Michael Dombeck, former head of the USDA Forest Service, will sign his new book, co-authored with two other nationally known conservationists, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Dombeck, now Pioneer Professor of Global Environmental Management (GEM) and UW System Fellow of Global Conservation at UWSP�s College of Natural Resources, will greet guests and sign copies of his book, "From Conquest to Conservation: Our Public Lands Legacy," in the University Store of the University Center, 1015 Reserve St. Copies of the book, published by Island Press, Washington, D.C., will be available for purchase in hardcover for $40 and softbound for $22.50. This will be the first in a series of similar events throughout the country.

"From Conquest to Conservation" is a new work from three of the nation�s most knowledgeable experts on public lands. As chief of the Forest Service, Mike Dombeck became a lightning rod for public debate over issues such as the management of old-growth forests and protecting road-less areas. Dombeck also directed the Bureau of Land Management from 1994 to 1997 and is the only person ever to have led the two largest land management agencies in the United States. His co-authors, Chris Wood and Jack Williams, have similarly spent their careers working to steward public resources. The authors bring insight into the challenges facing public lands and how those challenges can be met.

They examine the history of public lands in the United States and consider the most pressing environmental and social problems facing public lands. Drawing heavily on fellow Forest Service employee Aldo Leopold�s land ethic, they offer specific suggestions for new directions in policy and management that can help maintain and restore the health, diversity and productivity of public land and water resources, both now and into the future.

Also featured are essays from leading writers, thinkers, and scientists--including Bruce Babbitt, Rick Bass, Patricia Nelson Limerick, and Gaylord Nelson--about the importance of public lands and the threats to them, along with original drawings by William Millonig.

Dombeck, who received the 2003 Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology, came to UWSP in 2001. He also has received the Audubon Medal, the fourth Lady Bird Johnson Conservation Award from the LBJ Foundation, and the 2001 Presidential Rank Award as a Distinguished Executive for his role as chief of the Forest Service from 1997 to 2001. He recently was named to the boards of the National Wildlife Federation, Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Johnson Foundation. A native of Stevens Point and a 1971 graduate of UWSP, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1997. He earned a master�s degree from the University of Minnesota and a doctoral degree from Iowa State University.

One of the most renowned and respected of contemporary conservationists, Dombeck dedicated a quarter of a century to managing federal lands and natural resources in the long-term public interest. His leadership in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and as former chief of the Forest Service impacted nearly 500 million acres. He is most noted for significant efforts toward watershed health and restoration, sustainable forest ecosystem management, sound forest roads and road-less area protection. He affected a moratorium on road building in 58.5 million acres in the national forests, and focused on the importance of old-growth forests and water.

Dombeck�s journey on the path to conservation has been life long. From his summers as a fishing guide in Wisconsin�s lake country, through his advanced studies in biology, to his acclaimed career in natural resource management, Dombeck has made protecting wildlife and wild places a priority, both personally and within the organizations he has served.

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