The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Montana State University, formerly MSU Wonderlust, will host a virtual presentation, “Public Land Business and Local Community: A National Wildlife Refuge Example,” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. The event, in partnership with the Belgrade Community Library, will be free and open to the public.

Bill West will discuss land conservation across a patchwork of land ownership in the Centennial Valley. West recently retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after 30 years managing national wildlife refuges in Montana.

Located in southwest Montana and north of the Continental Divide, the remote Centennial Valley consists of high elevation, nearly intact landscapes of forest, sagebrush steppe, wet meadow and the largest wetland complex in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The valley is the uppermost point of the Missouri/Mississippi watershed, 3,768 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and includes the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. West will touch on how partnerships that respect the business climate of the local community, while also protecting public land, can result in a thriving local economy, as well as successful conservation efforts.

West had assignments during his career managing national wildlife refuges at the National Bison Range and Red Rock Lakes National Refuge. His skills include partnership building for the conservation of fish and wildlife, neighbor/landowner relationships and the management of wild bison, trumpeter swans, grizzly bears and artic grayling. 

Registration is required for this event and can be done at www.montana.edu/wonderlust/. Upon registration confirmation, participants will receive an email with the Zoom link and instructions how to join the program.

This community event is free and open to the public thanks to a grant to the Belgrade Community Library by Humanities Montana and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at MSU is a program of Academic Technology and Outreach at MSU. ATO works across the university to support and advance its land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for outreach and engagement.

For more information on OLLI or this community event, visit http://www.montana.edu/wonderlust.