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LEARN ABOUT BECOMING A 2025 ANNUAL LECTURE SPONSOR
6th ​ANNUAL LEOPOLD LECTURE 2025
Cynthia Barnett
"A Reverence for Rivers: Luna Leopold's Call for a Water Ethic"

​Sunday, ​28 September 2025    |    5:00pm​
La Quinta Ballroom
Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm
​4803 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107
Purchase Tickets
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THE LECTURE 
Join water author and journalist Cynthia Barnett for the 2025 Leopold Lecture as we explore the ideas of river hydrologist Luna Leopold, who articulated a “water ethic” for the United States, just as his father gave us the land ethic.
 
Born in New Mexico in 1915 while Aldo Leopold was working for the forest service, Luna Leopold would grow up to become the father of modern hydrology. His ideas about our relationship with water form the philosophical underpinning for much of today’s restorative water management.
 
But the only way to truly change our water fortunes, he believed, would be a “reverence for rivers.” He described such reverence as an “ethos for water,” a set of guiding beliefs among government, large water users and citizens to help us live with water today in ways that don't jeopardize fresh, clean water for future generations and nature.
 
A half century after Luna Leopold’s prescient warnings about future water shortages and ultimate solutions, can New Mexico help lead the country to a new water ethic?

​CYNTHIA BARNETT is an environmental journalist and the author of four books including Rain: A Natural and Cultural History, and The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans, both named among the best books of the year by NPR’s Science Friday.

She wrote about Luna Leopold and the water ethic in her book 
Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis. Her new book underway, The Sea Beneath Us, explores the secret history and hidden crisis of groundwater. Cynthia also serves as the director of Climate and Environment Reporting Initiatives at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications.

Learn more about Cynthia and read her articles here.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
  • 4:30 pm - 5:00pm: Book sales
  • 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Lecture and Q&A
  • 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: On site book signing
Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase at the La Quinta bar.

​
View pdf flyer
TICKETS ARE LIVE​
Purchase Tickets
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Previous Annual Leopold Lecturers

(Click on images to learn more)
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Dan Flores

2024
“Golden-Eyed Lightning Rod: A Wolf Story"
​7 September 2024 - 2:00pm
Main Library Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM
501 Copper Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
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Robin Wall Kimmerer

2023
Braiding Sweetgrass: "Restoration and Reciprocity"
Saturday 22 April 2023 - 5:30 pm
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
​Albuquerque, NM
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David Stuart

2019
"The Parable of Chaco"
Saturday 27 April 2019 - 1 pm
Hibben Center - UNM Campus
Albuquerque, NM
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David Parsons

2018
Saturday 21 April 2018 - ​2 pm 
Luna Mansion, Los Lunas, NM
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Barry Lopez

​2017
Sunday 23 April 2017 - ​2 pm 
National Hispanic Cultural Center
​Albuquerque, NM

Thank you to our Sponsors!

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CONTACT US
LEOPOLD WRITING PROGRAM
P.O. Box 40122  |  ​Albuquerque, NM 87196
505.265.8713
​LWP is a 501(c)3 organization
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2024 Annual Report
  • Home
  • Our Programs
    • Writing Contest >
      • 2025 Winners
      • Previous Winners
    • Residency
    • Annual Lecture
    • El Piñón Newsletter
  • Writing the Wild
  • ABOUT
    • Aldo Leopold
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Council
    • Annual Report
  • Contact Us
  • Contribute