The History and Future of America’s Public Land: Webinar Oct. 15
Many Americans use public lands for recreation and business but don’t understand how those lands came to be in the public domain.
Join Walt Dabney, former National Park Service Superintendent and Texas State Park Director, to learn about:
- The origin story of public lands;
- The US Constitution and public lands;
- Statehood acts/state constitutions and public lands;
- How public lands became privately owned;
- Why most public lands are in the West;
- The creation of the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management;
- The economic value of public lands;
- Efforts to transfer public lands from public ownership.
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X5b5-KyETDCPsgknE0VbyQ
Date & Time: Tuesday, Oct 15, 2024 06:30 PM Mountain Daylight Time (US and Canada)
Webinar ID 827 0357 0568
Please submit any questions to: ki**@we************************.org
About Walt Dabney
Walt Dabney graduated from Texas A&M in 1969 with a degree in Recreation and Park Management. He began his career with the National Park Service the summer of 1969 as a student trainee (ranger- Naturalist) at Old Faithful District of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Later, as a field ranger and emergency medical technician Dabney was involved in numerous search and rescue operations, law enforcement actions, bear incidents and wildland and structural firefighting. He was sent to Alaska in 1979 as a leader with the Alaska Ranger Task Force, sent to establish the NPS presence on 50 million acres of newly established National Monuments.
In 1983 Dabney was selected to become the National Park Service Chief Ranger stationed at the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C. As chief ranger he was the NPS chief law enforcement officer. He directly supervised the NPS Branch of Fire and Aviation Management at the National Fire Center at Boise, Idaho, and the Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection and Branch of Special Populations (accessibility program). He taught many park related courses at the NPS training centers and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
In 1991 Dabney was selected as the General Superintendent for the Southeast Utah Group of parks which included Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and Natural Bridges and Hovenweep National Monuments.
Dabney began his permanent career with Texas Parks and Wildlife as the Director of State Parks in 1999 after having spent 30 years with the National Park Service. After 43 years of park work, he retired in 2010. He has continued to contribute to the profession as an instructor at the National State Park Directors Leadership School, Southwest Park and Recreation Training Institute, several universities including having been an assistant professor with the Recreation and Parks Department at TAMU. It has been very rewarding for him to work with young professionals and the public.
Kirk grew up in Bountiful, Utah between the shore of the Great Salt Lake and the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. As a child, he loved roaming the foothills looking for wild animals and visiting Farmington Bay Bird Refuge. Naturally, he fell in love with the land and its wildlife. Since those early years, he has spent a big part of his life exploring the deserts, rivers, and mountains of the West.
In the 1990s, Kirk and some friends from the Utah Wilderness Association began working to reform Utah wildlife governance and management to make it more democratic, ecologically sound, and compassionate. This led to the founding of a non-profit organization, Western Wildlife Conservancy, to address the issues. Of particular concern is the scientifically and ethically misguided way that native carnivores such as mountain lions, black bears, and gray wolves are treated. The vital role that these intelligent and magnificent creatures play in maintaining the health of ecosystems goes unappreciated, as evidenced by a long history of persecution. In addition to being Executive Director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk is on the Leadership Council of The Rewilding Institute and the Advisory Committee of Wildlife For All.
Prior to Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk was a Professor of Philosophy. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cincinnati and has taught at universities in Montana and Utah. In 2004, he graduated from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah with a certificate in Natural Resource Law to better equip him for work on wildlife conservation issues. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, x-c skiing, river trips, playing the acoustic guitar, and time spent with friends and with his dog Bingo.