Noted Ecosystem Management Expert Jack Ward Thomas to Visit UW

October 24, 2012
Man smiling
Jack Ward Thomas

Jack Ward Thomas, the chief of the U.S. Forest Service under President Bill Clinton, will speak Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26-27, at the University of Wyoming.

He will discuss “Forks in the Trail – Ecosystem Management in Transition” at 2 p.m. Friday in the College of Business auditorium.

Thomas will discuss “The Future of the National Forests – Who Will Answer an Uncertain Trumpet?” at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center auditorium.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Thomas was increasingly involved in both research and politics related to the northern spotted owl, the Endangered Species Act and old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Thomas led the Forest Ecosystem Management and Assessment Team to analyze options to protect the spotted owl while still allowing logging.

“The Forest Service is going to be a leader in ecosystem management,” Thomas once said. “Right now, it's more a concept than a practice. What does ecosystem management mean? It means thinking on a larger scale than we're used to. It means sustaining the forest resources over very long periods of time.”

Thomas is the Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Montana. Several UW units and organizations sponsor his talks on campus.

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