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The conferences sponsored by the Bill Lane Center are at the heart of our effort to bridge the worlds of academia, public policy, business, journalism, and arts and culture. Their structure emphasizes discussion over presentation, and their participants are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and professions. By bringing people together who might not otherwise have the opportunity to talk to one another, the Center brings a fresh perspective on some of the major issues animating this region and shaping its future.

Click the links below for information on past events, or to read conference reports and links to related resources from our past events. Pleae be sure to visit our current Events Calendar as well.
Download a pdf of our events newsletter "West Words"

2008-2009 Conferences and Events

Date	Name	Topic	Type	Details
09/25/2008	Sustainable Urban Growth as Environmental Policy A Woods Institute for the Environment Environmental Forum Margaret O'Mara, History Department, University of Washington Karen Seto, Urban Environment, Yale University	Environmental Journalism	Public Lecture	3:30-5:00 pm Environment and Energy Building Room 299 Reception to Follow
10/22/2008	Bi-Cultural Life on the US/Mexico Border: A Screening of "Frontier Youth" by John McKenna Kane followed by a panel discussion Reception to Follow	Policy	Film and panel co-sponsored by The Bill Lane Center for the American West and Film and Media Studies, Department of Art & Art History	7:00-9:00 pm Landau Building Econ 140
10/28/2008	Beyond 'Leave no Trace': The Perils and Promise of an Outdoor Recreation Ethic Gregory Simon, Postdoctoral Fellow, Bill Lane Center for the American West	Environmental Policy	Public Lecture - Part of "How the West Was Spun" Colloquia	3:00 - 5:00 pm Environment and Energy Building Room CR101
11/20/2008	Closing the Barn Door after the Horses Have Fled: 'Planning' in the New West Paul Robbins, Professor of Geography Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona	Environmental Policy	Public Lecture - Part of "How the West Was Spun" Colloquia	3:00-5:00 pm Environment and Energy Building Room CR101
12/03/2008	2008 Risser Prize Forum: Anton Caputo, San Antonio Express-News "Climate Change Hits Home"	Environmental Journalism	Pubic panel discussion and reception	4:00- 6:00 pm Oksenberg Conference Center, Encina Hall East
01/15/2009	Later Start Time & New Room - Wildfires in the West Forum Part of the "How the West Was Spun" Colloquia Stephen J Pyne Arizona State University Scott Stephens UC Berkeley:Anthony Westerling, UC Merced: Bettina Boxall, LA Times Co-sponsored by Woods Institute for the Environment *Download the flyer*	Environmental Policy	Pubic panel discussion and reception	Environment and Energy Building - Room 111
02/05/2009	Lincoln and the West A two-day public discussion of Lincoln's legacy in the American West Author James M. McPherson; Author and University of Colorado Professor Patty Limerick; William Deverell, Huntington-USC, Glenna Matthews, Author; and Michael Vouri,Historian; Elliott West, University of Arkansas Download the flyer Learn more about the event!	History	Lectures and a pubic panel discussion Free and open to the public	Feb 5 Event: Kresge Auditorium Directions Feb 6 Event: Schwab Residential Center 680 Serra St
02/18/2009	"Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line" Author and Professor Martha A. Sandweiss, American Studies and History, Amherst Professor Sandweiss shares her new findings about the secret life of the late nineteenth-century Western explorer Clarence King. His colleagues knew King as a celebrated geologist and writer, but for thirteen years he lived a double life, also passing as a “black” man named James Todd who revealed his true identity to his African American wife only on his deathbed.	History	Lecture Free and open to the public Book for sale at the event	5:00-7:00 pm Lane History Corner Building 200 Room 203
02/24/2009	"Rearranging the Mojave: The Desert Tortoise and Land Management in American Southwest" Peter Alagona,Visting Assistant Professor, Bill Lane Center & Assistant Professor, UC Santa Barbara	Environmental Policy	Public Lecture - Part of "How the West Was Spun" Colloquia Free and open to the public	4:15-5:30 pm Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Room 300
04/14/2009	"Partial Truths and Half Lies: Pet Peeves from 35 Years on the Public Domain" Sally Fairfax, Henry J. Vaux Distinguished Professor of Forest Policy, UC Berkeley	Environmental Policy	Public Lecture - Part of "How the West Was Spun" Colloquia Free and open to the public	3-5 pm Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Room 299
04/25/2009	"2009 Walk the Farm: Biodiversity at Stanford and in the West " Click here to learn about the annual Walk the Farm event. It focuses on Stanford's extensive lands as a microcosm in which to showcase and study issues that concern the entire western region of the United States.	Environmental Policy	Invitation only research event
05/04/2009	"Elusive Sanctuaries: An Environmental History of California's Migratory Bird Refuges" Bob Wilson, Visiting Assistant Professor, Bill Lane Center; Assistant Professor Syracuse University	Environmental Policy	Public Lecture - Part of "How the West Was Spun" Colloquia Free and open to the public	3-5 pm Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Room 299
05/06/2009	Don Worster "Darwin in the Grasslands: Evolution and History" Author and University of Kansas ProfessorDon Worster will discuss "Darwin in the Grasslands: Evolution and History and his new publication "A Passion for Nature: Exploring the Life of John Muir" He will also speak at Aurora Forum on May 7, 2009.	Environmental Policy	Public Lecture	1:30-3:00 pm Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) Room 299
05/07/2009	The Aurora Forum Presents: "A Passion for Nature: Exploring the Life of John Muir" Author and University of Kansas Professor Don Worster and Professor Richard White in a conversation moderated by Jon Christensen	Environmental Policy	Public Lecture Free and open to the public	7:30-9:00 pm Kresge Auditorium Directions

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Past Conferences

currently not available

Date	Name	Topic	Type	Details
2007/02/01	Transcending Borders: Pacific Salmon and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Fisheries Conservation	Salmon Fisheries	Conference	Open to the public
2006/02/02	Sustainable Forestry in the West: Past, Present, and Future	Sustainable Forestry	Conference	By invitation only
2007/01/30	Climate Change and California Water Kat Snow, News Editor - KQED-FM 2006-2007 Western Enterprise Reporting Fellow	Climate Change, Water	Colloquia/ currently not available	Open to the public
2005/10/25	Working Wilderness: The History of the Malpai Borderlands Group and the Future of the Western Range Nathan Sayre, Professor, Department of Geography, UC Berkeley	Wilderness	Colloquia currently not available	Open to the public
2007/09/05	Society for Environmental Journalists: Annual Meeting	Environmental Journalism	Annual Meeting currently not available	For SEJ members only

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