Colorado State University Celebrates Natural Resources During 2005 Annual Nr Days

Recognizing the importance of natural resources globally, Colorado State University’s College of Natural Resources will hold an annual week-long event, NR Days, March 28-April 1.

Dating back to the mid-1940s, NR Days is a long-standing Colorado State tradition celebrating the College of Natural Resources’ significant international, national and local research, programs, faculty and students.

As part of Colorado State’s NR Days, Russell George, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, will present "Perspectives on Colorado’s Natural Resources: Present & Future" at 4 p.m. March 31 in Ammons Hall on the university campus. A reception will immediately follow his presentation.

Prior to being appointed to executive director of DNR, George served as director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife beginning in 2000. In 1999, he was elected by his peers as Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. He was named "Legislator of the Year" by The Associated Press in 1994 and 1996. George also is a Colorado State alumnus.

Student-planned NR Days activities on the Lory Student Center Plaza include live performances by local bands including Head for the Hills on March 28 and 3 Peas on March 30. Other activities will take place every day on the LSC Plaza during the week-long celebration. March 28 activities include a three-legged wader race and goldfish pool. Rock bowling, a tug-of-war contest and a rock climbing wall will all be part of events on March 31. All LSC Plaza activities are free and open to the public.

As part of an NR Days awards ceremony, Joyce Berry, dean of the College of Natural Resources, will present two special plaques to honor Tom Thompson and the Colorado State Forest Service. Thompson, recently retired deputy chief of the National Forest System, is being recognized for his lifelong leadership and dedication to the health and sustainability of our nation’s National Forests. Bill Wilcox, interim director of the Colorado State Forest Service, will be receiving a plaque on behalf of the CSFS in celebration of their 50th anniversary and CSFS’s long-standing special partnership with Colorado State. The ceremony will take place at 5:30 p.m. March 31 in Ammons Hall.

"The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film" will be shown on March 28 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Room 113 of the Natural Resources Building on the Colorado State campus.

For more information about NR Days, visit www.warnercnr.colostate.edu/news/events/nrdays or contact Jayleen Heft, Colorado State College of Natural Resources, at (970) 491-3916.

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