The Deschutes Public Library, Oregon Historical Society, and the Deschutes County Historical Society have joined forces and invite the public to a discussion about the history of water rights and use in Oregon and beyond. The program gathers renowned scholars with the community to address several topics, including: development of the Deschutes River Basin; influence of the environmental movement on water control and usage, particularly within the context of climate change; and how communities address and resolve water conflicts in the United States and across the globe.

Our speakers:

W. Todd Jarvis is the Interim Director of the Institute for Water & Watersheds at Oregon State University, one of the 54 Water Resources Research Institutes located across the United States celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Water Resources Research Act of 1964. Todd is a consulting groundwater hydrologist with nearly 30 years of experience working for global water/wastewater engineering and groundwater engineering firms. With professional licenses as a Certified Engineering Geologist, Certified Water Right Examiner, and Certified Mediator, his interests include transboundary aquifers, groundwater and water well conflict resolution, and education in water science and policy. His new book Contesting Hidden Waters: Conflict Resolution for Groundwater and Aquifers is available through Earthscan: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415632935/.

Joshua Howe is Assistant Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Reed College. His new book, Behind the Curve: Science and the Politics of Global Warming (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014), explores the political history of climate change since the 1950s, and he continues to work on historical questions about sustainability and the global environment that bridge environmental history, the history of science, and the history of American foreign policy. Originally an Idahoan and now an Oregonian, Josh is also particularly interested in the local and state level political responses to the potential impacts of climate change on the resources of the American West. When he is not in the region’s archives and universities studying its history, you can find him fishing in its rivers, riding its waves, exploring its deserts, and playing in its mountains.

William L. Lang is Emeritus Professor of History at Portland State University, a member of the Oregon Historical Society Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Oregon Encyclopedia. He is author or editor of six books on Pacific Northwest history, including Confederacy of Ambition: William Winlock Miller and the Making of Washington Territory, Two Centuries of Lewis & Clark (with Carl Abbott), and Great River of the West (with Robert Carriker).



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