Wilderness advocates, stewards, and academics, mark your calendars for the National Wilderness Conference, Oct. 15 to 19, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While we count down the days until Sept. 3 and the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act (visit Facebook for our countdown posts), people from across the country are finalizing their travel plans to go to the five-day conference.
The first national gathering of the wilderness community in 25 years will feature presentations, panels, exhibits, field trips, development workshops, a public festival, a film gala, and more. Keynote speakers, including U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), oceanographer Sylvia Earle, historian Douglas Brinkley, and author Terry Tempest Williams, will provide perspectives on the National Wilderness Preservation System. The leaders of the four federal agencies entrusted with managing U.S. wilderness will offer a look ahead at its future. In addition, members of Pew’s U.S. public lands team will take part in three panel presentations.
A full schedule of the conference is available at www.wilderness50th.org/conference, where you can also register to attend. We hope to see you there.