Many Americans use public lands for recreation and business but don’t understand how those lands came to be in the public domain. Join Walt Dabney, former National Park Service Superintendent and Texas State Park Director, to learn about:  The origin story of public lands;  The US Constitution and public lands;  Statehood acts/state constitutions and public lands;  How public lands became privately owned;  Why most public lands are in the West;  The creation of the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management;  The economic value of public lands;  Efforts to transfer public lands from public ownership.

The history of mountain lion management in Utah by: Kirk Robinson, Executive Director of Western Wildlife Conservancy

PLUS

Fascinating photos, video of wild Utah mountain lions by: Denise Peterson, Founder and Director of Utah Mountain Lion Conservation

Dr Don Molde presents a fascinating discussion of coyotes, known as the song dog. Dr Molde is a Nevada resident and long time wildlife advocate. He presents interesting ecological perspectives of the coyote and addresses the misguided concept of coyotes as pests. Coyote coexistence has its benefits. Coyotes are valuable to us and as individuals. How should they be treated accordingly?

Dr. Tom S. Smith is a Professor of Wildlife Sciences at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Over his career, he has worked for the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and US Geological Survey and taught at BYU for the past 15 years. His research topics center on human-wildlife conflict. He has conducted studies of those interactions with bighorn, bobcats, and four species of bears (sloth, black, brown, and polar). Tom has studied human-bear interactions for the past 21 years with research in Alaska, Utah, and India. A thread that weaves throughout his work is the promotion of human safety and bear conservation. Tom is a scientific advisor to Polar Bears International, Wildlife SOS-India, and the international working group for polar bear conflict resolution.

Cougar Response to Urban Expansion with Dr Stoner.
Suppose the motion-activated floodlights in your backyard go on. What are the odds there is a mountain lion in your yard?