Photo: South Falls at Silver Falls State Park in Silverton, Oregon. J.D. Drake. WHC 2013.007.0008

Join the Willamette Heritage Center for a monthly roundtable about a topic selected straight from the headlines. This month's topic is about the heavy use of Oregon's parks, campgrounds and wilderness areas. With these areas in such high demand, questions and controversies about new regulations at Opal Creek, overcrowding at Crater Lake, and increased fees at state parks have come up. Public lands attract controversies in other ways, from the “rogue” National Parks Twitter account resisting efforts to reduce National Parks Service funding to the 2016 militant takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. This program will explore the political, cultural, and social history of controversies and debates in and about Oregon’s spectacular natural public spaces.

Participants will hear experts bring historical context to current events and then join the conversation. This event is free and open to the public. Read more. This is an Oregon Humanities grant-funded event.