{"id":6467035,"date":"2026-03-17T18:25:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T00:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/?post_type=tribe_events&#038;p=6467035"},"modified":"2026-03-17T18:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T00:25:02","slug":"public-lands-in-public-hands-for-the-public-good-engaging-law-policy-and-advocacy-to-protect-our-shared-natural-heritage-the-annual-boulder-county-nature-association-ecosymposium","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/event\/public-lands-in-public-hands-for-the-public-good-engaging-law-policy-and-advocacy-to-protect-our-shared-natural-heritage-the-annual-boulder-county-nature-association-ecosymposium\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Lands in Public Hands for the Public Good: Engaging law, policy, and advocacy to protect our shared natural heritage &#8211; The annual Boulder County Nature Association Ecosymposium"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Public Lands in Public Hands for the Public Good: Engaging law, policy, and advocacy to protect our shared natural heritage &#8211; The annual Boulder County Nature Association Ecosymposium<\/h1>\n<p>When: April 4, 9am-3pm<\/p>\n<p>Where: Avalon Ballroom, Boulder<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bcna.org\/2026ecosymposium\/\">ENTRADAS AQU\u00cd!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>We all cherish these public lands\u2014our forests, creek, grasslands, and our many parks and trails. Most of us in Boulder County think of public lands as a shared good and a reservoir of natural and cultural bounty held by the government for the benefit of current and future ecosystems, residents, and visitors.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, about 242,000 acres of Boulder County&#8217;s roughly 474,000 total acres are held as public open space or federal lands. Thus, this is a particularly apt topic for us at a time when public lands face a range of complex and evolving challenges. Decisions made at the federal, state, and local levels impact funding, staffing, land management priorities, historical interpretations, conservation protections, and land use.<\/p>\n<p>Once land is developed or ecosystems are significantly altered, it can be difficult &#8211; or impossible &#8211; to fully restore what was lost. Understanding how decisions are made, who is involved, and what tools exist for public engagement is an important part of caring for these shared places.<\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s ecosymposium will bring together speakers who work at the intersection of ecology, law, policy, and community engagement. Together, we will explore questions such as:<br \/>\nWhat does &#8220;public interest&#8221; mean when it comes to public lands?<br \/>\nHow are decisions about public lands made, and whose voices are included?<br \/>\nWhat roles do science, history, and community values play in land stewardship?<br \/>\nHow can individuals and organizations engage constructively to support the long-term health of public lands and to ensure public lands stay in public hands?<br \/>\nThis conference is an opportunity to step back from day-to-day demands and to think strategically, together, about how to safeguard the natural and cultural assets that define Boulder County and our region.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We all cherish these public lands\u2014our forests, creek, grasslands, and our many parks and trails. Most of us in Boulder County think of public lands as a shared good and a reservoir of natural and cultural bounty held by the government for the benefit of current and future ecosystems, residents, and visitors.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":6467036,"template":"","meta":{"_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","_tribe_events_is_hybrid":"","_tribe_events_is_virtual":"","_tribe_events_virtual_video_source":"","_tribe_events_virtual_embed_video":"","_tribe_events_virtual_linked_button_text":"","_tribe_events_virtual_linked_button":"","_tribe_events_virtual_show_embed_at":"","_tribe_events_virtual_show_embed_to":[],"_tribe_events_virtual_show_on_event":"","_tribe_events_virtual_show_on_views":"","_tribe_events_virtual_url":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"tribe_events_cat":[402,364,387,375,397,392],"class_list":["post-6467035","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tribe_events_cat-biodiversity","tribe_events_cat-climate","tribe_events_cat-community","tribe_events_cat-education","tribe_events_cat-land-management","tribe_events_cat-nature","cat_biodiversity","cat_climate","cat_community","cat_education","cat_land-management","cat_nature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/6467035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribe_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/6467035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6467038,"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/6467035\/revisions\/6467038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6467036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6467035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6467035"},{"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boulder.earth\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events_cat?post=6467035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}