Wednesday, June 20, 2007: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
The Summit (Boise Centre on the Grove)
B Symposia (sp)
The Great Wilderness Compromise
Controversial compromise efforts are underway to find common ground to protect wilderness in many western states. One of them, the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act, would protect 318,000 acres of wilderness in the Boulder-White Clouds mountains. In exchange, some public lands could go to surrounding towns hemmed in by federal lands, and the bill would also protect existing off-road vehicle use on trails surrounding and, in some cases, cutting through the wilderness. Debate about the Boulder-White Clouds and other wilderness compromises often becomes quickly politically polarized. PBS "NOW" correspondent Jon Christensen will moderate a panel of experts, who will be asked to take a deep breath, step back, and consider the bigger picture, while calmly discussing all sides of the trade-offs involved in protecting wilderness, wildlife, and communities in the West today.
Sponsor: The Pacific Division Sections on Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Social, Economic and Political Sciences
Organizer:Jon Christensen
Presider:Jon Christensen
1:30 PM Introductory Remarks
1:40 PM483Idaho Wilderness: A Personal Political Journey
Cecil Andrus
2:00 PM484The Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act
Lindsay Slater
2:20 PM485The Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness
Craig Gehrke
2:40 PM Break
2:55 PM486Yellowstone to Yukon and the Emergence of a Large Scale Conservation Vision
Gary M. Tabor
3:15 PM487America's Conservation Landscape
J. Michael Scott
3:35 PM Panel Discussion

Back to The Northwest Regional Meeting (June 17 - 20, 2007)