As we know, conserving wildlife—in the Gallatin Valley, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and in public and private landscapes across Montana and throughout the West—contributes to our lives and livelihoods in many ways, some beyond imagining even 30 or 40 years ago. The central issue of wildlife conservation is coexistence, which is only being magnified by the numbers of people moving into our region.

To help understand how wildlife and people, conservation and coexistence fit together, Library Community Forum welcomes Mike Phillips, director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund, and Lisa Upson, director of People & Carnivores.

How do we conserve wildlife and promote biodiversity across large landscapes? What are lo- cal examples of projects that conserve wildlife on ranches, farms, and public lands? If coexist- ence with wildlife is a primary focus of conservation, how does it work? How is it working?

Mike will provide an overview of conserving biodiversity, and Lisa will talk about how her nonprofit works with private landowners and public land managers to prevent conflicts with big carnivores—grizzly bears, wolves, and mountain lions.

Join us to hear from these two experts who get their boots muddy walking the land, talking with the folks who live there, and developing strategies for people and wildlife to thrive to- gether.

Lisa Upson, director of People and Carnivores, has worked in large carnivore conservation for 15 years, with a focus on grizzly bear and wolf coexistence. She has also worked as a mediator and taught public administration at the University of Montana. She received her Master in Public Administration at MSU.

Mike Phillips is the co-founder and director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund. His work has included the reintroduction of gray wolves to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and working with the Obama administration and the U.S. Senate to pass clean energy jobs and cli- mate change legislation. Mike is a former Montana state legislator, serving from 2006 to 2020.

Library Community Forums are free and open to everyone. They are a Bozeman Public Library program of civic engagement, sponsored by the Bozeman Public Library Foundation and offered the 3rd Wednesday of each month, September-May.
We hope you will join us.