As summer dips into fall and leaves cover the ground here at the VIC our lecture series has begun. Spend a chilly afternoon indoors with us and listen to one of our fantastic speakers. Whether you want to learn more about Mountain Gorilla Conservation or land management in the Adirondacks, we have a lecture for you!

Every Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon we will host an engaging lecture. The series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smiths College and North Country Community College. Cost for the general public is just $5 to help support the mission of the VIC. I will post here each week about the upcoming speakers.

Our lecture series begins with Drs. Amy Vedder and Bill Weber on September 25th at 2:00PM. Their lecture, “In the Kingdom Gorillas: Success and Challenges in Tourism and Conservation,” focuses on land management from Africa to the Adirondacks. Amy and Bill will discuss how ecotourism combined with protection of land and wild animals can benefit local communities.

They helped to found the Mountain Gorilla Project in Rwanda. This program has been successful because it not only increased tourism to Rwanda, gorillas became a source of pride for the people living in Rwanda. Rwandans manage conservation and tourism efforts in their country which is a reason for its success. Amy and Bill live in the Adirondack Park and work to bring their conservation efforts to the North Country.

On September 30th join Dr. Chad Dawson at 6:30 PM. A recent appointee to the Board of Directors for Adirondack Wild, Dawson will discuss land management in the Adirondacks in his lecture titled “The Forest Preserve and Climate Change.” Dawson is a Professor Emeritus of Recreation Resources Management and former chair of Forest and Natural Resources Management at SUNY ESF.

He taught and performed research on wilderness management for 22 years and is the author of Wilderness Management, Stewardship and protection of resources and values with John C. Hendee. Now in its 4th edition it is the textbook used by most student’s studying wilderness management. He has authored numerous other research papers on wilderness and Forest Preserve subjects and presented at the 5th and 6th World Wilderness Congresses.

Please go to our website to reserve a seat at any of the upcoming lectures or you can buy a ticket at the main desk. The VIC building is open 7 days a week through Columbus Day. Stop by, the leaves are starting to change colors, lighting up the slopes of Jenkins and St. Regis Mountains with brilliant red and yellow tints a little more each day.

Future speakers and dates 10/2 Brad Edmondson, 10/7 Juan Perez-Mercader, 10/9 “Retired Forest Rangers” 10/14 Aileen O’Donoghue 10/16 Jerry Jenkins 10/21 Charlie Canham 10/23 Brian Mann 10/28 Julia Goren 10/30 Aaron Mair.