Hailey Public Library will dive into the community Winter Read on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. with “Science of Home: Connecting Rivers and Their Communities,” a virtual talk by Dr. Colden Baxter, Idaho State University biological sciences professor and Stream Ecology Center director. RSVP to kristin.fletcher@haileypubliclibrary.org.
“Colden has long been fascinated by the science of streams and is a nationally recognized stream ecologist,” commented Kristin Fletcher, HPL programs director. “Recently, he’s been looking at the relationship between rivers and nearby communities and multi-generational science. In this talk he will explore the nature of streams, rivers and their watersheds and how human perceptions and behaviors influence, but are also influenced by, rivers.”
During the talk, Baxter will share and discuss descriptions and illustrations of an approach to ecology (the “science of home”) centered on the home streams and rivers of our region—an approach that explicitly connects rivers and their communities, and attempts to do so across generations of scientists. In the spirit of this generational theme, Baxter will draw on his experiences and learning from his predecessor and mentor at Idaho State University, the late Wayne (“Doc”) Minshall. He will also be joined by James Paris, a current doctoral student at ISU who grew up in Hailey along the Big Wood River and whose place-centered ecological research has been conducted in close partnership with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
Dr. Baxter is a professor and director of the Stream Ecology Center at Idaho State University. He grew up ranching and exploring rivers with his family, principally in northwest Montana and northern Idaho. He received training in biology and geology (B.A., Univ. Oregon), ecology (M.Sc., Univ. Montana), fisheries science and philosophy of science (Ph.D., Oregon State Univ.), and food web studies (postdoctoral fellowship, Colorado State Univ. & Hokkaido Univ., Japan).
