Ideas, Speakers & Lectures

Wilderness Workshop

Wilderness Workshop’s mission is to protect the wilderness, water, and wildlife of western Colorado’s public lands. The organization works across more than four million acres of public lands to ensure their ecological integrity. They have led efforts to designate more than half a million acres of Wilderness and hundreds of thousands of roadless areas in western Colorado. Their efforts focus on protecting public lands from threats such as industrial development, climate change, and short-term exploitation, but perhaps more important is what they protect public lands for – intact and thriving ecosystems, a livable planet for current and future generations, and the moment of awe that can only be experienced in a wild place. Learn more at wildernessworkshop.org.

Naturalist Nights: The Science of Coexisting with Black Bears in Colorado

Aspen Public Radio

Published February 10, 2023 at 2:55 PM MST

This event was recorded on February 9, 2023, at ACES, as part of the 2023 Winter Naturalist Nights Series, in partnership with Aspen Public Radio.

About the Presentation

Dr. Stewart Breck has been conducting research on black bears in urban areas of Colorado for over 18 years, with 6 years of this research focused in Aspen. He will share results of this science which includes research on bear populations and behavior, patterns of human-bear conflict, and results of management efforts to reduce conflict in towns throughout Colorado and why this is important. He will also weave in a fair bit of storytelling, sharing anecdotes of how bears can inspire and humble, and end with a message of working together to achieve better outcomes for bears and people.

Each winter, Wilderness Workshop, the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), and Roaring Fork Audubon partner to co-host the popular Naturalist Nights speaker series; nature specialists from around the country were invited to talk about their studies for a special opportunity to inform the public on the nature around us, and give insight into the science that can potentially affect the way that we interact with our environment.

About the Speaker

Dr. Breck is a research wildlife biologist with USDA-Wildlife Services-National Wildlife Research Center, an assistant director of the Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence at Colorado State University, and a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bear Specialist Group focused on human-bear conflict mitigation. His work focuses on doing the science and outreach that enhances coexistence between large carnivores and people. Ongoing research is focused on coyotes, wolves, black bears, grizzly bears, jaguars, and polar bears with the goals of minimizing conflict, enhancing carnivore conservation, and enhancing human wellbeing and livelihood.