ANN ARBOR—James Lyons, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary, will discuss key federal conservation initiatives on Wednesday (April 5) on the University of Michigan campus.

His talk, “Conservation Initiatives of the Clinton Administration: Steps Toward a Sustainable Future,” takes place at 4 p.m. in Room 1040, Dana Building. It is free and open to the public.

Among the topics Lyons will address are protecting roadless areas in the national forests, moving the U.S. Forest Service toward science-based, collaborative management, and promoting more ecologically sustainable private land management practices.

The talk is part of a kickoff event for the new Ecosystem Management Initiative at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE). The goal of the initiative is to imagine, evaluate, and promote ways that natural resources can be managed more sustainably, according to director Steven L. Yaffee, professor of natural resource and environmental policy.

The Initiative is supported by a challenge grant from William L. and Sally B. Searle of Chicago, who also sponsored the Theodore Roosevelt Professorship of Ecosystem Management at SNRE.

An interdisciplinary effort, the Initiative builds on existing SNRE programs, including landscape ecology, collaborative resource management, and ecological restoration, among others.

“Our agenda is to help change the practice of natural resource management on the ground by building the skills of practitioners, providing new ideas and case studies of successful management, and creating a place where managers, researchers and policy makers can interact,” says Yaffee.

“We hope to leverage the enormous capabilities of the University to assist decision makers and practitioners in making the changes necessary for a new century of conservation.”

James LyonsU.S. Forest ServiceSchool of Natural Resources and EnvironmentTheodore Roosevelt Professorship of Ecosystem Management