index
The 2014-15 State of the Rockies Speaker Series
Monday, September 8th, 2014 at 7:00pm, Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall, Colorado College
Sharing Water: What an Environmental Experiment in Mexico can Teach us About the Future of the Colorado River
John Fleck, long-time reporter for the Albuquerque Journal and author
John
Fleck
has
written
about
science
for
the
Albuquerque
Journal
since
1990.
He
specializes
in
New
Mexico's
tenuous
water
situation
and
the
climate
issues
that
underlie
it.
He's
worked
as
a
newsman
since
before
he
could
drink
legally,
covering
NASA's
Jet
Propulsion
Laboratory
before
moving
to
New
Mexico
to
work
at
the
Journal.
He's been a fellow and contributing editor at Stanford University's Bill Lane Center for the American West, where he worked on water issues with the center's Rural West Initiative. He's the author of A Tree Rings' Tale, a University of New Mexico Press book for young people about the science of climate, water and weather.
Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 7:00pm in Packard Hall, Colorado College
Climate Policy: How Can Science Be Used More Effectively
Dr. Marcia McNutt, Former Director of the USGS, Editor-in-Chief of the journal "Science"
The State of the Rockies is a proud co-sponsor of this Colorado College Alumni Climate Workshop event!
Marcia McNutt is a geophysicist who became the 19th editor-in-chief of Science on June 1st, 2013. Before joining that prominent journal, she served as the director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from 2009 to 2013. She is one of a group of accomplished scientists who populated top government posts as part of President Obama's "dream team." During her tenure, the USGS responded to a number of major disasters, including earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and Japan, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. McNutt has a proven record of on the ground work that provides a foundation for her strong policy work.
Before joining the USGS, McNutt served as president and chief executive officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), in Moss Landing, California. During her time at MBARI, the institution became a leader in developing biological and chemical sensors for remote ocean deployment, installed the first deep-sea cabled observatory in U.S. waters, and advanced the integration of artificial intelligence into autonomous underwater vehicles for complex undersea missions.
Prior to her position at MBARI, McNutt began her faculty career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she became the Griswold Professor of Geophysics and served as director of the Joint Program in Oceanography & Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, offered by MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her own research area is the dynamics of the upper mantle and lithosphere on geologic time scales, work that has taken her to distant continents and oceans for field observations. She is a veteran of more than a dozen deep-sea expeditions, on more than half of which she served as chief scientist or co-chief scientist.
Monday, December 1st, 2014 at 7:00 pm, Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall, Colorado College
A West that Works: Grass, Soil, Hope
Courtney White, Co-Founder of the Quivira Coalition
A
former
archaeologist
and
Sierra
Club
activist,
Courtney
dropped
out
of
the
'conflict
industry'
in
1997
to
co-found
the
Quivira
Coalition,
a
nonprofit
dedicated
to
building
bridges
between
ranchers,
conservationists,
public
land
managers,
scientists
and
others
around
practices
that
improve
land
health
(see
www.quiviracoalition.org).
Today,
his
conservation
work
focuses
on
building
economic
and
ecological
resilience
on
working
landscapes,
with
a
special
emphasis
on
carbon
ranching
and
the
new
agrarian
movement.
His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Farming, Acres Magazine, Rangelands, the Natural Resources Journal and Solutions. His essay The Working Wilderness: a Call for a Land Health Movement" was published by Wendell Berry in 2005 in his collection of essays titled The Way of Ignorance.
In 2008, Island Press published Courtney's book Revolution on the Range: the Rise of a New Ranch in the American West. He co-edited, with Dr. Rick Knight, Conservation for a New Generation, also published by Island Press in 2008.
In 2010, Courtney was given the Michael Currier Award for Environmental Service by the New Mexico Community Foundation.
In 2012, he was a writer-in-resident at the U Cross Foundation, near Sheridan Wyoming, and he was the first Aldo Leopold Writer-in-Resident at Mi Casi
In 2014, his book Grass, Soil, Hope: a Journey through Carbon Country will be published by Chelsea Green Press. A collection of essays titled Age of Consequences, will be ublished by Counterpoint Press in early 2015.ta, in Tres Piedras, New Mexico, courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service. He also published a collection of black-and-white photographs of the American West in an online book titled The Indelible West. It includes a Foreword by Wallace Stegner (written in 1992). See: www.indeliblewest.com
He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his family and a backyard full of chickens.
More information and some of Courtney's work can be found on his web site: www.awestthatworks.com
Monday, February 23rd, 2015 at 7:00pm, Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall, Colorado College
Rediscover the Prairie: A Journey through North America's Imperiled Grasslands
Robin Walters '12 and Sebastian Tsocanos '12
Traversing
the
Great
Plains
of
North
America
by
horseback,
the
Rediscover
the
Prairie
project
aims
to
celebrate
the
immense
beauty
of
the
North
American
grasslands.
Robin
Walter
and
Sebastian
Tsocanos
have
set
out
to
explore
our
legacy
as
stewards
of
this
land,
shaking
hands
with
the
landscape
and
the
people
who
call
it
home.
They
continue
to
examine
the
roles
ranching,
farming,
and
wildlife
conservation
play
in
protecting
our
prairie
heritage.
Inviting
discussion
with
local
ranchers,
farmers,
ecologists,
artists,
and
the
public
alike,
their
work
dives
into
the
region's
rich
historical
past,
sheds
light
on
its
present
condition,
and
hopes
to
inspire
creative
possibilities
for
its
future.
Tsocanos and Walter will share their first hand account of conservation efforts underway in one of the most imperiled ecosystems in the world and will present their photography, writing, and excerpts from their film.
Visit their website for more information on the Rediscover the Prairie project: http://rediscovertheprairie.org/
Thursday, March 5th, 2015 at 7:00pm, Gaylord Hall, Worner Campus Center, Colorado College
America's Public Lands: From Yellowstone to Smokey Bear and Beyond
Randall K. Wilson, Professor of Environmental Studies at Gettysburg College
Randall K. Wilson is a professor of Environmental Studies at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania where he teaches courses on environmental policy, natural resource management, sustainable communities, and the geography of the American West.
His recent book, America's Public Lands: From Yellowstone to Smokey Bear and Beyond, explores the dramatic story of the origins of the public domain, including the century-long push toward privatization and the subsequent emergence of a national conservation ideal. Arguing that we cannot fully understand one type of public land without understanding its relation to the rest of the system, he provides in-depth accounts of the different types of public lands. Including chapters on national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management lands, and wilderness areas, Wilson examines key turning points and major policy debates for each land type. He considers questions of bison and elk management and recent disputes over fire policy, roadless areas, mining claims, and grazing fees that play prominently into current Western land policy.
Monday, March 30th, 2015 at 7:00pm, Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall, Colorado College
Working
Landscapes
and
Landscapes
that
Work:
A
Panel
Discussion
Jennifer Peterson, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Field Institute
Duke Phillips, CEO, Ranchlands
Bryan Bird, Wild Places Program Director, WildEarth Guardians
Thomas Sheridan, Research Anthropologist at the Southwest Center of University of Arizona
This culminating event of the State of the Rockies Project focus on large landscape conservation will convene experts and practitioners from the nonprofit, ranching, and conservation community. Discussing the diverse approaches to land management in the West and the effects those practices have on communities, economies and environments, our panelists will cover many of the issues affecting landscapes across the western United States.
Jennifer
Peterson
is
the
Executive
Director
of
the
Rocky
Mountain
Field
Institute.
She
joined
the
Rocky
Mountain
Field
Institute
team
in
September
2014
after
spending
the
last
several
years
working
for
the
Extension
Service
at
Texas
A&M
University
where
she
coordinated
two
statewide
educational
programs
designed
to
educate
citizens
about
the
importance
of
conserving
and
protecting
natural
resources.
She
received
her
BS
from
Texas
A&M
University
in
Rangeland
Ecology
and
Management,
an
MS
from
the
University
of
Idaho
in
Rangeland
Ecology
and
Management,
and
graduated
in
August
2014
with
a
PhD
from
Texas
A&M
University
where
she
investigated
factors
influencing
landowner
decisions
to
adopt
conservation
practices.
Jennifer
also
obtained
a
professional
graduate
certificate
in
nonprofit
management
from
the
Bush
School
of
Government
and
Public
Service
at
Texas
A&M.
She
brings
extensive
experience
in
education,
stewardship,
research,
stakeholder
engagement,
and
watershed
restoration.
Duke Phillips is CEO of Ranchlands, a ranch management company based in southern Colorado. From Ranchlands.com:
"Ranchlands
is
an
agricultural-based
business
that
specializes
in
the
management
of
large-scale
ranches,
where
we
partner
with
conservation-minded
owners
to
implement
ambitious
conservation
programs
that
co-exist
alongside
our
own
cattle
operations.
In
addition
to
our
diversified
cattle
business,
we
run
a
series
of
complementary
land-based
businesses
including
hospitality,
hunting
and
fishing,
and
ecotourism.
We
believe
that,
too
often,
the
management
of
ranches
is
underestimated,
resulting
in
high
costs
of
ownership,
degradation
of
natural
resources,
loss
of
potential
earnings,
and
erosion
of
long-term
value.
Our
management
model
hinges
on
the
premise
that
ranchers'
most
important
role
in
large
rangeland
investment
strategies
is
as
asset
managers.
We
manage
the
land,
resource
base,
facilities,
and
infrastructure
from
an
ownership
perspective,
knowing
that
a
healthy
and
balanced
whole
leads
to
higher
long-term
productivity
and
appreciation
in
value."
Bryan
Bird
is
WildEarth
Guardians'
Wild
Places
Program
Director.
Bryan
received
his
Masters
in
conservation
biology
from
New
Mexico
State
University
in
1995
and
holds
an
undergraduate
degree
in
biology
from
the
University
of
Colorado,
Boulder
in
1990.
He
has
undertaken
conservation
research,
planning,
and
protection
projects
in
Central
America,
Mexico,
and
the
Southwestern
United
States.
Since
first
working
for
Guardians
in
1996,
Bryan
has
focused
on
restoration
of
national
forestlands
and
their
critical
ecological
processes,
as
well
as
monitoring,
reviewing,
and
challenging
Forest
Service
proposals
and
land
management
plans.
He
currently
serves
as
a
volunteer
on
the
New
Mexico
Collaborative
Forest
Restoration
Program
Federal
Advisory
Committee.
Bryan
lives
with
his
family
in
the
Santa
Fe
River
watershed
and
in
his
spare
time
enjoys
skiing,
mountain
biking,
traveling
and
on
occasion
surfing.
Thomas E. Sheridan, Ph.D., is Research Anthropologist at the University of Arizona's Southwest Center and a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology.
Tom
has
conducted
ethnographic
and
ethnohistoric
research
in
the
Southwest
and
Northern
Mexico
since
1971.
He
directed
the
Mexican
Heritage
Project
at
the
Arizona
Historical
Society
from
1982-1984,
and
was
Director
of
the
Office
of
Ethnohistorical
Research
at
the
Arizona
State
Museum
from
1997
to
2003.
Since 1997, he's been involved in land-use politics in Arizona and the Southwest. He served as Chair of the Canoa Heritage Foundation, and has been heavily involved in Pima County's visionary Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan since 1998, chairing the Ranch Conservation Technical Advisory Team. Tom was President of the Anthropology & Environment Section of the American Anthropological Association from 2003 to 2005.
He is also an editor of Stitching the West Back Together. Published in September 2014, the book explores an expanded, inclusive vision of environmentalism as it delves into the history and evolution of Western land use policy and of the working landscapes themselves. For more information on the recent publication, please visit this website.