Aldo Leopold Weekend
The La Crosse area’s annual observance of Aldo Leopold Weekend will this year include a lecture at Viterbo University (March 3), and two nature education events (March 5). These free events are offered to the public to raise awarenss of and care for Wisconsin’s land, water, and wildlife.
The statewide celebration of Leopold’s groundbreaking work in ecology started in 2000 in Lodi, Wisconsin, when a group staged the first reading of the entire Sand County Almanac as a way to inform local residents of Leopold’s Land Ethic. Leopold, the author of “A Sand County Almanac,” is considered by many as the father of wildlife management and of the United States’ wilderness system. The success of the Lodi event led to support from the Aldo Leopold Foundation and a declaration by Governor James Doyle in 2004 setting the first weekend in March as Aldo Leopold Weekend in Wisconsin.
The local event is planned annually by a group of cooperating environmental and conservation organizations including D. B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics and Leadership, Friends of the Marsh, Friends of the Refuge, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge Visitor Center, Brice Prairie Conservation Association, Mississippi Valley Conservancy.
GUEST SPEAKER
Thursday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Fine Arts Center Recital Hall at Viterbo University
Timothy R. Van Deelen, wildlife ecology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will “reflect on Wisconsin’s recent wolf and deer controversies to consider how Leopold’s wisdom informs urgent conservation needs in a world of divisiveness, nostalgia and climate crisis.” His talk begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday March 3 in the Fine Arts Center Recital Hall at Viterbo University. The lecture will also be live-streamed and available to watch on the Reinhart Institute Facebook page (wwwfacebook.com/viterboethics).
FOREST ECOLOGY WALK
Saturday, March 5, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
Goose Island’s Shady Maple Interpretive Trail
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
A forest ecology hike at Goose Island’s Shady Maple Interpretive Trail on Saturday, March 5, 9:30 to 11 a.m., will be guided by representatives from Audubon Minnesota, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The walk through the floodplain forest will “explore the unique characteristics of this habitat type and its importance to migratory songbirds, highlight ongoing forest management projects, share hope in the face of conservation challenges and tips for ways we can help strengthen our natural communities.” Pre-registration is required and attendance is limited. Registration will open Tuesday, February 22, 2022 - please call Ranger Katie to register or with questions, 608-779-2391. Face masks are required when physical distancing is not possible.
NATURE SATURDAY AT WISCORPS
Saturday, March 5, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
Myrick Park Center, La Crosse Wisconsin