Thursday, January 28th. 7-9pm at the Fidalgo Senior Activity Center (1701 22nd St.)

This is a great opportunity to get to know more about the Friends of the Forest and our work in service to the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. We will begin with a brief annual report, CEP update, and elections followed by a special presentation by WWU Professor John Miles.

He will speak on the question of Playground Or Preserve?, the title of his recent book- an exploration of the future of our remaining wild lands and the history of our relationship with them.

Board members up for reelection are: Andy Stewart, Jean Andrich, Monica Ochs.

Kara Fox was recently appointed to fill the remainder of Tim Nelson's term and is now up for reelection. Brian Adams' term is up and he is leaving the Board. We thank him for his years of dedicated service to the group! Phil Teas is a nominee for the open board position. Nominations will be accepted from the floor.

Playground or Preserve? Wilderness in National Parks presented by John Miles

Are national parks, as Ken Burns' PBS documentary claims, really "America's greatest idea?" What about our national wilderness system? How do the two entities relate and how do they differ?

The relationships between national parks and wilderness areas, and between conservation and preservation, are rich and storied. While wilderness lovers are celebrating recent political victories, including passage of the Wild Sky Wilderness and Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, many aspects of our society's ongoing relationship to wild landscapes remain unsettled and controversial.

Join John Miles, author of the new book Wilderness in National Parks: Playground or Preserve, to further the important conversation that has engaged great "wild" thinkers from Henry David Thoreau to David Brower, John Muir to Bob Marshall and Polly Dyer to Patrick Goldsworthy.

What are the prospects for wilderness in a future of increasing population and global demand for resources? Can the idea of wilderness stand up to criticism that it is an "irrelevant, quaint and romantic idea" that has no place in the 21st century?

As conservation biologists strive to protect biological diversity in remaining nature reserves like parks and wilderness areas, do they threaten the very "wild" in wilderness with their science based tinkering? Join Huxley College of the Environment (WesternWashington University) faculty member, author and wilderness historian John Miles to explore these and other timely questions about the fate of our planet's remaining wild areas. Discussion and refreshments will follow.
   
Hope to see you there!

For more information
about our group or hikes please contact Education and
Outreach Director, Denise Crowe at 293-3725.

Denise Crowe