Past Events 2007

March 30, 2007

Day-long Symposium "Conservation Leadership: A View from the Field"

Key note speaker, Luther Propst, Executive Director of the Sonoran Institute

Luther Propst

Luther Propst co-founded and directs the Sonoran Institute, with offices in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona; Bozeman and Helena, Montana; Denver and Glenwood Springs, Colorado; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Mexicali, Mexico. The Sonoran Institute mission is to inspire and enable community decisions and public policies that respect the land and people of the West. The Institute focuses on conserving public lands, promoting “smart growth,” better managing water, reforming local and state energy and climate change policies – the core issues that define how the West is growing and changing. Under Propst’s guidance the Institute has grown to an annual budget of $6.2 million. The Sonoran Institute works in a wide variety of settings from the Delta of the Colorado River to the Canadian Rockies, and from Coastal California to the Rocky Mountain Front of central Montana. The Institute is now recognized as a leading practitioner of community-based, collaborative, and innovative conservation efforts to integrate conservation and economic values throughout the West. Previously, Propst practiced law, where he represented landowners, local governments, and organizations nationwide in land-use matters, and with World Wildlife Fund in Washington D.C. Propst received his law degree and master’s in regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Propst has co-authored three books, including Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities, published by Island Press, and frequently speaks and writes on Western conservation, growth management, economic development, and state trust lands. He serves on the boards of the National Conservation System Foundation, High Country News, the Murie Center, the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, and the Rincon Institute.