Murie Audubon Society Chapter

A University of Wyoming professor who studies the behavior, ecology, and evolution of crossbills will be speaking at the Goodstein Foundation Library on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.

Craig W. Benkman, professor and Robert B. Berry Distinguished Chair in Ecology at UW, will share the results of his current research. “Much of my research has focused on linking resource availability to various aspects of behavior, ecology, and evolution. We (Benkman and his research team at UW) mostly study crossbills because we can quantify resource availability in the wild and we can bring food resources into the laboratory where we can ask meaningful questions with captive crossbills,” he said.

“One of my current projects addresses whether and how a coevolutionary arms race between crossbills and lodgepole pine is causing crossbills to speciate, and another project is evaluating the conditions favoring coevolution and the overall importance of coevolution in the adaptive radiation of crossbills,” Benkman noted.

“Craig’s work is at the cutting edge of evolutionary studies combining both field observation and experimental approaches to address important questions about how coevolution occurs and how important it is in creating biodiversity,” said Scott Seville, associate dean in the UW Outreach School, Wyoming INBRE program coordinator, and professor of zoology and physiology at the University of Wyoming/Casper College Center.

Light refreshments will be served at the presentation, which is free and open to the public.

Lisa S. Icenogle
Editor/News Coordinator
Casper College
125 College Dr.
Casper, WY 82601
307-268-2372
800-442-2963, ext. 2372
Cell: 307-333-3166
Fax: 307-268-2237

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The Casper College Honors Program is sponsoring a presentation on trophy game hunting entitled: “The Trouble with Trophy Hunting: Leopold, Pinchot and the Ethics of Buffalo Hunting in the 21st Century,” by Alex Simon, Ph.D. The free presentation will take place on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

“(Aldo) Leopold (noted that) the motives of the hunter who slaughters for pleasure and the trophy hunter are not significantly different. The primary motive of the former is the satisfaction they derive from killing; whereas, the latter kills in order to display the body parts of the slain animal as tangible evidence of their hunting skills,” Simon wrote in his essay “Leopold, Pinchot, Marx, and the Ethics of Buffalo Hunting.”

Following his employment as a faculty member at Casper College in 2002, Simon worked as a professor in Alaska and is currently a professor of sociology at Utah Valley State University.

A question and answer session will follow the free presentation, which will be held in the Wheeler Auditorium, Room 103, located in the Wold Physical Science Center on the Casper College campus.

Lisa S. Icenogle
Editor/News Coordinator
Casper College
125 College Dr.
Casper, WY 82601
307-268-2372
800-442-2963, ext. 2372
Cell: 307-333-3166
Fax: 307-268-2237

Follow us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/caspercollegeadmissions

December 1, 2011 6:30 p.m.

Two films will be shown on December 1. “A Working Forest: It’s Future with Fire, People and Wildlife” is hosted by conservationist and keyboardist for the Rolling Stones, Chuck Leavell. Next, the short film “Ora E. Anderson: The Soul of the Woods” follows 93 year-old Anderson as he gives viewers a tour of his Appalachian tree farm and nature preserve.
 
On December 8 at 6:30 p.m. we will show the 80-minute film “Play Again,” investigating the consequences of a childhood removed from nature. At a time when children spend more time in the virtual world than the natural world, Play Again unplugs a group of media savvy teens and takes them on their first wilderness adventure, documenting the wonder that comes from time spent in nature.   The series will continue with screenings on Thursdays, December 15, and 29 at 6:30pm in the Crawford Room.
 
On December 15 at 6:30 p.m. several short films will be shown. “Seeing Red: TreeFight’s First Year” was partially funded by prize money from the State of Wyoming’s inaugural Short Film Contest in 2008. The film follows the new organization TreeFight in its quest to preserve the white bark pine of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Other films to be shown include “Disturbance” about fire management and ecology in the Northern Rockies, “Death of a Forest” about the threat of pine beetles to forests nationwide, and “The New Frontier” about ranchers helping to improve land and forest health.  The series will conclude with a final screening Thursday, December 29 at 6:30pm in the Crawford Room.
 
Wyoming Forests and the Mountain Pine Beetle  – December 19, 2011 6:30 p.m.  Mountain Pine Beetles have recently decimated a number of forests throughout the United States. How are the forests of Wyoming faring? Learn more at the Natrona County Public Library, Monday, December 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Crawford room.  Bryan Anderson of the Wyoming State Forestry Division will talk about causes of the recent epidemic of Mountain Pine Beetle activity, implications of the infestations on forest, wildfire, wildlife and recreational management, and possible courses for managing the future of our forests.
 
The final screening will be held December 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Crawford room. We will watch “Into the Inferno: The Science of Fire,” a short film that considers past forest management in California and how it could be feeding today’s flames. A second film, “Climbing Redwood Giants,” reveals the little-explored environment of the California redwoods using high-tech aerial laser surveys and breathtaking imagery.

Call 577-READ ext. 2 for more details.

Nicholle Gerharter, Reference Librarian, Natrona County Public Library, 307 E. 2nd St., Casper, WY 82601, 307-237-4935, www.natronacountylibrary.org

Come get seed for winter bird feeding

• SATURDAY, NOV 19
• 8:00 –12:00 P.M.
• Black oil sunflower seeds
• 50LB BAG  $30.00

NOLAND FEED
268 INDUSTRIAL AVE
Casper, Wyoming

A portion goes to support the Murie Audubon. For  more info: Bruce Walgren      234-7455