Featured 2010 Plenary Session Speakers

John Fielder a nationally renowned nature photographer, publisher, teacher, and preservationist will present, "A Tour of Sustainable Landscapes in Colorado." In 1981 he founded Westcliffe Publishers, one of the nation's largest publishers of nature books and calendars. A former department store executive who turned an avocation into a career, he is the photographer of 39 exhibit format books, guidebooks, and children's books, most about his home state of Colorado.

Fielder has worked tirelessly to promote the protection of Colorado's open space and wildlands. His photography has influenced people and legislation earning him recognition including the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award, the University of Denver's Daniel L. Ritchie Award, and the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Colorado. He was an original governor-appointed member of the lottery-related Board of Great Outdoors Colorado, and speaks to thousands of people each year to rally support for timely land-use and environmental issues.

His latest book is Maria's Mysterious Mission, his second children's book. His repeat photography book Colorado 1870-2000 is still Colorado's all time best selling title with over 170,000 copies in print. His gallery John Fielder's Colorado has locations in Denver's Art District on Santa Fe and in Breckenridge. Currently John is photographing 50 Colorado working ranches for a book Ranches of Colorado to be published in September, 2009 to promote preservation of Colorado's remaining ranchlands.

Dr. Richard N. Mack a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University will present, "Weeds in the Western Landscape." For approximately the last 30 years his research has been largely devoted to the ecology of invasive species. Much of his research has dealt with the aggressive invader, Bromus tectorum (Cheatgrass or downy brome) in the Intermountain West (USA). He has also investigated plant invasions in Hawaii, the southeastern U.S. and China. He is particularly interested in the population biology (including the immigration, demography, competition, and ecological genetics) of plant invaders and their environmental effects. He has framed much of his research with the goal of addressing applied aspects of combating invasive species, including the prediction of future invasive species and their early detection and eradication. He served as Chair of the Department of Botany at Washington State University, 1986-1999. He served as Chair from 1999-2001 for the National Research Council's Committee for "Predicting the Invasive Potential of Non-indigenous Plants and Plant Pests in the United States." He has served on the editorial boards of Ecology & Ecological Monographs, Oecologia, Ecological Applications and Biological Invasions. He also served on the SCOPE (Scientific Committee for Problems in the Environment) Executive Committee, and a member of the Board for the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) until 2003. He is currently a member of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) specialist group on invasive species.

Dr. Elliott West, Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas, will present "History of the Development of the West." Dr. West is a specialist in the social and environmental history of the American West and the author of six books and more than a hundred articles and chapters in books. The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, received the Francis Parkman Prize as the best work in American history for 1998. The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story appeared in April, 2009 from Oxford University Press. He has twice won his university's award as the outstanding teacher of the year and in 1995 was named Arkansas professor of the year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.