Images of Alaska’s Katmai Peninsula by Thomas Bankroft

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Doors/Zoom Room opens at 7:00 (note change for this month)

A Naturalist on Alaska’s Katmai Peninsula

Noted Audubon author and photographer Tom Bankroft returns to Kitsap Audubon to talk about birds and wildlife on the Katmai Peninsula, which lies west of Anchorage, across Cook Inlet. This rugged country has massive mountains, endless tundra plains, and numerous lakes, creeks, and rivers. The wilds here still support all the animals that were present when Europeans came to North America. The vastness, the bears, the salmon, and the glaciers will leave you in awe.

Explore two national parks with Tom. Each park is gigantic, bigger than Connecticut, bigger than Washington State’s King, Snohomish, and Skagit counties combined. Bears roam freely, sockeyes migrate up the rivers to spawning grounds, and numerous bird species nest. Active volcanos and geologic faults show that the mountains continue to grow, and the landscape is shaped by glaciers that wrap their tops and valleys. We will look for bears, follow migrating sockeye, and explore the geology of the mountains. Vignettes from his time there, Beyond the Wonder: An Ecologist’s View of Wild Alaska, will feed your reverence for this treasure.

Recipient of the 2020 Mountaineers Service Award, Thomas Bancroft holds a Ph.D. in Biology and an M.A. in Zoology, both from the University of South Florida. His research focused on birds and their conservation. He served in leadership roles for several conservation organizations, where he championed the use of scientific information in U.S. public lands policy and stewardship decisions and was often interviewed for TV, radio, and print media. He is a frequent speaker and writes regularly for the Mountaineers, Washington Ornithological Society, Audubon chapters, and the Methow Naturalists. His photographs have appeared in numerous books and publications, including Audubon, Birding, American Birds, and Mountaineer Magazine, as well as at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.