Flagstaff, AZ: April 12th - Michael J. Riordan: A Young Man on the Frontier, 1885-1890
Kathy Farretta, Asst. Park Manager, will give this evening slide presentation. In 1885, Michael J. Riordan was forced to abandon his studies to become a Jesuit priest and move to his brother’s home in Flagstaff. Like many other “lungers,” he was suffering from tuberculosis and his prognosis was grim. His brother, Matt, hoped the clean, dry air would help Michael recover from this deadly disease. While visiting and trying to recover, Michael traveled around the Territory and wrote descriptive articles, which he sent back East to be published.

This presentation will cover some of Michael J. Riordan’s experiences in northern Arizona and provide a glimpse into the early experiences of a young man who would become one of Arizona’s most important businessmen and community leaders. 7pm. RSVP FREE! 928.779.4395

Flagstaff, AZ: April 8th - Come have lunch with Rascal, the tassel-eared squirrel!
Sylvester Allred, PhD, NAU, will present about the discovery of the squirrel on the San Francisco Peaks by the Sitgreaves Expedition of 1851. What does the squirrel look like, and where do they live? What do these critters eat, when do they reproduce, and how do the babies grow into adults? Come learn the answers to these questions and more! Brown Bag Lunch Lecture at 12:15pm. 928.779.4395

Flagstaff, AZ:

Are you looking for more information on our wonderful town of Flagstaff? The Flagstaff Convention & Visitors Bureau launched a new website that reflects the beauty of our community, and gives you all of the information you’ll need to plan your trip here. Make sure you check it out!

Throughout March-Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 N. Ft. Valley Rd., Tues. - Sat., 1:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., free, 928-779-2300, www.culturalpartners.org. Spring exhibit of youth art which features over 350 works from students K-12. Teachers from Flagstaff schools submit student artwork including 2D and 3D pieces. All classrooms, children, parents, and community members are invited to visit the gallery and see the artistic talent of Flagstaff youth.

Saturday, March 22 - Grand Canyon Grandeur Public Programs: Bruce Aiken’s Grand Canyon-An Intimate Affair, Museum of Northern Arizona, 3101 N. Fort Valley Rd., 2:00-3:00 p.m., $7 adults, $6 seniors (65+), $5 students, $4 ages 7-17, ages (6 & under)/ MNA members free, 928-774-5213, www.musnaz.org. Join Aiken as he shares his story with a visual presentation of more than thirty years of living and painting at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. This event celebrates the publication of the new book Bruce Aiken’s Grand Canyon: An Intimate Affair, published by the Grand Canyon Association. Book sale and signing.

Tuesday, April 1st - Josephine’s Modern American Bistro, 503 N. Humphrey’s Street, (928) 779-3400 www.josephinesrestaurant.com.
Passed Hors D’oeuvres - Selection of Interesting Tidbits for Your Amusement
Served Butler Style
(Wine: Trentadue Old Patch Red)

First Course
Sweet Corn and Smoked Duck Tamale
With Oaxacan Cheese and Poblano
Topped with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa and Mole Sauce
(Wine: Trentadue Zinfandel)

Second Course
Brie and Blue Crab Bisque
with Maple Currant Sweet Potato and Pancetta Confetti
(Wine: Trentadue Cabernet)

Entrée Course
Rossini of Flat Iron Steak
Flat Iron Rolled with Goat Cheese and Fig
Topped with Caramelized Onion Balsamic Foie Gras Sauce
with Truffled Mashed Golden Yukon Potatoes
(Wine: La Storia Meritage)

Dessert
Rustic Pear and Marzipan Tart
With Home Made Mascarpone Ice Cream
(Wine Trentadue Viognier Port)

Winemaker: Miroslav Tcholakov
Owner/Chef: Tony Cosentino
General Manager: Bill Miller

Saturday, March 15 Grand Canyon Grandeur Gallery Programs; See the work of a who’s who of preeminent artists who chose Grand Canyon as their subject. These 24 artists labored from 1854 to the mid-1930s to reproduce a small measure of the canyon’s monumental beauty in this show’s 53 works. Among the exhibit’s artists are masters such as Louis Akin, Carl Oscar Borg, George Elbert Butt, Thomas Moran, and Gunnar Widforss.

Museum of Northern Arizona, 3101 N. Fort Valley Rd., 2:00-3:00 p.m., $7 adults, $6 seniors (65+), $5 students, $4 ages 7-17, ages (6 & under)/ MNA members free, 928-774-5213, www.musnaz.org. Discover the rich history of Grand Canyon art created in the early decades of the twentieth century with MNA Curator of Fine Arts Alan Petersen.

Next year, 2009, marks the centennial of Aldo Leopold’s arrival in the Southwest. In addition, 2009 is the 100th anniversary of Leopold’s “wolf-shooting” incident, a seminal moment in environmental history, described in the essay “Thinking Like a Mountain,” a cornerstone of A Sand County Almanac. That event took place on a mountain near Springerville, Arizona.

We are sharing plans and asking for ideas to help develop grassroots events observing Leopold’s role in the Southwest. Numerous organizations are collaborating to call attention to the past, present, and, most vitally, the future of the Leopold legacy: an ethical relationship with the land and the ways in which this relationship helps us meet the challenges of conservation in the 21st century. The Leopold legacy in the Southwest includes the contributions of his wife, Estella Luna Bergere of New Mexico, and two of their five children, Luna and Starker, scientists who have done keystone work on Southwestern water and wildlife.

A two-hour documentary about Leopold is being produced for 2009, and New Mexico groups are well along in developing a year-long series of conferences, exhibits, field trips, symposia, and products. We are holding three meetings for interested individuals in Arizona to plan complementary events in this state. What makes Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac so rich is that it pulls together many different disciplines: philosophy, ecology, history, and literature, among them. That variety suggests many opportunities to create partnerships and community collaborations. In addition, the Hispanic connection provided by Estella’s family, as well as the work of the Leopold children, expands the potential and significance even more widely.

There are many unexplored opportunities; we’re hopeful that collective efforts can bring them to fruition. The Aldo Leopold Foundation has also expressed interest in assisting our efforts. We plan to meet in Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson, to gather people with ideas and collaborative interests. Each session will begin at 2 p.m. and last approximately two hours:
• March 17: Flagstaff, NAU Cline Library, Room 200
• March 18: Phoenix, Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 E. Washington Street
• March 19: Tucson, Federal Building, Room 1K, 300 W. Congress Street

Can you join us? At this meeting we will list possible and planned activities, explore their overlap with other plans in the Southwest, consider timelines and possible funding sources, and explore potential partnerships, action items, and marketing ideas. Projects underway or being considered include: teacher institutes, a statewide reading program, watershed restorations, a gubernatorial proclamation, conferences, documentaries, a speakers bureau, and lecture series.

Please contact Dan Shilling (danshilling@cox.net) to let us know if you or a representative can attend, or if not, how you might participate in other ways. If you have questions, please call Dan at 602-300-6694. We encourage you to forward this invitation to others, and we look forward to joining forces to carry forward the Leopold legacy in the Southwest.

Sincerely,

Gary Paul Nabhan
NAU Center for Sustainable Environments

Rita Canto
U.S. Forest Service

Dan Shilling
ASU Institute for Humanities, Fellow 07-08