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Conference to focus on saving biological diversity

March 08, 2007

Top conservation biologists, economists and political scientists from around the country will gather here April 6 and 7 to discuss protection of endangered species - such as the ivory-billed woodpecker, the Atlantic salmon, and the piping plover - and sustenance of biological diversity.

The 2007 Elizabeth Babbott Conant Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment - "Saving Biological Diversity: Weighing the Protection of Endangered Species versus Entire Ecosystems" - will provide a broad overview of conservation and endangered species from a wide range of perspectives. Overall topics include:

- The effectiveness and economics of endangered species protection;

- Efforts to sustain biological diversity in entire ecosystems or regional landscapes; and,

- The best methods for protecting biological diversity on a global scale.

Bryan Norton, professor of philosophy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, will kick off the conference on Friday, April 6 at 12:30 p.m. with a keynote discussion on evaluation and species preservation. Norton's recent research has focused on intergenerational impacts of policy choices on endangered species policy, on sustainability theory and on cultural

A second keynote address, which is free and open to the public, will be presented Friday at 7:30 p.m. by Kenneth Rosenberg, director of conservation science at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Rosenberg will speak on "Saving an Ecosystem through Endangered Species Recovery: Conservation of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker."

Throughout the day on Friday and Saturday, various lectures and panels will be held focusing on such specific topics as the restoration of the Everglades, conservation in a globalized world, preserving biodiversity in marine ecosystems and preserving biodiversity in the Amazon. Presenters include Susan Farady, project manager of The Ocean Conservancy-New England Region; April Gromnicki, assistant director of government relations in the public policy division of the National Audubon Society; Karin Sheldon, professor of law and director of the Environmental Law Center at the Vermont Law School and Kathryn Hochstetler, professor of political science at the University of New Mexico.

The conference is being hosted by the Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies at Connecticut College (CCBES) and is open to the public. To register, or for more information and a full conference schedule, call the Goodwin-Niering Center at 860-439-5417 or visit the website at http://goodwin-nieringcenter.conncoll.edu/.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Beaver Brook Foundation, the National Audubon Society-Connecticut Chapter, The Nature Conservancy-Connecticut Chapter, Connecticut Forest and Park Association, Connecticut Sea Grant Program and various Connecticut College departments.

This is the sixth in a series of biennial interdisciplinary conferences on the environment hosted by the Goodwin-Niering Center.

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu