Found on every continent, lichen is an extraordinary organism adapted to survive in every habitat except seawater.  

More than just curious growths on rocks and trees, lichen can endure extreme temperatures and high altitudes. Abundant in Glacier National Park — even in the winter — Glacier Institute made lichen the focus of an educational hike Jan. 11. 

Lichens are neither plant nor animal and they are not moss. They are symbiotic organisms composed of fungi and algae or cyanobacteria. Sometimes yeast is also present, Glacier Institute Outdoor Education Specialist Jeremiah Gordon said. 

According to the U.S. Forest Service, there are about 3,600 species of lichens in North America that have been discovered. 

The fungus provides a structure for lichen to anchor itself to trees and rocks. The algae perform photosynthesis, supplying energy for growth. Yeasts and bacteria help protect lichens from disease. 

Before the hike, participants gathered at the Glacier Institute office in downtown Columbia Falls to learn more about lichen before venturing to find it in Glacier National Park. Gordon introduced the group to the three main growth forms: foliose, fruticose and crustose.  

Foliose lichens are flat and leafy, resembling lettuce. Fruticose lichens can be upright with cup-like tops, such as trumpet lichen, or strongly like hair, such as old man’s beard (also called witch’s hair). Crustose lichens form crusty blooms on the surface of rocks and soil — even roof shingles, according to the forest service. 

Gordon, who organized the event, Lichen in a Winter World, said his interest in lichen started when he wanted to know about the vivid yellow and orange blotches covering the rocks along the Highline Trail.  

“I kept seeing yellow. Now, I was thinking in my head, sulfur? Then I started to pay attention to some rocks that I was walking by …I started seeing different colors. That kind of kicked off my curiosity and I started to delve into it a little bit more and learned more about it,” he said. 

Lichens play vital ecological roles. They convert nitrogen in the air into a useable form for plants, provide food and nesting material for animals and have applications in Indigenous communities as well as in dyes, food, and medicine, having antibacterial and antifungal properties.  

Despite their resilience, lichens are vulnerable to certain threats, particularly air pollution. Their sensitivity to sulfur, heavy metals and nitrogen makes them indicators of ecological health, Gordon said. Abundant lichen is a good sign. 

TRAVELING to Glacier National Park, the group donned snowshoes and set out on the Oxbow Trail. Gordon and Outdoor Education Specialist Wyatt Herndon encouraged participants to observe and listen for signs of lichens, animal tracks and wildlife. 

Lichens were quickly spotted, from vivid green clumps of wolf lichen trailing down tree trunks to muted green witch’s hair swaying in the breeze. 

“Color, remember, indicates what species of lichen we might be looking at,” Gordon said, depending on if alga or cyanobacteria is present, for example. 

Participants paused to inspect lichens and take photos. Herndon brought along two jeweler’s magnifying glasses for people to examine the specimens more closely. One participant with a keen eye spotted a tiny spider with a missing leg traversing the snow. 

Stopping at McDonald Creek the group looked for beavers and otters. Bird enthusiasts, including Flathead Audubon Society President Darcy Thomas, identified American wigeons, hooded mergansers, and bufflehead ducks. 

Participants on this excursion are members of Glacier Institute, which affords them special pricing for programs such as Lichen in the Winter World.  

Kathleen Sweeney of Kalispell said she tries to sign up for every event she can. 

“No. 1, I love Glacier Park, and No. 2, it’s a good way to get in the park and at the same time learn about the park without worrying about all the reservations and stuff,” Sweeney said.  

“It’s just inspiring. I can’t believe that we have this place and I’ve always been an outdoorsman and a hiker. I don’t want to stop that,” Sweeney said. “I will turn 70 and I think the next 10 years will be the best of my life because of places like the Glacier Institute.”  

In addition to educational hikes, Glacier Institute offers guided tours, youth camps, nature courses, wildlife certification courses and field programs in Glacier National Park and the Flathead National Forest with the goal of helping people better understand the natural environment that surrounds them. 

“[When] we understand things … we can take care of things better," Gordon said    

Getting back into the van, participants are left with the reminder that every little detail like lichen forms the big picture of Glacier National Park’s ecosystem. 

Currently, Glacier Institute invites the public to snowshoe in the park on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The hikes are from 9 a.m. to noon and are under 4 miles in length. Cost is $75 per person. Each trip is limited to 13 people. Reserve a spot online at glacierinstitute.org.  

For more information, to donate or become a member, visit glacierinstitute.org, call 755-1211 or email [email protected].   

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected]. 

   Attendees pause along the bank of McDonald Creek during a Lichen in the Winter World walk with the Glacier Institute around Apgar in Glacier National Park on Saturday, Jan. 11. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)