Lichen Field Day with Tim Wheeler

Date: Saturday, November 8, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Location: MNHC, walk along Kim Williams trail
Cost: $60 MNHC members/$65 non-members

Delve deep into the study of lichens and never look at your forest the same way again.

The Missoula valley has a high diversity of lichen species in an array of beautiful forms. Learn about the ecology and biology of lichens as you become comfortable identifying common species.

Join us this fall for a lichen presentation and field trip with Tim Wheeler, lichenologist and mycologist from the University of Montana. We will begin in the classroom with an introduction to lichens slideshow followed by a walk along the Kim Williams trail exploring saxicolous and terricolous lichen communities and then a short jaunt up the Smokejumpers Trail to interrogate the epiphytic lichen communities.

Instructor: Tim Wheeler is a biologist specializing in fungi (lichenized and otherwise). He has been teaching, studying, and publishing on Montana’s mycota for over 20 years.  He is currently a research scientist for the Division of Biological Sciences at UM working on the genetics and genomics of the tree of life.

Check out this National Geographic video of UM researchers’ lichen discovery.

Activity Level (please read): Moderate. Most of the walking is on flat ground. The Smokejumper Trail section is steeper and a dirt trail. This program involves multiple hours of walking and standing. Lunch will be most likely be eaten seated on the ground. There are no bathrooms along the Kim Williams Trail or Smokejumper Trail.

What to Bring:

• Clothes appropriate for changing Montana weather conditions layers, rain, and more

• Good walking shoes or boots

• Hand lens (we have some to borrow)

• Lunch

• Water

Reading Materials for the Curious:

• Ways of Enlichenment: Lichens of Western North America, photography by Tim Wheeler

• Lichens of North America by Erwin M. Brodo, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, and Stephen Sharnoff

FAQs
What’s the refund policy?

The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.