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Listen to lectures from past series (2002-2009)

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College of Forestry and Conservation

2013 Wilderness Lecture Series
Wilderness on the edge: The emerging roles of wild lands in changing landscapes



This series explores our definitions of wilderness across landscapes, communitites, political frameworks, and scientific investigations. We will hear stories from people who manage large landscapes, live near wilderness areas, and study species that roam across our political boundaries of wilderness. This series will challenge us to reexamine our definition of wilderness, and encourage us to imagine future wild lands outside the scope of our contemporary frameworks for wilderness management.

Tuesdays at 7:10, February - March 2013
One credit course as NRSM 371 CRN 30308
Open to the public

February 5:  On the Edge of Wilderness: Looking Inside While Looking Out
Stephen McCool, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Wildland Recreation Management, University of Montana
Watch this lecture here

February 12:  Montana Legacy Project: Landscape-scale Community-based Conservation
Caroline Byrd, Director of the Western Montana Program, The Nature Conservancy
Watch this lecture here

February 26: The Force of Wilderness within the Ubiquity of Cyberspace
Albert Borgmann, Ph.D, Regents Professor of Philosophy, University of Montana

March 5:  Wilderness and Fire: Lessons Learned from 40 Years of Success in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness
Dave Campbell, Bitterroot West Fork Ranger District, United States Forest Service

March 12: Wild Salmon, Wild Lands: Connections Between Intact Ecosystems and Healthy Salmon Populations in the Snake River Basin
Sam Mace, Inland Northwest Director, Save Our Wild Salmon

March 19: The New Wild
Emma Marris, Author and Journalist
                                                                       
March 26: Wilderness, Wildness, and Biodiversity: We Need All Three
Reed Noss,  Ph.D, Department of Biology, University of Central Florida

The Wilderness Issues Lecture Series has served as a forum for the exploration of current wilderness issues since 1980. Each year, the Series brings scholars and leaders from all over the country to the University of Montana, providing a unique opportunity for western Montanans to learn from, interact with, and build relationships with speakers. The format of the Lecture Series includes both lectures and panel discussions designed to present a range of viewpoints and material related to a particular theme, and to encourage dialogue.

The Lecture Series is open to the public and offered for college credit as NRSM 371. Each year the series addresses a theme of current interest. Past themes have included Climate Change: Moving from Science to Solutions; Visions and Voices: Writers on Conservation, Wildness, and Nature; Cultural Perspectives on Wilderness, Women and Wilderness, Bioregionalism: Re-inhabiting the Northern Rockies, Living with Wilderness, Wilderness: Looking Toward the Future, Montana: The Changing Face of People and Place, Managing Wilderness in an Era of Chaos and Uncertainty, and Wilderness and Spirit.

The Lecture Series takes place during Spring Semester,
and begins at 7:10pm each Tuesday evening.

2012 Webcasts - Wild Waters in the West:

Indian Tribal Interests and Activities Relating to Western Waters
 Joe Hovenkotter, Staff Attorney, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Healing the Enlightenment Rift: Rationality, Spirituality, and Shared Waters
Aaron T. Wolf, Professor of Geography, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University

Jacobs’ Island, A Reading
Phil Condon, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Montana and author of Montana Surround: Land, Water, Nature, and Place

Protecting America’s Last, Best, Wild Rivers in an Era of Climate Change
Scott Bosse, Northern Rockies Director, American Rivers

Mega Fish Conservation in Central Asia
Dan Vermillion, Owner, Sweetwater Travel Company and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Commissioner

Oceans of Marine Debris: Rescuing Alaska’s Shoreline
Chris Pallister, President, Gulf of Alaska Keeper

An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World
Anders Halverson, Ecologist and Award-Winning Writer

Ice and Water in the Clockworks: Kayak and Circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island
Jon Turk, Scientist, Writer, and one of National Geographic’s Top Ten Adventurers of 2012

Reviving a River: What Does it Take to Make the Clark Fork Clean, Healthy, and Whole?
Christine Brick, Science Director, Clark Fork Coalition   

2008 Lecture Series in the News:
Speaker says students are the answer to climate change -- Kaimin, April 2008
Panel of journalists advocate environmental reporting -- Kaimin, March 2008
Interview with Mary Wood, -- KUFM, Feb. 2008
ASUM Buys Emissions Offsets -- Kaimin, Jan. 2008

2007 Lecture Series Interviews:
Interview with Janine Benyus--New West,Feb. 2007
Janine Benyus --Missoulian, Feb. 2007
Interview with David Quammen --New West,Feb. 2007
David Quammen--Missoulian, Feb. 2007

2005 Lecture Series in the News
March 2, Missoulian, Bill Meadows
Feb. 9, Missoulian, Doug Scott
Jan. 27, Missoulian

View past series schedules:

2001 Poetics of Wilderness Lecture Series Proceedings Available Online or order a copy from the University of Montana Bookstore, (406) 243-6936