ECOLOGIST LOOKS AT IMPACT OF BOUNDARIES ON THE LAND

Date: June 28, 2007
Contact: Christine Czazasty, 307-467-5283 x 224

June 25, 2007                                                                                                                 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              

ECOLOGIST LOOKS AT IMPACT OF BOUNDARIES ON THE LAND

Laramie ecologist Dennis Knight will show aerial photographs of Wyoming at a July 13 program at Devils Tower National Monument.  Knight’s talk, “Boundaries Without Fences: How Human Values Change the Wyoming Landscape,’” is presented by the Wyoming Humanities Council and sponsored by Devils Tower Natural History Association. 

Knight’s program begins at 9:00 p.m. at the Devils Tower amphitheatre. The program is free with paid $10/vehicle entrance fee into the monument. For more information, contact the Devils Tower visitor center at 467-5283, extension 635.

Boundaries without fences that are visible from space have been created by federal, state and private entities with different land use management objectives. How do these borders affect our wildlife and other natural resources? Are such geometric landscape patterns permanent? 

In his presentation, Dennis Knight will consider such questions while discussing the impacts of these borders on sustainable land management. His program includes satellite and aerial images of Wyoming and the surrounding region.

Knight is professor emeritus of botany and ecology at the University of Wyoming. For 35 years his research entailed extensive study of Wyoming landscapes. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and has authored dozens of papers on the ecology of Wyoming, including Mountains and Plains: The Ecology of Wyoming Landscapes.

Knight’s presentation is offered by the Wyoming Humanities Council through its 2007 Humanities Forum. Council programs explore the human experience—our lives, our communities, our world—in partnership with nonprofit organizations throughout Wyoming. Emphasis is placed on fostering forums for discussion among Wyoming residents. 

To inquire about scheduling a Humanities Forum presenter, call [phone]. Major funding for this program comes from the We the People initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.