Register Online For The 2008 New Mexico Wilderness Conference

Click Here For A Copy Of The Agenda

The 2008 New Mexico Wilderness Conference will be a little different from years past.  This year the conference will predominately have women guest speakers.  We are honored to have Terry Tempest Williams give the keynote address. Terry Tempest Williams has been called "a citizen writer," a writer who speaks out eloquently on behalf of an ethical stance toward life.  A naturalist and fierce advocate for freedom of speech, she has consistently shown us how environmental issues are social issues that ultimately become matters of justice.  Terry Tempest Williams’ new book, Finding Beauty in a Broken World, will be released just in time for the conference.

Mary Beath, a local Albuquerque author, illustrator, and naturalist, will also be speaking at the event. Her book of poetry, Refuge of Whirling Light, received the Wrangler Award for Poetry and was a finalist for both the WILLA and Spur awards. Her latest book, Hiking Alone: Trails Out, Trails Home, is a collection of personal essays that have been described as “...generous sharings of a multi-faceted, intelligent mind...a courage-instilling book.”

Linda Rundell, State Director for the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico will also speak about the agency’s role in protecting Wilderness.

Throughout the conference we will offer two break-out sessions of wilderness related workshops.  Conference participants will have a choice of three different workshops during each session. 

Roberta Salazar, Executive Director of Rivers and Birds, will be presenting a special workshop focusing on birds in New Mexico.  Roberta has worked for over 18 years as a Wildlife Biologist and educator. Her passion for her cultural roots and natural heritage here in New Mexico, combined with her professional understanding of nature, inspired her to found Rivers and Birds.  Roberta believes that, for a healthy, peaceful future, we must all, children and adults alike, understand and strengthen our sense of self in relationship to the physical world around us.

Special  Workshop sessions by Robert Bawol of Laughing Waters Nature and Awareness School will also be a change from some of the traditional workshops we have offered in the past.  Robert synergistically practices and teaches awareness, wilderness, herbal and qigong energetic skills based on harmony and fusion with the Universe. He is currently writing a book about his rich experiences in these realms, entitled Tracks Through Wilderness, Energy, and Spirit which will be released in late 2008.  The two workshops he will present are:

• Basic Energetics of Wilderness Awareness
In this workshop you will be introduced to some of the basics of using your vision in a way akin to both ancient tribes and Masters of some of the internal martial and energetic arts. You will also begin the process of moving in such a way that you blend and fuse far more effectively with the pulsing rhythms of the wilderness.

• Solar, Celestial and Energetic Navigation Skills
In this workshop you will be introduced to practical and reliable ancient navigation tools. One of these tools is the little-known solar compass, which is surprisingly accurate and can be constructed in minutes. Using the patterns of the stars is also a powerful method for finding your way and even for estimating the passage of time. And finally, the skill of energetic sensitivity can be developed to such a high-level that you can find your way to a particular spot or person while you are blindfolded - believe it or not!

Additional workshops will be presented by New Mexico Wilderness Alliance staff including: Building Community for Wilderness, Wilderness First Aid for your Pet, and Wilderness Activism.

The conference will be held on October 11 at the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town, from 9AM to 4PM including lunch.  We will also host a book signing period with guest speakers and a special silent auction.  The cost of the conference is $50 or $45 for early-bird registration, July 1 through September 12.

We hope you can make it to celebrate women’s voices for wilderness.  It just may be our best conference yet!