Central Wasatch Symposium Program Announced!

The Central Wasatch Commission announced the program for the inaugural Central Wasatch Symposium, a conference-style event that will bring together the various interests and stakeholders in the Central Wasatch for two days of expert panels, interactive workshops, and networking to take place on January 9^th and 10^th, 2025 at Millcreek City Hall.

During the Symposium, the CWC will be engaging the CWC’s Board of Commissioners, Stakeholders Council, Youth Council, partner agencies, and the public for presentations from leaders and experts working in each of the four interdependent systems of the Central Wasatch that the CWC focuses on – economy (world-renowned ski resorts as well as small businesses), transportation (how people travel to and around the Central Wasatch), recreation (year-round biking, hiking, skiing, climbing, picnicking and other recreational opportunities in the Central Wasatch), and environment (the land, water, air, vegetation communities, and wildlife that underpin the other three systems) of the Central Wasatch.

Terry Tempest Williams has been called a citizen writer, a writer who speaks and speaks out eloquently on behalf of an ethical stance toward life. A naturalist and fierce advocate for freedom of speech, she has consistently shown us how environmental issues are social issues that ultimately become matters of justice. So here is my question, she asks, what might a different kind of power look like, feel like, and can power be redistributed equitably even beyond our own species?

Known for her impassioned and lyrical prose, Terry Tempest Williams is the author of the environmental literature classics Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place; An Unspoken Hunger: Stories from the Field; Desert Quartet; Leap; Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert; The Open Space of Democracy; Finding Beauty in a Broken World; When Women Were Birds; Erosion: Essays of Undoing; The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of Americas National Parks; and The Story of My Heart by Richard Jeffries, as rediscovered by Brooke Williams and Terry Tempest Williams. She has collaborated with photographer Fazal Sheikh on The Moon Is Behind Us, with artist Mary Frank on A Burning Testament, and What My Body Knows, and she wrote the introductory essay for A Wild Promise by Allen Crawford. In 2024 she wrote text to accompany woodblock prints by Gaylord Schanilec for the fine press book Oracle Bones (Red Butte Press).

Following the keynote address, Symposium attendees will have the opportunity to attend presentations, expert panels, and breakout sessions covering the following topics:

• The Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area Act
• The Cottonwood Canyons Watershed
• Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest Plan 101
• Rock Climbing Across the Central Wasatch
• The Visitor Economy in Park City and Summit County
• Backcountry Skiing in the Central Wasatch
• An Introduction to the Biodiversity of the Central Wasatch
• Transportation Planning for the Central Wasatch
• The Unique Opportunities and Challenges of Leading a City Along the Central Wasatch Mountains
• The Current State and Future Outlook of the Ski Industry in the Cottonwood Canyons
• Forest Service NEPA and Public Participation
• Advancing Wildfire Mitigation and Defensible Space Initiatives in the Wasatch
• The History and Significance of Wilderness Designations within the Central Wasatch Mountains
• Avalanche Forecasting in the Central Wasatch Mountains
• A Crash Course in the State Legislative Process

“The Central Wasatch Symposium will be an opportunity for the public to engage in all the work of the Central Wasatch Commission over the course of two days.” Central Wasatch Commission Chair and Mayor of Millcreek, Jeff Silvestrini said, “It will spotlight the interdependence of the four systems of the Central Wasatch while bringing stakeholders and the public together for learning and networking. The Commission is especially pleased to welcome Terry Tempest Williams, a writer and poet with a specific connection to the Central Wasatch Mountains will provide the keynote address during this first annual event.”

Symposium Details

A conference spotlighting the four interdependent systems of economy, environment, recreation, and transportation in the Central Wasatch. Terry Tempest Williams will provide the keynote address.

When:

• Thursday, January 9th, 2025, 10:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, January 10th, 2025, 1:00 p.m. — 6:30 p.m.
• Doors open 45 minutes prior to start time each day.

Where:

• Millcreek City Hall, 1330 E Chambers Ave, Millcreek, UT 84106.
• Free parking is available on-site at Millcreek City Hall.

Cost Tiers for Entrance to Both Symposium Days:

• $50, general entrance + food and drinks + access to all breakout sessions.
• $10, student entrance + food and drinks + access to all breakout sessions.
• $75, general entrance + tabling expo table reservation + food and drinks + access to all breakout sessions.
• Free and discounted tickets are available to anyone who makes the request. Email samantha@cwc.utah.govfor the student code and to request free or discounted tickets.