University of Vermont

Winona LaDuke, former Green Party vice-presidential candidate and member of the Mississippi Band of Anishinaabeg, will speak on “Forests for the Seventh Generation” at the University of Vermont on Tuesday, September 26, to open the annual Aiken Lecture Series.

“This year’s lectures are asking: how do we—practically—get beyond the hostility that so often rises when we have differences of opinion about conservation?” said Larry Forcier, UVM professor of forest ecology and an organizer of the event.

To explore this question, the half-day symposium, starting at 12:30pm at UVM’s Recital Hall on the Redstone Campus, will focus on the protection and use of forests and once-forested lands, both globally and locally.

LaDuke —who ran with Ralph Nader in 1996 and 2000, and has written extensively on Native American and forestry issues—will discuss the broad values necessary to overcome conflict while resolving conservation matters, using the long-range prospects of forests around the world as a case study.

The conversation will then turn to Vermont’s forests. A panel discussion drawing on local foresters, conservationists, scientists, and business people will take up the challenge of “stewardship and ‘getting to yes’ in Vermont,” said Forcier. “How do we get to fundamental values rather than details?” he said. “How do we talk about our forests in terms that are meaningful to all stakeholders?’”

The day will conclude with an address by Dr. Michael Rosenzweig, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona and author of Win-Win Ecology. Dr. Rosenzweig penned the term “reconciliation ecology,” putting forward the theory that there is still time to save most of the world’s species by establishing and maintaining the right suite of habitats.

The full lecture series is titled, “Conservation And Conflict Resolution: George D. Aiken's Legacy And Beyond.” In the spring of 2007, the second installment of this year’s lectures will consider international agreements on climate change.

Born in Dummerston, Vt. in 1892, George Aiken was a United States Senator for 35 years (1940-1975). He was revered as a legendary pragmatist who deftly navigated Capitol Hill’s partisan waters through the McCarthy Era, Vietnam, and the rise of the environmental movement.

“By applying Senator George Aiken's art of wise compromise,” the lecture organizing committee notes, “we can come to better understand and celebrate our shared values and more willingly plan for and implement a healthy common future.”

More information and a complete schedule of the day’s events is available at http://www.uvm.edu/aiken.