Stephen Pyne is currently a writer,  urban farmer, and emeritus professor at Arizona State University.  He has written major fire histories for America, Canada, Australia, Europe (including Russia), and the Earth, and most recently The Pyrocene. How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next.  Among books that deal with the Colorado Plateau are Grove Karl Gilbert, a biography of the explorer and geologist, and How the Canyon Became Grand.  In a former life he was a member of the North Rim Longshots for 15 seasons at Grand Canyon.

Dr. Pyne will be giving the free public keynote address to kickoff the 16th Biennial Conference of Science and Management for the Colorado Plateau and Southwest. The conference is a orum that brings together resource managers and research scientists to discuss findings and management needs associated with the lands, resources, and cultures of the Colorado Plateau and the larger southwestern United States. Climate change, energy development, invasive species, human population growth, and other challenges affect water availability, natural systems, biodiversity and communities throughout the Southwest.