Biologist Rick Hopkins will talk about “A Tail of Two Cities: The tyranny of perception based management for Cougars” on Aug. 16 in South Lake Tahoe.

Hopkins will explore the biology and ecology of cougars, the history of predator management and conservation including myths that are often perpetuated, and suggest a framework for modernizing predator management that promotes conservation.

Hopkins will also discuss the recent cougar sightings in the South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County areas. He is co-owner and senior conservation biologist at Live Oak Associates Inc., an ecological consulting firm in California. He has a doctorate in wildlands resource ecology from UC Berkeley and an master’s in biology from San Jose State University. He conducted a 12-year study on the cougar in the Diablo Range. 

The free talk will be at 7pm  3260 Pioneer Trail; entrance to the parking lot is from Saddle Road.