Published: March 6, 2009

The University of Colorado at 麻豆影院's Center of the American West will host author Amy Irvine on March 11 as she reads from her new book "Trespass: Living at the Edge of the Promised Land." She also will be interviewed by Suzanne Jones, regional director for The Wilderness Society in Denver, and history Professor Patty Limerick, chair of the board of the Center of the American West.

Irvine's reading will take place at 7 p.m. in the Benson Earth Sciences Building, room 180, on the CU-麻豆影院 campus. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing. The event is co-sponsored by The Wilderness Society.

Irvine is a nationally ranked competitive rock climber and was the development director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance for five years. Her book tells the story of one woman's struggle to gain footing in inhospitable territory. A wilderness activist and apostate Mormon, Irvine sought respite in the desert outback of southern Utah's red rock country after her father's suicide, only to discover just how much of an interloper she was among her own people.

Jones also serves as co-chair of the Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance, a coalition of 28 local, state and national groups in Colorado and southern Wyoming working to protect the wilderness of the Southern Rockies. She also is on the executive committee of the Utah Wilderness Coalition.

Limerick has dedicated her career to bridging the gap between academics and the general public and to demonstrating the benefits of applying historical perspective to contemporary dilemmas and conflicts.

For more information visit the Center of the American West's Web site at or call 303-492-4879.