Professor William M. Lewis Jr. of the University of Colorado at Â鶹¹ÙÍø will lecture Nov. 12 on a controversy involving the Endangered Species Act that has received coast-to-coast attention.
"Science, Policy and Politics in the Klamath Basin" will begin at 7 p.m. in the Chautauqua Community House at 900 Baseline Road in Â鶹¹ÙÍø. The talk is part of the 2003-04 Chancellor's Community Lecture Series and is free and open to the public.
Protection of three fish species in Oregon's Klamath River basin under the Endangered Species Act became a heated topic in 2001 when it caused the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to withhold water from 220,000 acres of irrigated farmland. Irrigators and others concerned about the negative economic effects questioned the reasoning behind the closure, Lewis said.
On the other hand, Indian tribes and environmental interests supported the federal action as appropriate and necessary to protect the species. Lewis' talk will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the Endangered Species Act through this case study and draw lessons for the future.
Lewis is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and director of the Center for Limnology in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.
The event is one of nine public lectures presented by CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø faculty in 2003-04 on the theme "Healing the West." The series is sponsored by the CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Chancellor's Office, the CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Center of the American West and the Colorado Chautauqua Association.
The series will continue through May on the first Wednesday of every month, except for the lectures on Nov. 12, Jan. 14 and Feb. 18. For more information call the CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Office of Community Affairs at (303) 492-7084.