(SANTA BARBARA, CA)— The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) and UCSB History Associates are pleased to present When Worlds Collide: Fracking and Community in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. in the Presidio Chapel (123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara).

 

In July 2012, the Bureau of Land Management announced a two-week public scoping period for its decision to fulfill its mandate under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to “explore for and develop oil and gas resources on public lands through a competitive leasing process” on 343,439 acres in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Included in these lands were 13,300 acres on the Cebolla Mesa, in the heart of the 2 million acre Rio Chama Basin. As a result of community responses, the BLM deferred action in February 2014, “pending further analysis.” Professor James Brooks will discuss his work with more than 100 citizens, largely organized from the historic village of Abiquiu, who have mounted a “cultural defense” of water rights in the region.

 

An award-winning historian, Professor Brooks has rejoined the UCSB faculty in the History and Anthropology Departments after serving as President of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe. He has held appointments at the University of Maryland and UC Berkeley, and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Western National Parks Association, which supports research, preservation and education in 67 National Parks, including Channel Islands National Park.

 

CALENDAR LISTING

When Worlds Collide: Fracking and Community in

Rio Arriba County, New Mexico

Lecture by Dr. James Brooks

Date: Thursday, May 14, 2015

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Location: Presidio Chapel, 123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara
Cost: $5 Admission Non-members;

UCSB History Associates and SBTHP Members Free

 

ABOUT UCSB History Associates— The UCSB History Associates was created in 1987 with the dual purpose of bringing members of the community interested in history together with UCSB faculty through an annual program of lunches and lectures, and raising money to support graduate training in History at UCSB