Conservationist to speak on wild lands protection

A Wisconsin conservationist who headed two of the U.S. government’s largest land management agencies during the 1990s will lecture on wilderness preservation at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at UW–Madison.

Michael Dombeck, now professor of global environmental management at UW-Stevens Point and a UW System global conservation fellow, will speak on “Keeping Our Wild Lands Wild” at the Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium, 816 State Street. His talk, free and open to the public, is the second in a series honoring the late Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson.

Before returning to his home state in 2001, Dombeck spent a quarter-century managing federal lands and natural resources for the U.S. government, including three years (1994-97) as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management and four years (1997-2001) as chief of the U.S. Forest Service. Together, the two agencies oversee nearly 500 million acres of public land.

A steadfast advocate of land stewardship, Dombeck is best known for championing watershed health and restoration, sustainable forest ecosystem management, sound forest roads and roadless area protection while in Washington, D.C. For his achievements, he received the Presidential Rank – Distinguished Executive Award, the highest honor for federal service. He also has received the Audubon Medal and the Lady Bird Johnson Conservation Award.

Dombeck has authored, co-authored, and edited more than 200 popular and scholarly publications, including, most recently, the book, “From Conquest to Conservation: Our Public Lands Legacy” (Island Press, 2003). The lecture is sponsored by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, with support from the Holstrom Environmental Endowment. For more information, contact Tom Sinclair, 263-5599, tksincla@wisc.edu.