BLM releases Brown Bag Lecture Series schedule for remainder of 2012

ST. GEORGE – Each Friday, the Bureau of Land Management and its partners host the popular Brown Bag Lecture series, which provide a unique opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the benefits of the area’s natural resources and public lands.

The series is sponsored by the BLM, National Park Service, United States Forest Service and Dixie/Arizona Strip Interpretive Association. Speakers include geologists, range specialists, biologists, archaeologists, rangers and other specialists who will delve deeply into subjects tied to the Arizona Strip and surrounding lands. For those who want to learn more before venturing out or are unable to access some of these remote landscapes, the lectures are an excellent way to bring resources and related issues to the community’s doorstep.

This Friday, Pipe Spring Ranger Benn Pikyavit will share his insight on Paiute culture. The program, entitled “Paiute 101: Lifeways of the Paiutes and their Culture in Perspective,” is a must-see for those who wish to appreciate the full significance of American Indian heritage and legacy.

There is no lecture on Nov. 23 in observance of Thanksgiving Day.

On Nov. 30, geologist Marc Deshowitz will provide a penetrating view of one of Earth’s most significant resources in the “Texas Tea: Exploring for Black Gold and the Ins and Outs of Petroleum Exploration” lecture. You will have the opportunity to learn why Utah is such a valuable place for petro-geologists to explore.

The Dec. 7 lecture will be “The People’s Tree.” In 1996, the Forest Service selected and delivered a 75-foot-tall Englemann Spruce to the front lawn of the United States Capitol. This effort began long before the tree was delivered and now Dixie National Forest District Ranger Bevan Killpack will share the experience of transporting the tree to Washington, D.C., its decoration and the resulting celebration of Utah across the nation.

On Dec. 14, the last lecture of the year, author Lyman Hafen will share insightful and entertaining glimpses of our regional history. Hafen, a horseman on his family’s ranch in Clover Valley, Nev., has been an accomplished writer since 1980 with the majority of his works centered on life on the Arizona Strip. He has been honored by the Utah Arts Council on several occasions and founded the Zion Canyon Field Institute in 2003, where he still serves as director.

All lectures are held at 12 p.m. at the Interagency Information Center in St. George. Admission is free, but space is limited. Participants should obtain tickets in advance from the center by calling 435-688-3200.

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