Author John Clayton lectures on ‘Birth of Public Lands’ at Elk River
Elk River Arts & Lectures opens its 2020 lecture series with a talk by Red Lodge author John Clayton on the origin story of America’s public lands. The event will be held Thursday, March 12th, at Livingston’s Elk River Books.
Clayton’s talk will be based on research for his most recent book, Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of America’s Public Lands. In it, he “shows how the forces of conservation and preservation, Progressivism and anti-monopolism, science and spiritualism, East and West, united in the 1890s behind the idea that a democratically elected government should permanently own and manage land. Clayton tells stories of heroes both well-known (naturalist John Muir, President Theodore Roosevelt) and quirky (botanist Charles Sargent, Congressman William Holman).
“Audiences gain an understanding of the societal problems that public lands were designed to conquer. And in discussions of the 1890s’ mass extinctions, income inequality, public skepticism about science, and dysfunctional Congress, they may gain historical perspective on today’s challenges as well.”
John Clayton is a nonfiction writer who is drawn to the intersection of history, nature and culture. His book Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon won the High Plains Book Award. His previous books include The Cowboy Girl: The Life of Caroline Lockhart and Stories from Montana’s Enduring Frontier. He often writes for the Montana Quarterly and Big Sky Journal, among other magazines.
During Clayton’s visit – which is made possible through Humanities Montana’s Montana Conversations program – will also include a meeting with students at Park High School. The free, public event will take place at 7pm upstairs at Elk River Books, located at 120 N Main in Livingston.
Elk River Arts & Lectures is a nonprofit organization that brings writers to Livingston for free public readings, and provides opportunities for those writers to interact with local public school students. For more information, call (406) 333-2330 or visit www.elkriverarts.org. •
