As writer/photographer Stephen Trimble discovered while on assignment for Wasatch Journal magazine, mountain lions live silently among us along the Wasatch Front. But most of us know little about them—even as a cougar made national news when it attacked a 10-year-old boy in Arizona recently.

Find out more about the mountain lions in our midst—and how scientists, conservationists, and even developers are working to preserve a balance between humans and predators.

Moderated by KCPW public radio host Lara Jones, the panel discussion/public forum will address:

• Where do these lions live?
• What do they eat?
• What is being done to protect them—
and to smooth relations with their human counterparts living in the West?

Join us for discussion, refreshments, a slide show of Stephen Trimble’s photographs, and a chance to ask experts about Utah’s mountain lions. The event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by Wasatch Journal magazine, the Westminster College Environmental Studies program and Save Our Canyons.

For information, call 801-746-7067.

Panelists

Tom Becker is a wildlife biologist with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. He has worked for the division for 20 years and spent three years with a cougar research study conducted by Utah State University. He has an associate’s degree in biology and a bachelor of science degree from Utah State University.

Ann Neville has worked for Kennecott Utah Copper for 11 years and manages the biological resources for Kennecott’s 93,000-acre holdings. She serves on the Northern Regional Area Council for the Division of Wildlife Resources, the Kennecott Nature Center board, and the Great Salt Lake Alliance, and is secretary for the Utah Wetlands Foundation. A native Utahn, she obtained her bachelor’s degree at Weber State and her master’s degree in marine ecology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Kirk C. Robinson, a Utah native, taught philosophy at various universities in the Intermountain region before co-founding Western Wildlife Conservancy in 1996. He has degrees in philosophy and law, with a certificate in natural resources law from the University of Utah. He was a member of the working groups that wrote the current Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 10-year management plans for cougar and black bear.

David C. Stoner is a graduate research assistant working toward a Ph.D. at Utah State University. He is the project leader on the Utah State Cougar project, investigating cougar population dynamics, effects of hunting and urbanization, and refuge design.

Stephen Trimble, a photographer and writer based in Salt Lake City, wrote about mountain lions for Wasatch Journal magazine’s spring issue. For the story, he spent time in the field with Utah State University biologists and got the chance to photograph Cougar Number 12. Steve's 22nd book, Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America, will be published this spring.

Michael Wolfe has taught and conducted research at Utah State University since 1970. He has worked with the management of wildlife in a variety of ecosystems in the Intermountain West with particular interests in the management of big game animals and their principal predators. His recent work involves research on cougar ecology and management.