Future Perfect*: Parks and Protected Areas in Their Second Century- Spring 2013
The University of Vermont and the NPS Conservation Study Institute have teamed up to offer a spring lecture series exploring contemporary challenges of protected lands management. The description and list of speakers can be found below.
Parks and protected areas are entering their second century. Important markers of this history include the centennial of the U.S. Forest Service in 2006 and the upcoming centennial of the National Park Service in 2016. What will be the future of parks and protected areas in their second century and how can we prepare for the opportunities and challenges that are on the horizon? The 2013 Rubenstein School Spring Seminar Series will explore these questions by inviting presentations from park and protected areas scholars and practitioners from near and far.
One of the few things we know about the future of parks and protected areas is that it may be very different from the past. The new mantra in the National Park Service is that "they're not making any more Yellowstones." New parks are likely to be very different from existing parks, and existing parks will face new sets of issues. For example, parks and protected areas will probably require stronger partnerships between the public, private and non-profit sectors. Park and protected area managers will have to adjust to embrace the new and more diverse demographic of the country and the world. Parks and protected areas may require a more landscape scale approach, perhaps involving stronger international cooperation and involvement. What are the stories and narratives underlying parks that have yet to be given voice? What is the relevancy of parks and protected areas to youth? How can we use technology and social media to engage the public in planning and managing parks and protected areas? How can we most effectively market parks and protected areas? How will the parks and protected areas of the future be financed? What's the relationship between parks and urban areas? How do we adjust to climate change, both philosophically and pragmatically? And, of course, there's the eternal dilemma of how and how much we can use parks and protected areas without threatening their ecological and cultural integrity and the quality of the visitor experience.
The Seminar Series will consist of weekly public lectures on Thursdays at 4:00 pm in Room 102 of the Aiken Center for Natural Resources. The first lecture will be on Thursday, January 24th. The full schedule of speakers is shown below. The 2013 Rubenstein School Spring Seminar Series is a collaboration between the Rubenstein School and the National Park Service's Conservation Study Institute.
*Future perfect: in grammar, indicating a time to come
Speakers & Dates
January 24: Rolf Diamant, Superintendent Emeritus, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park; Adjunct Lecturer, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
January 31: Stephanie Synder, Scientist, U.S. Forest Service
February 7: Jessica Brown, Executive Director, New England Biolabs Foundation and Chair, Protected Landscapes Specialist Group of IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas
February 14: Walt Kuentzel, Associate Professor, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
February 21: Mickey Fearn, Associate Director, National Park Service and Rebecca Stanfield McCown, Community Engagement and Partnerships Coordinator, Conservation Study Institute, U.S National Park Service
February 28: Luis Vivanco, Associate Professor, UVM Department of Anthropology
March 21: Stephanie Clement, Conservation Director, Friends of Acadia
March 28: Nora Mitchell, Director Emerita, National Park Service Conservation Study Institute; Adjunct Associate Professor, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
April 4: Kate Orff, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University
April 11: David Cole, Scientist, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
April 18: Michael Creasey, Superintendent, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and Executive Director, National Park Service Conservation Study Institute
April 25: Panel Session
