March 7, 2011 -The challenges of reintroducing species into the western landscape, including the controversy over delisting wolves under the Endangered Species Act, makes the Wallace Stegner Center’s 16th annual symposium particularly timely and relevant.

The symposium, “Wildlife Conservation in the 21st Century,” will be held March 10-12 at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. It will bring together wide-ranging points of view from academia, nonprofit organizations, government and the ranching and farming industry. For more information, or to register for the symposium, call 801-581-6897, or visit the Stegner webpage www.law.utah.edu/stegner.

“Wildlife management, ranging from big game, to wolves, to desert tortoises, is drawing a good deal of attention,” said Robert Keiter, Director of the Wallace Stegner Center at the University of Utah. “These issues raise strong passions about federal-state relations, management of the public lands, the role of hunting and protection for lesser-known species with little obvious economic value.”

Speakers and participants will consider the history of wildlife management; the science of biodiversity and wildlife conservation; land ownership patterns and management standards; the effect of climate change on wildlife and their habitat needs; and the challenges presented by wolves and other predators, as well as habitat protection and biodiversity conservation strategies.

On Thursday March 10, at 6:00 p.m., Zygmunt Plater, a professor at Boston College Law School, will deliver the Wallace Stegner Lecture. Plater will discuss the six years he spent litigating the case of the endangered snail darter fish vs. TVA’s Tellico Dam in the federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. Plater’s lecture is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required to attend.

Other panels and discussions to be held March 11-12, include a talk by keynote speaker Michael Soule, the founder and first president of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Wildlands Network. Soule will focus on “Jobs and the Great American Corridor.” In addition, the symposium will include a multimedia presentation by the internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer, Florian Schulz.

The Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment represents a commitment of the University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law to the multidisciplinary study of natural resources and environmental law and policy. Recognizing the importance of natural resources and environmental quality to the region’s welfare, the College has long played a leading role in shaping appropriate laws and policies to govern the use and preservation of these resources.