Friends of Alta Speaker Series

The Friends of Alta Speaker Series is in its second year!

Held at various locations in Alta and Salt Lake, these free events are a great way to learn more about the environment of Little Cottonwood Canyon and Utah!

Dates for future events will be announced soon. Make sure to RSVP as they are likely to fill up quickly!

There is no fee to participate in this event, but donations are welcomed.

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Speaker Series Talks

Upcoming Educational Talks

Great Salt Lake: Decreases in lake level = increases in attention and opportunity
Wed, Mar 26
Location is TBD - Alta, UT
Join Friends of Alta and Laura Vernon for a special talk about Ecology, economics, and the future of Great Salt Lake. Learn more about Great Salt Lake and what you can do to help.
RSVP
How desert dust influences snow melt and water supply
Wed, Apr 16
Location is TBD - Alta, UT
Join Friends of Alta and Professor McKenzie Skiles to learn how dust from urban and natural sources, such as the Great Salt Lake, impacts snowpack.
RSVP

Meet the Speakers

Learn more about the amazing speakers for our 2025 speaker series!

Laura Vernon

Learn More

Laura Vernon is the Great Salt Lake Basin Planner with the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Water Resources. For nearly 20 years she has worked with federal, state, and local governments and industry leaders on contemporary planning and environmental policy issues in the West. With a Master’s in Public Administration and BA in Psychology, her education and professional experience focuses on land use and water planning, public involvement, socioeconomic analyses, project management and strategic planning. She has worked on numerous exciting and innovative Great Salt Lake-related projects over the last 10 years including the development of the 2013 Great Salt Lake Comprehensive Management Plan and the recent explorations of the economic and ecological impacts of a declining Great Salt Lake. Currently, Laura is managing the first-ever Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Basin Plan.

McKenzie Skiles

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My research interests include snow hydrology, light absorbing particulates in snow/snow energy balance, remote sensing of the cryosphere, and cryosphere-climate interaction. My research methods combine numerical modeling with laboratory analysis and field/remotely sensed observations. One of my main research trajectories is investigating the impacts of mineral dust/black carbon deposition on snow in the Western US, where changing snowmelt patterns have important implications for water security.

Austin Green

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Austin joined Sageland Collaborative in early 2024 and is so excited to be on the team! He received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah under the tutelage of Dr. Cagan Sekercioglu in the Biodiversity and Conservation Ecology Lab. His doctoral research involved creating and co-running Wildlife Watch, which he then used to answer an assortment of ecological questions about how human influence alters wildlife behavior and distribution across Utah and abroad using cutting-edge statistical modeling. With the project lending itself well to community and student involvement, Austin then began leading an undergraduate research lab at the University of Utah through the Science Research Initiative, which he continues today.

David Bowling

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Our research group studies how environmental and climate change affect the carbon and water cycles of forests, grasslands, and shrublands of the mountain West. We investigate 1) how living things are affected by biological, physical, and chemical factors, 2) how living things modify their environment, and especially 3) processes that control cycling of carbon, water, and nutrients within ecosystems. This work is interdisciplinary, merging basic science approaches from ecology, hydrology, atmospheric science, and geochemistry. We use a combination of field observations and instrumentation, manipulative experiments, and modeling.

Talks & Recordings

Learn more about past and future talks, as well as watching recordings of previous educational talks.

2024 Winter

Secrets of The Greatest Snow On Earth

Presented by Jim Steenburgh

Speaker Bio

Friends of Alta welcomes Jim Steenburgh, author of "Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth", and Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the U.

Recording

2024 Summer

Mountain Forests in a Changing Climate

Presented by William Anderegg

Speaker Bio

Join Friends of Alta and Professor William Anderegg from the University of Utah for a presentation and discussion on the future of western US forests in a rapidly changing climate.

Recording

RSVP Link

2025 Winter

Great Salt Lake: Decreases in lake level = increases in attention and opportunity

Presented by Laura Vernon

Speaker Bio

Join Friends of Alta and Laura Vernon for a special talk about Ecology, economics, and the future of Great Salt Lake. Learn more about Great Salt Lake and what you can do to help.

Recording

RSVP Link

2025 Summer

Wildlife migratory habits / trail cams

Presented by Austin Green

Speaker Bio

Join Friends of Alta and Austin Green to learn more about migration habits of wildlife along the Wasatch Front and what trail cam footage has captured.

Recording

2024 Spring

From Alta to the Great Salt Lake: The Secrets of The Greatest Snowmelt

Presented by Paul Brooks

Speaker Bio

Join Friends of Alta and Paul Brooks from the University of Utah for a presentation and discussion on the importance of mountain snowmelt.

Recording

RSVP Link

2024 Fall

Greenhouse gases, Air Quality, and Future of the Wasatch Front

Presented by John Lin

Speaker Bio

Join Friends of Alta and Professor John Lin from the University of Utah for a presentation and discussion on Greenhouse gases, Air Quality, and Future of the Wasatch Front.

Recording

RSVP Link

2025 Spring

How desert dust influences snow melt and water supply

Presented by McKenzie Skiles

Speaker Bio

Join Friends of Alta and Professor McKenzie Skiles to learn how dust from urban and natural sources, such as the Great Salt Lake, impacts snowpack.

Recording

RSVP Link

2025 Fall

Fall leaf color - why does it change

Presented by David Bowling