Cultural Events Calendar

In 2025, Scott Fitzwilliams retired from leading the 2.3 million-acre White River National Forest — the most visited in the country — for 15 years. Now, he speaks with local journalist Elizabeth Stewart-Severy, who has been working to uncover how changes at the White River National Forest will impact the public lands that surround our communities. They will discuss the threats to America’s public lands, why it matters, and what the public can do as the federal government has cut or eliminated thousands of U.S. Forest Service staff positions, reduced budgets for road and trail maintenance, promised to gut the National Environmental Policy Act, and indicated a major reorganization of the agency.

Presentations are Wednesdays at 6 pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO, and Thursdays at 6pm at Hallam Lake, in Aspen, CO. Please register.

Avians have been migrating between North and South America for millions of years, linking the hemispheres like only birds can do. In November 2025, people in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina and Aspen bridged this journey in a new way: through our Sister Cities program and our shared love of birds.

A small group of birders from the Aspen community traveled to Argentina and were hosted and guided by birders in Bariloche, facilitated through our Sister Cities relationship. In the process, they experienced a common interest through the lens of a new culture, explored iconic northern Patagonian ecosystems and the birds that inhabit them, and built bridges that promise to support an enduring connection.

Pinyon-juniper woodlands are among the most extensive and ecologically diverse ecosystem type in the southwestern United States. They support the largest remaining tracts of mature and old-growth forest in the country and are culturally important to many Indigenous peoples in the region. This talk explores the ecology of these woodlands, the challenges they face through various global change pressures, and ongoing stewardship and research efforts to sustain their resilience for future generations.

Presentations are Wednesdays at 6 pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO, and Thursdays at 6pm at Hallam Lake, in Aspen, CO. Please register.

Pinyon-juniper woodlands are among the most extensive and ecologically diverse ecosystem type in the southwestern United States. They support the largest remaining tracts of mature and old-growth forest in the country and are culturally important to many Indigenous peoples in the region. This talk explores the ecology of these woodlands, the challenges they face through various global change pressures, and ongoing stewardship and research efforts to sustain their resilience for future generations.

Presentations are Wednesdays at 6 pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO, and Thursdays at 6pm at Hallam Lake, in Aspen, CO. Please register.

A decade ago Bryan Smith bought his first camera at Walmart and started calling himself a filmmaker. Armed with a $500 handycam, he embarked on a kayaking expedition to the far reaches of Arunachal Pradesh, India. While his imagery barely cracked amateur status on that first expedition, his passion and persistence would carry him through the ranks of the industry in the span of just 10 years.

Chef Barclay Dodge of Michelin-rated Aspen restaurant, Bosq, is a flavor hunter as he searches for ingredients both in the wild and farmed. The small, independently owned and operated farms in the Roaring Fork Valley and North Fork Valley grow wonderful products with intention. Their sustainable practices are full of terroir.

The food from the woods around Bosq offer different flavors nurtured and stressed by the wild. It starts with the soil; for Chef Barclay and his team, it also starts with the relationships they have built with local farms and their knowledge of the wild. Working with these resources provides flavorful, life-force products that build the menu for Bosq’s guests.

After decades of drought, the American West is stretched to the breaking point. A changing climate and design flaws in the Glen Canyon Dam have pushed the once-massive Lake Powell reservoir to the brink of collapse—putting millions of people at risk who depend on the Colorado River for water, agriculture, and electricity. Now, as Glen Canyon reemerges, its surprising ecological rebirth reminds us that nature’s capacity to heal may well outpace our own imaginations. In this presentation, environmental journalist Zak Podmore will discuss his book Life After Dead Pool, which explores the complex challenges ahead and reframes the inevitable loss of Lake Powell as a turning point for a more sustainable future, debunking the notion that the West’s water challenges are unsolvable, and inviting us to secure a future where the Colorado River once again runs free.

Presentations are Wednesdays at 6 pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO, and Thursdays at 6pm at Hallam Lake, in Aspen, CO. Please register.

After decades of drought, the American West is stretched to the breaking point. A changing climate and design flaws in the Glen Canyon Dam have pushed the once-massive Lake Powell reservoir to the brink of collapse—putting millions of people at risk who depend on the Colorado River for water, agriculture, and electricity. Now, as Glen Canyon reemerges, its surprising ecological rebirth reminds us that nature’s capacity to heal may well outpace our own imaginations. In this presentation, environmental journalist Zak Podmore will discuss his book Life After Dead Pool, which explores the complex challenges ahead and reframes the inevitable loss of Lake Powell as a turning point for a more sustainable future, debunking the notion that the West’s water challenges are unsolvable, and inviting us to secure a future where the Colorado River once again runs free.

Presentations are Wednesdays at 6 pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO, and Thursdays at 6pm at Hallam Lake, in Aspen, CO. Please register.

years, she’s been deeply involved with two non-governmental organizations. One is dedicated to supporting indigenous and rural communities in their role as guardians of their natural resources. The second trains young people affected by poverty and gang violence in a vocational media arts program (photography, video, illustration, computer skills, marketing, publicity) that provides them with skills that open the door to life-changing opportunities. Using still photos and video clips, she will share her journey over the years, starting with their devastating civil war in the 1980s, and exploring its aftermath.

In this discussion, Dr. Brett Walker will review results from more than a decade of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s research on sagebrush-obligate birds in western Colorado. His projects reveal some new and unexpected patterns of habitat use and selection among Greater Sage-Grouse and Brewer’s Sparrows. These discoveries have also led to new recommendations for habitat treatments to offset Greater Sage-Grouse habitat loss from energy development, and expanded our understanding of how Greater Sage-Grouse populations fluctuate, and how individuals move in relation to leks during the breeding season.

Presentations are Wednesdays at 6 pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO, and Thursdays at 6pm at Hallam Lake, in Aspen, CO. Please register.