Colorado Plateau Chapter

Transcription

1 Colorado Plateau Chapter Annual Meeting Colorado Plateau Chapter- Society for Conservation Biology October 22-24, 2010 Legacy Inn and Suites, Moenkopi Arizona The goal of the 2010 Colorado Plateau Chapter meeting is to explore how conservation biologists and tribes can work collaboratively to protect the Plateau s cultural and biological resources. The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an international professional organization of 10,000+members dedicated to advancing the science and practice of conserving the Earth's biological diversity. Central to our vision for the future is to create a world where people understand, value, and conserve the diversity of life on Earth. The Colorado Plateau Chapter of SCB is one of 31 SCB Chapters in North America and contains members from all 4 Plateau states. The Chapter is intended to be a networking and information resource for anyone working on issues affecting the biological diversity of the Colorado Plateau. Our primary purpose is to engage and link practicing conservation scientists with others working on similar issues. The Chapter strives to serve as a hub for information and communications, linking members via a website, Facebook and Blogspot pages and periodic Chapter meetings. CPCSCB PO Box 23773

2 Flagstaff, AZ PROGRAM. Friday October 22 Moenkopi Legacy Inn and Suites Conference Center October 22, 8:30am-5:00pm Crossroads: Conserving Culture and Biodiversity on the Colorado Plateau Presented by: The Colorado Plateau Chapter for the Society for Conservation Biology, the Sierra Club, Round River Conservation Studies, the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, the Grand Canyon Trust, the Navajo Green Economy Commission, the Dine Haatalii Association, Northern Arizona University, the Black Mesa Water Coalition, the Energy Action Coalition, Indigenous Youth Experience and Indigenous Environmental Network The Colorado Plateau Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology and representatives from Tribes on the Colorado Plateau will examine challenges, successes, and opportunities from Indian Country that protect the region s biodiversity while strengthening Native sovereignty. Topics which will be explored include (1) An Indigenous Lands Stewardship view of Climate Change; (2) Cross cultural definitions of sacred geography : what are we trying to protect and why? and (3) Cultural Gap Analysis: Western Science meets Native perspectives on conservation planning. By the end of the day, we hope to better understand the alignment of interests between tribes and conservation biologists and the ways our efforts can be strengthened through collaboration. Morning Session [8:30-11:45] 8:30 Invocation-Bucky Preston [Hopi farmer and runner] 9:15 Welcome Harris Polelonema [Lower Moenkopi ] 9:30 Brief Introductions Presentations a. What is Conservation Biology on the Colorado Plateau? Eli Bernstein [SCB - Colorado Plateau Chapter] b. A brief history of Tribal environmental activism on the Colorado Plateau Wahleah Johns [Black Mesa Water Coalition] 10:15 10:30 BREAK 10:30 An Indigenous Lands Stewardship view of Climate Change: what are the opportunities for developing alternative energy on the Colorado Plateau? Presentations followed by panel discussion All residents of the Colorado Plateau, indeed of the world, face a turning point in where and how we derive the necessary energy to power our societies. Just as the collapse of the former Soviet Union saw Cuba transition to a largely post-petroleum society in the early 1990 s so the Hopi and Navajo Nations are working through their own Just Transition away from dirty coal and towards renewable energy sources. Their efforts to create new socially and environmentally just Power Paths are central to the question of how human civilization will adapt to a rapidly climate while protecting the natural capital of healthy native ecosystems on which we all depend.

3 Moderated by Eli Bernstein [SCB - Colorado Plateau Chapter] Tony Skrelunas [Grand Canyon Trust] Wahleah Johns [Black Mesa Water Coalition] Billy Parrish [Energy Action Coalition] Anna Rondon [Navajo Green Economy Commission] Jihan Gearon [Indigenous Environmental Network] LUNCH 12:00-1PM (provided by the Legacy Inn) & ENTERTAINMENT (Eagle Dance) Friday Afternoon [1:00-5:00] 1:00 Cross cultural definitions of sacred geography : what are we trying to protect and why? In this session we will discuss the cultural and professional values that make a place sacred to tribes and conservation biologists alike. The Colorado Plateau contains countless places of remarkable beauty, known by different names in many languages. The vast Plateau (130,000 square miles) is a mixing pot of cultures and administrative forces: 12 Indian tribes (presently tribal lands comprise ~24% of the Plateau), four states (Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico), 34 counties, 225 communities, 26 national parks, monuments, national historic sites, and recreation areas, 15 national forests and 10 Bureau of Land Management districts (federal land comprises 55% of the Plateau). Each one of these entities has differing mandates for protecting the places they define as sacred. Case studies will be presented in order to ground the discussion in the specifics of building bridges across cultural gaps. Moderated by Andy Bessler [Sierra Club] I.Case study: Great American Outdoors Initiative This presidential proclamation (signed on April 16, 2010) aims to promote communitylevel efforts to form a 21st century strategy conservation agenda for public lands. The plan: to collect the best ideas on conservation from local communities and build on successful conservation efforts being lead by local and state governments, tribes, and private groups, while helping farmers, ranchers, and property owners to protect their lands. What have we learned from collaborative conservation on the Plateau that the Obama Administration should hear? Ethan Aumack [Grand Canyon Trust] Shawn Mulford [Indigenous Youth Experience] II.Case study: The current challenge to protect the San Francisco Peaks: No other mountain in Arizona holds such a clear definition of sacred geography. This panel will explore their unique challenges and perspectives on protecting the San Francisco Peaks. After a short summary of the history and current status of the challenges to protect the San Francisco Peaks offered by the moderator, each speaker will offer a 10-minute presentation: Bucky Preston [Hopi farmer and runner] Anthony Lee [Dine Haatalii Association] Paul Beier [Society for Conservation Biology and Northern Arizona University] Cora Phillips [Navajo Nation]

4 3:15 Cultural Gap Analysis: Western Science meets Native perspectives on conservation planning Presentations followed by panel discussion Moderated by Gavin Noyes [Round River Conservation Studies] Barbara Dugelby [Round River Conservation Studies] Mark Maryboy [Utah Navajo, San Juan County Land-use Legislation] Lynne Nemeth [Grand Canyon Wildlands Council] Krista Beazley [White Mountain Apache Tribe] 4:30 Open Group Discussion 5:00 Closing Remarks and Prayer FRIDAY DINNER ON YOUR OWN* *Consider the TUUVI Café at the TUUVI Travel Center across the street from the hotel. The TUUVI Café offers a full service menu of traditional American and Hopi food and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. * * * 8:00pm DESERT POTLUCK * * * * LEGACY INN & SUITES Lobby Coffee Bar Come share stories, along with some tasty homemade treats!

5 PROGRAM. Saturday October 23 8:30 INCORPORATION OF TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE WITHIN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: A LOOK AT THE WESTERN UNITED STATES WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE COLORADO PLATEAU HENN, MORAN 1, David Ostergren 2, Judy Bischoff 3, Erik Nielsen 4 1 NAU-Center for Sustainable Environments, 2 Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, 3 NAU, National Park Service CPCESU, 4 NAU- Center for Sustainable Environments 9:00 THE KANE AND TWO MILE RANCH PROGRAM: BUILDING PUBLIC LANDS STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY ON THE COLORADO PLATEAU ALBANO, CHRISTINE M. 1, Ethan N. Aumack 1, Thomas D. Sisk 2, Brett G. Dickson 2 1 Grand Canyon Trust, 2 School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, NAU 9:30 STATEWIDE MAPS OF ECOLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY PAUL BEIER, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University 10-10:30 BREAK 10:30 MEASURING SUCCESS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF WOLF REINTRODUCTIONS IN THE U.S LYNNE NEMETH, Grand Canyon Wildlands Council 11:00 ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF BISON AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL MANAGEMENT IN THE GRAND CANYON REGION EVAN REIMONDO, Environmental Sciences, Northern Arizona University 11:30 TAMARISK LEAF BEETLE: WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU AND OUR RIVERS SEASON MARTIN, Tamarisk Coalition 12: LUNCH 1:00 POTENTIAL IMPACT OF AN EXOTIC SPECIES ON THE NESTING DIET OF COMMON BLACK HAWKS (BUTEOGALLUS ANTHRACINUS) IN THE VERDE RIVER WATERSHED, CENTRAL ARIZONA. M. J. JOHNSON,, Kenneth E.Etzel, T.C. Theimer, and Jennifer A. Holmes Northern Arizona University 1:30 THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSIDERING THE EFFECTS OF GENETICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN RIPARIAN RESTORATION KARLA J. KENNEDY and T. G. Whitham, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University 2:00 THE FOUR FOREST RESTORATION INITIATIVE: STRATEGIES FOR PLANNING RESTORATION AT THE LANDSCAPE SCALE." ETHAN AUMACK, Matt Williamson, and Marcus Selig, Grand Canyon Trust. 2:30 Q & A WITH ALL PRESENTERS, AND GROUP DISCUSSION 3:00 5:00 MINI FIELD TRIP (2 mi AWAY) MOENCOPI WASH/URANIUM TAILINGS SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER ON YOUR OWN

6 FIELD TRIP. Sunday October 24 9am-12pm [meet at the Legacy pool at 8:30am] Caravan from the Moencopi Legacy Inn and Suites out to HWY 89 and north ~ 6 miles to the turnoff of Indian Rt 23 to Moenave. Just off the HWY we make our (1) first stop at Newpaper Rock, an ancient pictograph site on the historic Salt Trail. On the way back towards Moencopi we will (2) stop to visit the ichnofauna (i.e. dinosaur tracks) site MNA 333 in the Moenave Formation just north of HWY 160. Finally we will return to the old village of Moencopi to tour Hopi floodplain agriculture fields and pay respects to one of the village s sacred springs. Carpooling is strongly recommended to minimize traffic Bring water, a sun hat and a light snack. Map below* * +Coconino, +Arizona&msa=0&msid= bf3d7750e893f&ll= , &spn= , &t=h&z=12