Author and conservationist Terry Grosz will speak at at 7 p.m., March 8, in Watkins Auditorium in the UC at UTM. A reception will precede from 6-7 p.m. in the lobby of Watkins. Grosz will be available to sign books after the speech. The presentation is sponsored by the UTM Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

Grosz has written eight books including “Wildlife Wars, the Life and Times of a State Fish and Game Warden,” which is a compilation of true short stories detailing events that occurred during his career as a fish and game warden in California. Other non-fiction books include “For Love of Wildness, Journal of a United States Game Management Agent,” “Defending Our Wildlife Heritage, the Life and Times of a Special Agent,” “A Sword for Mother Nature,” “No Safe Refuge - Man As a Predator In the World of Wildlife,” “The Thin Green Line” and “Genesis of a Duck Cop.” Each book details his adventures working with wildlife. His first three books are under contract with Discovery Channel’s “The Animal Planet.”

Grosz’s first fictional book, “Crossed Arrows,” takes place in the 1830s during the fur trade. The book tells the story of two close friends and their adventures as fur trappers.

Grosz grew up in northern California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He has a master’s degree in wildlife management from Humboldt State College and an honorary doctorate in environmental stewardship from Unity College. He has received many awards for his work as a conservationist including the “Guy Bradley Award,” named after the first conservation officer killed in the line of duty, the “National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award” and the “National Wildlife Societies Conservationist of the Year Award.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Eric Pelren, associate professor of wildlife biology, at 731-881-7263.