How will recent societal events influence our management of public lands in the U.S. and around the world The romanticized western cowboy myth has influenced our notion of public lands management in the U.S. for 200 years. In the wake of recent social change in America (brought about by the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Standing Rock event, etc.), how will the management of public lands reflect this change?

February 3

Patrice Ringelstein, Education Director at SEEAG and Aniela Gottwald, Creator of the Riding Wild Project. Description – In the midst of the uprisings that took place across the country in the summer of 2020, at a moment when the entire nation was once again reckoning with its history of white supremacy, a group of seven women from different social, economic and professional backgrounds came together in the Sierra Nevada mountains to reclaim the practice of horsepacking. Their journey put into question existing narratives about lone cowboys and addressed how patriarchy and colonial-based views still shape the way many people see and interpret the history of the American West.

February 17

Ken Ilgunas, author, journalist, author (Walden on Wheels, Trespassing Across America, This Land is Our Land), and back country ranger. “How We Lost the Right to Roam and How to Get it Back, Rethinking privatization and access in a 21st century America. Description – Ken will discuss his book on the “right to roam” and the lessons learned walking the entire route of the XL Energy Pipeline from the Dakota’s to Texas.

February 24

Vance Martin, Director WILD Foundation “Mali Elephants and People-- Ethnic cooperation, protected areas and wildlife, and Nature Needs Half” Description -- There is a rising call for more ambitious protected area targets, as a naturebased solution to address the twin crisis of climate breakdown and species extinction. Pushbacks against this are often: low-capacity countries “cannot afford such a luxury”; and/or, “we need to develop our people first.”. After 17 years working in Mali, West Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world that has been ground zero for Islamist-caused insecurity for 9 years, the WILD Foundation has an approach that demonstrates that protected areas, security, and community benefits are all possible in “low-capacity” countries.

March 3

Sarah Tory and Jonathan Thompson, staff reporters for High Country News. “Where do Public Lands factor in the Homelessness Crisis” Description – As crowds swarm public lands land managers and gateway communities struggle to keep up. This talk will explore current trends in public lands management in the U.S. including how the homelessness crisis has challenged traditional land management strategies.

March 24

Julie Sze PhD, Professor of American Studies and Founding Director of the Environmental Justice Project at the University of California, Davis. “Eco-Justice and Representing Indigenous Interests on Public Lands”

April 7

Winona LaDuke, Native American activist, economist, environmentalist, writer known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. “Exploring the Western Narrative in the Wake of Standing Rock”

April 21

Bill Gwaltney, Assistant Regional Director for Workforce Enhancement at National Park Service (ret.). Drawing from decades of experience as one of the first African American Regional administrators with the NPS, Bill will reflect on the impact of societal events on the management of our nation’s National Parks.