MARQUETTE — The 2024-25 meetings of the Laughing Whitefish Bird Alliance will kick off with “Recognizing Conservation Champions,” presented by LWBA president, Jeff Towner.

Towner will highlight several men and women who were key players in bringing various species back from the brink of extinction.

The program will take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Shiras Room of the Peter White Public Library.

Towner has been motivated by a love for wildlife and wilderness all his life. He earned a B.S. in zoology from Ohio State University and an M.S. in Wildlife Biology from Michigan State University. He is a certified wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Society.

He served in fisheries and national parks positions with the Peace Corps in West Africa, and as the anti-poaching officer for the World Wildlife Fund’s mountain gorilla project in Rwanda, East Africa.

For information on the Laughing Whitefish Bird Alliance: https://laughingwhitefishaudubon.com.