Recent Press Release

Prehistoric Sustainability Talk Launches The Utah Museum of Natural History’s The Nature of Things Lecture Series on Feb. 19

How sustainable were the practices of the prehistoric peoples of America prior to the arrival of the Europeans?

That question will be investigated when the Utah Museum of Natural History’s Dr. Mitchell Power launches The Nature of Things Lecture series on Thursday, Feb. 19, at the City Library in downtown Salt Lake City. It starts at 7 p.m. Power’s lecture is open and free to the public, and it can also be heard live on KCPW at 88.3 or 105.3 on the FM dial.

The 2009 series will examine “Our Changing Relationship with the Natural World,” and it features four speakers. Power’s talk leads into the keynote speaker, the best-selling author and authority on sustainability, Thomas Friedman on March 10.

Power’s lecture, titled “Challenges to living in Prehistoric Americas: Climate change, fires and the arrival of Europeans,” takes the modern definition of sustainability and applies it to the prehistoric time in America. The goal is to see if the prehistoric Native Americans subscribed to sustainable practices.

“I want to look at the level of impact that the prehistoric people of America had on their natural environment,” said Power. “I’ve set up a hypothesis that revolves around the arrival of Europeans to the Americas. I call it, ‘The 1492 Hypothesis.’

“It’s known that the arrival of the Europeans brought new diseases to the Americas, and that it resulted in high mortality rates among the native people. If indeed the mortality rate was as far-reaching as theorized, then the demographic collapse would, in turn, result in a resurgence of the landscape.”

Last fall, Power published research that constructed the first-ever global database of charcoal, effectively charting the relationship between landscape change and fire history over the last two millennia.

“We’re exploring regions where populations were high and where we also have records of fire activity,” said Power. “We’ll look at both unpopulated regions like the Boreal Forest and more densely populated areas like Central and Tropical America. By comparing those two regions before and after the arrival of Europeans, I think it’ll paint a telling picture of the impact that prehistoric people in America had on their surroundings.

“I think we’ll see that the Native Americans were a resourceful people, and that the Americas weren’t this ‘raw and untouched’ land like Europeans and many 20th-century scholars have thought.”

The series continues after Power’s lecture on March 10 at 7 p.m., when Thomas Friedman talks about “Why we need a green revolution and how it can renew America” at Abravanel Hall. Tickets for the Friedman lecture are on sale through The Museum’s Web site, www.umnh.utah.edu, or through artTix. Prices for the tickets are $10, $18 or $35.

The Nature of Things lecture series, in partnership with the Hinckley Institute at the University of Utah, and underwritten by the R. Harold Burton Foundation, is in its third year.

2009 The Nature of Things: Our Changing Relationship with the Natural World
Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. at the City Library
Dr. Mitchell Power - Challenges to living in Prehistoric Americas: Climate change, fires, and the arrival of the Europeans

March 10 at 7 p.m. at Abravanel Hall
Thomas Friedman - Hot Flat and Crowded: Why we need a green revolution and how it can renew America

April 2 at 7 p.m. at the City Library
Dr. Fred Wagner - Global Warming, New Ecosystems, and a “No Analog Future”

April 23 at 7 p.m. at the City Library
Dr. Tyrone Hayes - From Silent Spring to Silent Night: Frogs as Canaries

Thomas Friedman to Headline Utah Museum of Natural History's "The Nature of Things: Our Changing Relationship with the Natural World"

Thomas Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a best-selling author and an authority on globalism, will headline The Utah Museum of Natural History’s “The Nature of Things” speaker series when he talks at Abravanel Hall on March 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are now available through the Museum at umnh.utah.edu/nature or at arTix, and they cost $10, $18 or $35.

Friedman is one of four guests set to speak at the series which will investigate “Our Changing Relationship with the Natural World.” Other featured lecturers include the Museum’s curator of the Garrett Herbarium Dr. Mitchell Power (Feb. 19), Utah State Professor Emeritus Dr. Fred Wagner (April 2) and Dr. Tyrone B. Hayes from the Department of Integrative Biology at California (April 23). The three featured speakers will be at the Main Library Auditorium in downtown Salt Lake City. Their lectures are free to the public, and will also begin at 7 p.m.

Lectures may also be heard live on KCPW at 88.3 or 105.3 on the FM dial.

“The Nature of Things” lecture series looks at nature in flux because we as humans both react to and help create those changes. The Utah Museum of Natural History created this lecture series to bring together experts from a variety of fields to explore the different aspects of our changing world. It invites the public to consider “the nature of change” and to ponder the future of our planet.

A nationally syndicated columnist, Friedman also penned the best-selling novel The World is Flat. One of America’s most incisive writers, he’ll discuss his latest book, Hot, Flat and Crowded, which has been on the New York Times Best Seller List since it was released in September, 2008.

Friedman's earlier book, The World Is Flat, helped millions see globalization in a new way. In Hot, Flat and Crowded, Friedman brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy—both of which could poison the world if action is not taken quickly and collectively. Friedman proposes that an ambitious national strategy—which he calls "Geo-Greenism"—is not only needed to save the planet from overheating; it is needed to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure.

Dr. Power will launch the speaker series on Feb. 19 when he examines natural changes in climate and new archaeological discoveries, shedding new light on the role of humans in shaping our relationship with the land during the past several thousand years. Co-author of a recently-published study linking climate change, humans and wildfire, Dr. Power will explore how climate variability and prehistoric land use practices can inform our definition of sustainability for the future.

Some scientists predict that global warming will have such a profound impact on communities of plants and animals that entire ecosystems will be completely rearranged, thus creating structures never seen before in nature. Dr. Wagner, who will be one of two speakers in April, has been active in the conversation about climate change for years. He will examine the question of new ecosystems as he discusses how changes affecting a single species can create a domino effect in the relationships between multiple species.

Dr. Hayes successfully theorized that frogs can indicate changes in our environment and threats to human health. Backed by fieldwork in both the United States and Africa, Dr. Hayes synthesizes ecological and evolutionary studies to learn how changes at an animal’s molecular level affect its ability to adapt to changes within its environment. Dr. Hayes’ eye-opening research demonstrates that threats to amphibian survival – such as endocrine-disrupting pesticides – are also linked to human reproductive problems and cancer.

“The Nature of Things” lecture series, in partnership with the Hinckley Institute at the University of Utah and underwritten by the R. Harold Burton Foundation, is in its third year.

Wild Birds of the American Wetlands to Premiere at the Utah Museum of Natural History

For more than a decade, photographer Rosalie Winard has traveled by foot, boat and ATV photographing America’s wetland birds and exposing the fragile nature of their habitats. Now, for the first time, these larger-than-life, ethereal photographs will be in Wild Birds of the American Wetlands, a new exhibition organized by the Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah. It will debut here on Nov. 1, and has been developed to tour nationally. The exhibition will run through Feb. 22.

"Winard focuses on a vivid array of birds with a keen eye, opening a window to their world,” notes Becky Menlove, director of exhibits and public programs at the Museum. “Her images capture humor, complexity, struggle and power. The birds dance and run and land with unconventional grace. They wear their feathers like Sunday hats and strut with their unbelievably long legs. They fly and dive, wade and wander—you’ll never look at birds the same way.”

Drawn in part from images in Winard’s recently released book of the same title, the photographs will come to life in this innovative exhibition. The book, published by Welcome books, was honored at the 2008 International Photography Awards (part of the Lucie Awards; “the Oscars” of the photography world).

"First and foremost, Rosalie Winard is an artist of restoration,” author Terry Tempest Williams said. “Through the act of witnessing these fragile enduring birds of America’s wetlands, she refuses to let their noble and imperiled lives remain hidden…”

The exhibition presents these images in a whole new light. Over 40 photographs are included and feature 18 different species of birds. Many are familiar species that can be seen at the Great Salt Lake and its surrounding wetlands.

"Inspiration for designing this exhibition came from the photos themselves,” said Tim Lee, the Museum’s senior exhibit designer.

“The first thing that struck me was the intimate quality of these photos; it was almost like I was peering into the private lives of these birds. But, I also noticed that she captured an amazing majestic quality of these birds. So, I felt it was important to balance the moments of intimacy with moments of broad magnificence. This exhibition allows people to step back to see their grandeur, but it also lets people get personal with the birds.

“We’ve created an exhibition that’s beautiful, and I hope people see that. But, I also hope that people see how these birds rely on their wetland habitat, and that everyone needs to be involved to ensure its protection.”

Programming around the exhibition offers multiple opportunities to interact with photographer Rosalie Winard. On December 1, she will speak at the University of Utah’s Skaggs Auditorium located at Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building (ASB 220). Following the talk, Winard will guide an exhibit walk-through and will be available to sign books at the Museum.

The following evening, Winard will be at the Downtown City Library for the Museum’s Science Movie Night where she will lead a discussion of the film “Kestrel’s Eye” and the habits and behaviors of Utah’s kestrels.

But, perhaps the most exciting opportunity will be on December 6 when Winard will lead a field trip to Great Salt Lake’s Farmington Bay. Co-led by avian biologist John Luft from Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources, this will be an opportunity to identify, photograph and learn about the wetland inhabitants here in Utah.

For additional programming in conjunction with Wild Birds of the American Wetlands, please see the complete list below.

Support for this exhibition has been received from Kennecott Utah Copper, C. Comstock Clayton Foundation, Marriner S. Eccles Foundation, Lawrence T. and Janet Dee Foundation, S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation, Ray, Quinney and Nebeker Foundation, Salt Lake County’s Zoo, Arts and Parks Program, Utah Arts Council and the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

The Museum is an active research institution that cares for over 1.2 million objects. It provides unique natural history experiences to Utah residents and tourists through traveling and permanent exhibits, special events and other programs. The museum also offers a variety of outreach programs to communities and schools throughout Utah, reaching every school district in the state annually. Its Web site is www.umnh.utah.edu, and its phone number is 801-581-6927.

Bugs, Bats and Bones at the Forefront of Utah Museum of Natural History’s What’s in the Basement?

There’s nothing to be scared of in the basement at the Utah Museum of Natural History. The annual What’s in the Basement? event, a behind-the-scenes tour at the Museum, is slated for Saturday, October 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regular Museum admission applies. This is the 15^th year that the Museum has put on What’s in the Basement?

This year’s theme for the one-day event is Bugs, Bats and Bones! Visitors will be able to tour all of the back rooms of the Museum and have the opportunity to talk with various collections staff. Approximately one percent of the objects are on display, with the other 99 percent stored away in the collections areas. In addition to the tours, visitors can participate in the following activities (the entire day offers many photo opportunities):

Do what archeologists do; excavate a “Pit House” and find actual artifacts
See bugs up with the Museum’s bug handlers, “The Bug Brigade”
Watch how DNA comes together to build a living creature
Attend Science Academy where lab and art collide
Participate in the Science Decathlon
Enjoy hand-on learning at numerous discovery carts
Discover the fascinating shell collection, and see how large clams get
Watch a pinecone open under heat

“One of the great things about the What’s in the Basement? event is that you can see how interesting bugs, bats and bones really are,” said Museum Director Sarah George. “They can be very fascinating, and they’re not as creepy as some people may think.”

Among many other exhibits at this year’s What’s in the Basement?, the herbarium will uncover the interconnected world of plants, bugs and fire; the anthropology department will show the utilitarian role bugs played in past societies; and the paleontology department will have fossilized bugs, bugs from preserved in the La Brea Tar Pits and bones that bugs gnawed on before the fossilization process took place.

“We’re excited to highlight live insects from around Utah for this year’s What’s in the Basement?,” said the Museum’s entomologist Christy Bills. “This will not only be a great opportunity to validate scientific enthusiasm, but it’s a great way to show everyone how the world of insects is both bizarre and wonderful.”

One of the more unique aspects of What’s in the Basement is the face-to-face interaction visitors have with the Museum’s scientists and curators. In addition to seeing the objects in storage, the Museum’s researchers share not only their knowledge with patrons, but their newest finds and the latest information that research today has to offer as well.

Download What's in the Basement? Press Release

New Utah Museum of Natural History Curator Offers Insight Among Climate Change, Human Activity and Wildfires

Study of last 2,000 years of charcoal evidence suggests human impacts have curtailed fires in most areas

For Immediate Release Sept. 22, 2008

Climate has been implicated by a new study as a major driver of wildfires in the last 2,000 years, but human activities, such as land clearance and fire suppression during the industrial era (since 1750) created large swings in burning, first increasing fires until the late 1800s, and then dramatically reducing burning in the 20th century.

The study by a nine-member team from seven-institutions co-led by Mitchell Power, the new curator of the Garrett Herbarium at the Utah Museum of Natural History and new associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Utah and Jenn Marlon, a doctoral student in geography at the University of Oregon appears online ahead of regular publication in the journal Nature Geoscience. The team analyzed 406 sedimentary charcoal records from lake beds on six continents.

A 100-year decline in wildfires worldwide from 1870 to 1970 was recorded despite increasing temperatures and population growth, researchers found. “From studying this global network of charcoal records, we were surprised to see a decrease in global biomass burned during those years,” said Power. “We are attributing this recent decrease to habitat fragmentation, expansion of agriculture, intensification of livestock grazing, and effective fire management.”

Members of the media are invited to the Museum’s Garrett Herbarium Monday, September 22, from 9:00 to 11:00 am to talk with Mitchell Power and see examples of charcoal core samples and other specimens from current research projects. The Museum is located at 1390 East Presidents Circle (approx. 200 South)

Observations of increased burning (as expressed by charcoal accumulating in lake beds) associated with global warming and fuel build-up during the past 30 years, however, are not the focus of this paper, but are a topic of current research by Power and colleagues.

The analysis of burnt plant material, or charcoal, has drawn increasing attention from researchers during the past 25 years because these data can track wildfire activity both incidence and severity over very long time periods, providing information for periods when similar data from satellites or fire-scarred trees do not exist. This study and one other study, published in the journal Climate Dynamics by Power and colleagues in June, are the first efforts to analyze a global network of charcoal records for reconstructing large-scale patterns and trends spanning thousands of years.

The importance of the data presented by Power and his colleagues is put into perspective of overall information about the history of fire in a "News & Views" article, also appearing online, written by Andrew C. Scott, an earth sciences researcher at Royal Holloway, University of London.

This new study suggests that during the last 2,000 years, global fire activity was highest between 1750 and 1870. "This was a period when several factors combined to generate conditions favorable to wildfires," said Jennifer Marlon. "Population growth and European colonization caused massive changes in land cover, and human-induced increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations may have started to increase biomass levels and fuels."

From A.D. 1 to about 1750, wildfires worldwide declined from earlier levels, probably resulting from a long-term global cooling trend that offset any possible influence of population growth and related land-use changes. Researchers pointed especially to charcoal evidence in western North America as an example of this trend. Similar records also were found in Central America and tropical areas of South America. In the western U.S. and in Asia, researchers noted, "initial colonization may have been marked by an increased use of fire for land clearance.”

Subsequently, the expansion of intensive agriculture and grazing, as well as forest management activities, likely reduced wildfire activity, Marlon said. "Our results strongly suggest that climate change has been the main driver of global biomass burning for the past two millennia," the researchers concluded. "The decline in biomass burning after A.D. 1870 is opposite to the expected effect of rising carbon dioxide and rapid warming, but contemporaneous with an unprecedentedly high rate of population increase."

As the new curator of the Garrett Herbarium at the Utah Museum of Natural History, Power intends to put the entire plant collection into a database and explore the causes of changing plant distribution through time. The collection contains over 126,000 plant specimens that have been collected over the last 150 years. It is the second largest collection in Utah and ranks in the top 15 percent worldwide.

There are multiple agents of change, and our study on fire history suggests that climate and humans have had important roles in the past. Once the entire herbarium collection has been entered into a database, we will explore historical linkages among plant distributions, climate, disturbance and humans,” said Power.

Power’s experience with the charcoal database resulted in many surprising and notable outcomes, and he anticipates many new discoveries from the Garrett Herbarium collection. “This collection is remarkable for many reasons. Its ability to examine the responses of individual plants to historical changes in climate and human-related activities is a powerful tool for understanding how much climate and land-use change will be too much for some species,” said Power.

“There are multiple agents of change, and our study on fire history suggests that climate and humans have had important roles in the past. Once the entire herbarium collection has been entered into a database, we will explore historical linkages among plant distributions, climate, disturbance and humans,” said Power.

The other six co-authors with Power and Marlon were: Patrick J. Bartlein and Daniel G. Gavin, professors in the geography department and members of the Environmental Change Research Group; C. Carcaillet of the Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology in Montpellier, France; S.P. Harrison and I.C. Prentice, both of the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom; P.E. Higuera of Montana State University in Bozeman, and Mont.; Fortunat Joos of the Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research in Bern, Switzerland.

The U.S. National Science Foundation and U.K. Natural Environment Research Council were the primary funders of the research. To learn more about the Global Palaeofire Working Group, visit: http://www.bridge.bris.ac.uk/projects/QUEST_IGBP_Global_Palaeofire_WG

Sources:

Mitchell Power, curator of Garrett Herbarium at the Utah Museum of Natural History (801-581-6120) and associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Utah, (801-581-8281)

Jenn Marlon, doctoral student, geography

Patrick Bartlein, professor of geography

Download Global Charcoal History Press Release

UMNH and Zions Bank Open New Traveling Treasures Exhibit At Downtown Branch

Objects from a comprehensive Native American collection discovered at a yard sale will travel the state.

For Immediate Release January 23, 2008

For over 50 years, Utah resident Dorothy Haslam explored the Four Corners region while traveling with her husband Kenneth through the territories of Navajo, Ute, Apache, Hopi, Zuni, and other tribal areas. Like many who visit this area, she became enamored with Native American art. Soon she was collecting in earnest. By the end of her life, she had amassed a sizeable collection—over 600 art objects that includes stunning jewelry, marvelous rugs, incredible beadwork, and lively Katsinas.

The unique thing about this collection is how it was discovered. University of Utah Geology Professor Marjorie Chan, an avid collector also, stumbled upon the collection a few years ago while at a yard sale held by the Haslam family. After further questioning by Chan, the family took her down into their basement where she couldn’t believe her eyes and learned that the collection was one of the largest of its kind. Impressed with their variety and beauty, Chan told the Utah Museum of Natural History about the items and the Collectors Council, a group of community members who are interested in helping the Museum grow certain aspects of the collections, took it from there to raise the necessary funds.

“I knew these items were too important for me or another private collector to keep,” said Chan. “The collection needed to stay together and belonged at the Utah Museum of Natural History, where it could be accessible to all.”

Building on to a $100,000 donation from Zions Bank, the Collectors Council raised the additional $80,000 to secure this immense collection that now resides at the Museum and will be shared with Utah residents around the state. In honor of the Zions donation, the collection will now be formally called The Zions Bank Four Corners Collection.

“The Museum is very grateful to Zions Bank for its on-going support of the Museum in many areas,” said Sarah George, executive director. “Making this beautiful collection available to the public never would have happened had it not been for Zions’ involvement, and we thank them graciously,” said George.

As Mrs. Haslam regularly shared her treasured objects and the stories that surrounded them with members of her Salt Lake community, it was the wish of her family that the Museum continues with this tradition. Being the state’s natural history museum, this request fit perfectly with its mandate and through its established Traveling Treasures program, in partnership with Zions Bank, selected collection objects will now travel the next two years to various parts of the state in the exhibit Connecting Cultures: The Zions Bank Four Corners Collection. Many of the objects will also be displayed in the new Museum building, slated to open in 2010.

“As Utah’s oldest local bank, Zions is honored to be associated with such a quality collection that showcases our region’s Native American artistic tradition,” said Zions Bank CEO Scott Anderson. “And we are delighted that the Museum chose to make it the theme of this year’s Traveling Treasures exhibit. Now, residents around the state can enjoy such a beautiful collection,” said Anderson.

Download Zions Bank Four Corners Collection Press Release

Museum on the Move Kicks Off Fall School Season with New Programs

Utah Museum of Natural History Responds to teachers' needs of hands-on materials in the classroom

For Immediate Release October 25, 2007

For children who have never held a fossil millions of years old, guessed what foods an animal ate by examining its jaw and teeth, or determined the differences among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks by touching samples hundreds of years old, Museum on the Move, now in its 12th year, is providing school children across the state with these natural history discoveries and much more.

The Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah offers this "rolling museum," packed full of real objects and artifacts to give students "hands-on" learning experiences in the natural sciences. The program’s content is tied directly to the science core curriculum for the 4th grade. Today at Santaquin Elementary School, Museum representatives will discuss how a partnership among the Utah Legislature, the Museum, and the State Office of Education deliver effective science education for Utah students, assists resource-strapped teachers with science curriculum and materials, and demonstrates that the natural sciences can be educational and engaging at the same time.

During the 2007 school year, Museum on the Move educators traveled almost every day of the year and visited over 200 elementary schools, reaching 36 of the 40 school districts. This equates to approximately reaching 47,700 students statewide.

Over this past year, teachers from around the state have been communicating to local and state officials that, in addition to the quality outreach programs, they need more science instruction and materials that they can use in the classroom throughout the year. The Utah Legislature responded by creating iSee and supporting Museum on the Move. Other members of ISEE include Clark Planetarium; the Children’s Discovery Gateway Museum, and the Living Planet Aquarium.

New aspects of the Museum on the Move program to be highlighted today include:

• A revised kit on the Great Salt Lake that offers an interconnected look at the lake, the salt flats, and the wetlands.

• A new fossils materials kit that will be available at all 40 school districts for teachers to check out during the year

• A new teacher workshop that will provide instruction on how to incorporate inquiry-based teaching methods in the classroom

• A third outreach van and a third outreach staff person, making it possible to reach more schools

“This is an exciting day for us,” said Lorie Millard, education outreach manager for the Museum. “It is my job to ensure that we are providing services that are inquiry based, innovative and rich in scientific content for our teachers and students statewide.”

Millward continued to explain that the programs also provide teachers with the scientific knowledge and techniques needed in today's classroom. “This is especially necessary in terms of providing materials and experiences to schools that do not have the resources to travel to the Museum."

The Utah Museum of Natural History, an active research institution located at the University of Utah, is the state’s natural history museum and cares for over 1.5 million objects. In addition to providing unique natural history experiences to Utah residents through exhibits, special events, and programs on site, the museum offers a variety of outreach programs to communities and schools, reaching every district in the state during the year. Planning is underway for the new Utah Museum of Natural History, set to open in 2010, just south of Red Butte Garden in the Foothill Cultural District.

Download UMNH Museum on the Move Press Release

Contact Information:

Patti Carpenter, media relations, Utah Museum of Natural History
Office 801-585-6369, cell 801-910-6397, pcarpenter@umnh.utah.edu

Darrell Kirby, media specialist, Utah Museum of Natural History
Office 801.585.6369, dkirby@umnh.utah.edu<-->