On September 12, National Geographic photographic Joe Riis drew a full house of approximately 265 to the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law’s Sutherland Moot Courtroom for a lecture titled “Pronghorn Passage and Other Conservation Stories from Around the World.”
“I’m more of a biologist and conservationist than a photographer,” Riis modestly averred, before sharing dozens of his stunning images of antelope, bear, amphibians, and wolves, among other wild creatures.
Much of the lecture focused on the seasonal migration pathways between the Tetons and the plains of southern Wyoming long used by a herd of pronghorn antelope. Riis detailed efforts to mitigate human population growth and development along the route, including public education efforts, the replacement of sheep fences with wildlife-friendly fencing and the construction of new wildlife “overpasses” near Pinedale, Wyoming that were designed to reduce wildlife-traffic accidents on the well-traveled highway in the area.
Riis also discussed his work in Venezuela and in Mongolia, where he was part of an expedition that photographed a very endangered species of vegetarian bears in the Gobi Desert.
The lecture was sponsored by the Wallace Stegner Center and supported by the Cultural Vision Fund and the Nature Conservancy in Utah.
Click here to read a longer account of his presentation from the Daily Utah Chronicle.