As part of Earth Week, the Colorado State University School of Global Environmental Sustainability will cap the year-long work of a Global Challenges Research Team: “Environmental History, Ecology, and Sustainability in Public Lands,” April 22-23, in the Lory Student Center on the CSU campus.
The symposium is free and open to the public. It begins Wednesday afternoon with a keynote address by Ben A. Minteer, Arizona Zoological Society Endowed Chair at Arizona State University, who brings a contemporary approach to Edward Abbey’s legacy. The talk, “Abbey’s Secret: Imaging and Imagining the Wild in the Age of Humans,” takes place 4-5 p.m. in the LSC Grey Rock Room, followed at 5:15 p.m. by a reception in LSC Room 300.
Thursday’s presentations begin at 9 a.m. in LSC Room 328 with a talk by CSU geographer Jason Sibold:“Volcanic eruptions, ocean-atmosphere interactions and smallpox: Using environmental history to better understand low-frequency trends in wildfire history.”
His presentation will be followed by participatory breakout sessions led by members of the GCRT team, including CSU faculty and representatives from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program and the US Forest Service.
Afternoon presentations
After lunch, Ellen Wohl, CSU professor of geology and internationally recognized expert on geomorphologic evidence of human alteration to surface and near-surface environments, will present “Wilderness is Dead: Whither Critical Zone Studies?”
Her talk will be followed at 3 p.m. by a panel discussion on the intersection of environmental history, ethics, ecological science, and conservation with Ruth Alexander, CSU professor of history; Rick Knight, CSU professor of human dimensions of natural resources; Ben Minteer, Arizona State University; and William Philpott, associate professor of history, University of Denver.
The day wraps up with a presentation by Adrian Howkins, CSU assistant professor of history.
Registration for this symposium is suggested but not required and is available here; deadline April 21.
More information about the symposium available here.
