Events

1-2 pm ET

Register HERE

Founded in 1960 at the Denver Public Library, the Conservation Collection is a historic trove of published and unpublished materials accessible to the public. The collection was formed by published books and serials first collected in Arthur Carhart's personal library and has grown to reflect modern contributions such as published zines and contemporary masters theses. The collection also comprises over 200 unpublished manuscript collections. Examples include the papers of Ira Gabrielson, first director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Howard Zahniser, Executive Secretary of The Wilderness Society and author of the Wilderness Act, and Velma (Wild Horse Annie) Johnston, animal welfare activist who campaigned for federal protection of wild burros and horses. Recent acquisitions include the papers of EarthFirst! founder Dave Foreman, and Gudrun "Gudy" Gaskill, the driving force behind the Colorado Trail. Join host Jamie Lewis as he talks with Heidi Young and Abby Hoverstock of the Conservation Collection staff to learn more about the holdings and how you can access them.

Heidi Young is a Special Collections Librarian who curates the Conservation Collection's published materials. She is especially interested in exploring relationships between people, plants, and animals and seeks to understand these relationships in the context of the past, the present, and the future. Abby Hoverstock is Manager of Archival Services, overseeing a team of archivists and support staff who collect, process, and make accessible archival collections in four collecting areas (including the Conservation Collection) across two DPL repositories. She supports the team's efforts to grow and sustain a rich collection of unpublished materials with a national scope. 

1-2 pm

Register HERE

Drawing from her recently published book, Loving the North Woods: 25 Years of Historic Conservation in Maine, Karin Tilberg, the past-president and CEO of the Forest Society of Maine, will outline the difficult challenges to conservation during a remarkable period of activity from 1990 to 2015. During this time of tremendous forest ownership changes, Maine went from about 5% of the state having some form of conservation, to having 20% being conserved in some manner. Seven major conservation initiatives in the North Woods were significant factors in this tremendous outcome. Karin will discuss the forces behind this seismic change and share untold stories of conserving Maine’s North Woods. She'll explore how people’s love of a place brought about action leading to these historic achievements in American conservation and how these stories could guide us now and far into the future.

Karin Tilberg has a BS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. A strong advocate for the conservation of the North Woods, for decades Tilberg has provided guidance on environmental and natural resource law and policy matters to individuals and organizations, including the Maine Audubon Society and Northern Forest Alliance. She served as Deputy Commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation from 2003 to 2007. From 2007 to 2010, she was Senior Policy Advisor to Governor John E. Baldacci. Most recently, Tilberg was the president and CEO of the Forest Society of Maine, where she worked from 2011 until retiring in November 2024.