and remote alpine ranges in the northeast, fromNew Englandand Québec toNewfoundlandandLabrador.

Michael T. Jones is a postdoc biologist with the USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in Amherst, MA, where he coordinates studies of rare and endangered wildlife in New England. He has worked for the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and is also the president of Beyond Ktaadn, an eastern alpine research team. Mike is the lead author of the Eastern Alpine Guide, an ecological overview of eastern alpine areas, to be published in spring 2012. 

Donations of $3/person and $5/family are appreciated; members are free. Tin Mountain nature programs are sponsored in part by L.L. Bean, the Evenor Armington Fund and Residence Inn by Marriott North Conway. Upcoming programs are also posted on the Tin Mountain facebook page.