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The Aldo Leopold Foundation and the US Forest Service – Superior National Forest are presenting a public symposium to celebrate and advance the evolution of land ethics and conservation on Sept. 19-20 in Ely.
This event will launch a newly expanded collaboration between the organizations to explore the use of traditional knowledge to inform and inspire actions that benefit future generations.
The first day, Thursday, Sept. 19, will begin at the Minnesota North College Vermilion Campus with a symposium on the past, present and future of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The program will draw upon Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific understanding of the region as well as revisit the efforts of Sigurd Olson, commemorate the 75th anniversary of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, and the 60th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act.
This shared historical context will provide a forum for thoughtful points of view and discussion on wilderness and the future of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, applying principles of land ethics and conservation.
The second day, Sept. 20, will focus on Evolving Land Ethics: Advancing Conservation Through Film, Words and Community at Ely’s Historic State Theater. The program is a community partnership with participants from the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Listening Point Foundation, Tofte Lake Center, Ely Film Festival and Piragis Northwoods Company.
The day will feature an introduction to the land ethic concept by Buddy Huffaker, executive director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, followed by a screening of “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time,” an Emmy Award winning film that challenges viewers to consider their relationship with the land and nature. Current short films by filmmakers selected for the Ely Film Festival will also be shown. The screenings will be followed by facilitated dialogue with the audience, filmmakers, Huffaker and Liz Engelman, Dramaturg from the Tofte Lake Center. The day concludes with a Drum Ceremony presented by artists of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and a social hour at the State Theater.
Commenting on the collaboration, Superior National Forest Kawishiwi District Ranger Aaron Kania said, “We are very excited to be collaborating with the Aldo Leopold Foundation to honor the work of those who developed the important principles behind the protection and management of the forest and wilderness areas enjoyed by so many today, and to discuss and learn how we can apply those principles to ensure that future generations will continue to enjoy our treasured environmental assets. We look forward to the learning and growth experience that these events will provide.”
The connection between the Forest Service and the Leopold legacy dates back to 1909 when Aldo Leopold joined the Forest Service as one of our country’s first professionally trained foresters. Born in the Midwest, but assigned to the Southwest, Leopold was immediately struck by the biological diversity and wildness of that region.
After surveying the Gila National Forest, he navigated and negotiated to secure the Gila Wilderness designation in 1924, two years before the first official protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in 1926. Both would serve as the model for the subsequent Wilderness Act passed 40 years later in 1964. The Wilderness System now protects over 110 million acres across the country.
Huffaker said, “This collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service provides a tremendous opportunity to really elevate the importance of advancing and adopting a conservation ethic. We are excited to join forces with the Forest Service, with whom we have had a long and productive history. We also honor the relationship Leopold had early on with key protectors of the BWCA such as Arthur Carhart and Sigurd Olson. These events are not designed to just honor the past, but to be the next step in the evolution of why and how we care for wild places from urban parks to designated wilderness areas like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.”
This two-day event is open to the public and will be held on Sept. 19, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Fine Arts Auditorium and Sept. 20, noon to 4 p.m., at Ely’s Historic State Theater. Doors open at 11 a.m. There is no cost for Thursday’s program and tickets for Friday will be available through the State Theater for $10 online or at the door.
For further information, contact the Aldo Leopold Foundation mail@aldoleopold. org or 608-355-0279, or visit https://www.aldoleopold. org/ely
