Join Trail Work author Dillon Osleger for a virtual talk with the Sonoma Land Trust of Sonoma, CA.

Amid an era beleaguered by funding cuts and government shutdowns, public lands have entered a vulnerable zone of sacrifice. In this presentation, geologist, author, and professional mountain biker Dillon Osleger traces the past, present, and possible futures of America’s public lands through a cartographer’s lens, revealing how the erasure of our nation’s trails has progressed in lockstep with the ever-encroaching enclosure of public land. Osleger reminds us that trails express the landscape, that maps reveal our values, and that we cannot defend what we do not see.

Dillon Osleger is a scientist, writer, and environmental advocate whose work is anchored in society’s relationship with wild and rapidly changing environments. With an academic background in geology, ecology, and climate science, he has spent over a decade working on trail restoration, land management, and public lands policy across the American West. His writing has appeared in Outside, the Los Angeles Times, Patagonia’s The Cleanest Line, and Earth and Planetary Science Letters, focusing on the confluence of land use, climate, environmental justice, and historical memory. Whether in Washington, D.C., or the backcountry of the Sierra, Osleger brings a grounded perspective to how people move through and care for place. Trail Work is his first book and he lives in Truckee, Lake Tahoe.