A coalition of environmental organizations are supporting the “Crater Lake Wilderness” proposal to protect the 90-mile wildlife corridor of forests, mountains and streams around Crater Lake by designating it as Wilderness. This would create miles of uninterrupted wilderness along the backbone of the southern Oregon Cascades with migration corridors up through the Umpqua National Forest. A FREE slide show in Portland on March 29 will highlight some of the spectacular trees, vistas and waterfalls that are in the wild forests of the Crater Lake Wilderness proposal.  At present, Crater Lake, which is Oregon's only national park, is facing three forest clear cut proposals which threaten thousands of acres of forest around the park. Host Stephanie Potter discusses the wilderness proposal with Erik Fernandez of Oregon Wild, Sarah Higgenbotham of Environment Oregon and Bob Hoehne of the Umpqua Watershed's Wild on Wilderness (WOW) committee.

Free Slide Show presentations will be held at:

• March 28th, 7 pm: Salem Public Library, 585 SE Liberty St., "A" Anderson Hall, Salem, OR
• March 29th, 7 pm: Sellwood Public House, 8132 SE 13th, Portland, Oregon

Hosted by Carlos Chavez

 Mario Cruz aka FenixLAX is a former graffiti artist who has turned his street talents into penetrating photography and illustration in what he calls Futuristic Pop Art. FenixLAX is a dynamic artist, flamboyant personality and business savvy young star transplanted here in Portland, Oregon.

 Host Tami Dean speaks with local artist, writer, illustrator and story teller Baba Wagué Diakité, who will be giving a lecture on Fading From the Past: Ancient Mali and Beyond and a workshop on Why We Tell Stories as part of The Natural Way: Indigenous Voices of the Earth and Spirit Council.  Larry Hawk is also present to talk some about the work of Earth and Spirit Council.

The lecture is Friday, March 9, 2012, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the PSU Native American Student and Community Center, 710 SW Jackson Street, Portland, Oregon. Donation: $10-20 requested. No one will be turned away.

The workshop is Saturday, March 10, 2012, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 1838 Southwest Jefferson Street, Portland, OR. Cost: $50 (Register athttp://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/227640)

Baba Wagué Diakité introduces the epic story of the creation of Mali from the union of the Buffalo and Lion spirits. Their child Sundiata Keita, considered insignificant as a frail child, survives to fulfill a prophecy that unites a vast region known as Mali. Retold for generations, this epic gives insight into customs, values and wisdom of historical West Africa. Diakité will discuss how this collective history informs present day life of Malians and their place in a global society.

Writer, illustrator, sculptor and ceramic artist Baba Wagué Diakité was born in Mali, West Africa. He spent his early childhood in the small agricultural village of Kassaro. There he tended sheep, helped his grandparents in their rice and peanut fields, and listened to their parables and folktales as guidance in life. Diakité grew up drawing, first for his own pleasure, then for schoolwork and finally for part-time jobs. He first learned claywork after meeting American sculptor Ronna Neuenschwander, whom he later married. After moving to Portland, Oregon in 1985 Diakité soon gained attention as a ceramic artist and sculptor.

Diakité has presented drawing workshops and storytelling sessions throughout the United States, including the Smithsonian’s Museum of African Art. He also gained recognition as a storyteller, and began writing children’s books as well as illustrating. His first children’s book, The Hunterman and the Crocodile, won a Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award in 1998.

Diakité’s workshop, Why We Tell Stories, will introduce participants to his home country of Mali and discuss the importance of storytelling as a tool for imparting knowledge, tell short stories, and then open up the workshop to a writing exercise entitled "Flexing Your Mind: Collaborative Storytelling". More information about Baba Wagué Diakité is available at www.ko-falen.org.

Details about Natural Way: Indigenous Voices programs can be found on the Earth and Spirit
Council website www.earthandspirit.org.

 Portland naturalist, adventurer and author Ceiridwin Terrill speaks about her life with Inyo, a wolfdog she aquired as a puppy in hopes of protection and companionship.  Her book, Part Wild: One Woman's Journey with a Creature Caught Between the Worlds of Wolves and Dogs, is a profoundly moving and informative memoir.  "Capturing the beauty of the natural world, the complexity of scientific ideas, and the pulse of human experience, Part Wild is the bittersweet memoir of a woman living with a wolfdog whose spark of wildness carries heavy responsibility, even danger, and leads the author to a deeper understanding of the miracle of ordinary dogs." --myurbanwild.com   (This Audio not edited for pledge drive-- includes complete interview)

More on Part Wild: One Woman's Journey with a Creature Caught Between the Worlds of Wolves and Dogs is available at Books on KBOO.