Former Bureau of Land Management deputy director to speak at WWU today, Jan. 22

Geoff Middaugh, former 1st Deputy Director of Bureau of Land Management National Landscape Conservation and independent contractor for the United States Agency for International Development, will speak at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in Communications Facility Room 125 at Western Washington University.

The event is free, open to the public and is part of the WWU Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series.

Middaugh’s talk, “Modernization of ‘Multiple Use:’ A Forest Resource Protection Concept for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” is the first of five in the annual Huxley Speaker Series. The goal of the series is to bring together the environmental studies and environmental science communities along with WWU and Bellingham community members to discuss matters of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

Middaugh will discuss how, after an assessment of forested landscapes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was found that policies for protected area management are influenced by the understanding of the biophysical environment and forest use and settlement. Historical use and settlement must be taken into consideration when managing protected areas, especially in regions with histories of conflict.

Middaugh will emphasize how modernization of multiple use can be a new approach to providing policy support for economic development and resource protection in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Middaugh worked for the BLM for 33 years and has executive management experience in many areas of multiple-use natural-resource management, including wilderness, Land and Water Conservation Act funding and land use planning. He has worked with local and state governments on interagency projects and developed national policy and legislative proposals.

For more information on this presentation please contact David Rossiter, an assistant professor of environmental studies within the Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-3603 or David.Rossiter@wwu.edu.

Huxley College's academic programs reflect a broad view of the physical, biological, social and cultural world. This innovative and interdisciplinary approach established Huxley College as a leader in the field nearly 40 years ago. Since then the College has continued to lead, earning international recognition for the quality of its programs, the expertise of its faculty and the knowledge of its graduates.