Finding Balance in a Changing World
September 24 - 27, 2015
FULL SCHEDULE / REGISTRATION
Check out Murray Hotel special discount rate of $84/night for festival participants.
The 11th annual Gila River Festival - Finding Balance in a Changing World - planned in and around Silver City, September 24 - 27, 2015, will explore the inherent tension between modern society's technological sophistication and our imperative to live within the bounds of the natural world. How do we balance humanity's needs and desires while living within the confines of nature, and with respect for other living beings? What does our current imbalance mean for the Gila River and its watershed?
Spaces available for the following field trips. Register TODAY before the September 17 deadline!
BEAR MOUNTAIN FOSSILS - Geology hike with Dave Menzie
Thursday, September 24, 8 am - noon 7 SPACES AVAILABLE
Registration fee: $16; REGISTER
Stand on the Continental Divide at the foot of Bear Mountain and see ocean fossils at 7,000 feet above sea level. Learn about real change through time as told by the local geology. Changes that shaped vast landscapes, changes in sea level, changes that drove different climates, and changes to life that left evidence found in the rocks of ancient Earth. Learn about the first appearance of life, the development of great families, mass extinctions, and how plate tectonics explains significant change to the earth and its life. See it all in rocks deposited over a span of 250 million years, and discover fossils of the Paleozoic Era with geologist David Menzie.
TAKE BACK THE RAIN - Bike tour of water harvesting projects with Stream Dynamics
Thursday, September 24, 1 pm - 4 pm 17 SPACES AVAILABLE
Registration fee: $16; REGISTER
Photo: Van Clothier
Urbanization has changed how water naturally drains from the landscape in our cities and towns. Streets, roofs, parking lots, and sewer systems collect stormwater, altering water flow, transporting contaminants, and impacting the health of our waterways. In order to address the negative impacts of urbanization on our watersheds, we need to learn how to take back the rain and work with nature through green infrastructure projects like rainwater harvesting to beautify our neighborhoods and improve watershed health. Join Van Clothier and Claire Catlett of Stream Dynamics, Inc.-a local business with 13 years of experience with stormwater management, water harvesting, and stream restoration-for a bike tour of current water harvesting features around downtown Silver City.
GILA RIVER NATIVE FLORA Field trip with naturalist and garden designer Cynthia Hunter
Thursday, September 24, 1 pm - 5pm 8 SPACES AVAILABLE
Registration fee: $16; REGISTER
Photo: GCC
How have the Gila's native plant communities changed in the last 200 years, after Europeans settled this area? What kinds of alterations can we expect in the future, as climate change continues to exert pressure on our flora? How can you help preserve our native flora? As our human communities continue to encroach on and impair wild places, converting your landscape to a habitat garden can help to slow the degradation and loss of plant and wildlife habitat. Join Cynthia Hunter, botanist, naturalist, and garden designer, for a slow walk along the Gila River.
UPPER GILA ARCHAEOLOGY, OBSIDIAN AND ANCIENT TOOLS with Archaeology Southwest
Friday, September 25, 8 am - noon 13 SPACES AVAILABLE
Registration fee: $16; REGISTER
Amy Henderson, 1994
Join archaeologists Karen Schollmeyer and Allen Denoyer for a tour of the Woodrow Ruin archaeological site and a discussion of archaeology on the Upper Gila. Local archaeology reveals a long record of how humans have both adapted to changes in the environment over time, and have also caused some changes in local landscapes and plant and animal communities. How does the unique archaeology of the Upper Gila reveal ancient strategies for handling enviro-nmental and social changes? There will be a demonstration of flintknapping techniques for creating points and other tools out of local Mule Creek obsidian, an important tool stone whose movement along trade networks across the Southwest reveals important information about social connections among ancient communities.
MONITORING THE RIVER Field trip with Martha Cooper and Ellen Soles
Friday, September 25, 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm 9 SPACES AVAILABLE
Registration fee: $16; REGISTER
Painting by Martha Cooper
Long-term monitoring sites at the upper end of the Cliff-Gila Valley, demonstrate how floods and flow pulses shape and sustain the floodplain and diverse habitat. Historic and current river management, such as grazing, levee building and irrigation, also influence riparian habitat and wildlife. Monitoring data demonstrate that groundwater levels respond to flows in the river, showing a close correspondence. Historic river channels, many of which have been mapped on old aerial photos, often function as secondary channels that carry water during elevated flows. Riparian vegetation establishes and survives on these topographically low areas. We will discuss the historic paths of the river, explore recent changes in the river channel, and look for vegetation patterns on the floodplain.
WILDERNESS PHOTOGRAPHY Studio Tour with Michael P. Berman
Saturday, September 26, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 13 SPACES AVAILABLE
Registration fee: $25; REGISTER
Photo: Michael P. Berman
Spend an afternoon in the Mimbres Valley studio of award-winning photographer Michael P. Berman. The studio itself is a work of art, made of straw bales and built in the classic style of New Mexico colonial churches. Nestled on a mesa above Gallinas Creek, you'll relish the inspiring, panoramic views of Cooke's Peak and the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert. Berman is known for his beautiful images of the landscape of northern Mexico and the American West, and is considered one of the early masters of black and white carbon pigment digital prints. You'll have a chance to look at Berman's prints, hear stories of his wilderness journeys, and learn about his studio and photography.
The full festival schedule is available at www.gilaconservation.org. For more information, contact the Gila Conservation Coalition at 575.538.8078 or info@gilaconservation.org.