Osage Beach, Missouri
Updates & Announcements
- Early Bird Registration has been extended to September 15!
- Hotel reservations with special rates are now available!
- A post-conference Land Trust Workshop has been added for Friday afternoon.
- Check here for Website updates!
“The people I meet at conferences motivate me to go back to the Museum rejuvenated, and ready to tackle that next major project.”
Renee Boronka, Associate Director, Center for Conservation & Biodiversity, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Conference Highlights
- Beautiful rural setting with outstanding natural features nearby
- Hands-on training workshops and associated field trips offering Continuing Education Credits (through The Wildlife Society and The Society of American Foresters)
- Outstanding conference and pre-conference field trips to Missouri natural features that are some of the best remnant habitats in the Midwest
- Intriguing and thought-provoking paper sessions
- An innovative Natural Resource Connections Symposium linking resource professionals, academics and students across generations and disciplines.
37th Annual Natural Areas Conference
You are invited to the 37th annual Natural Areas Conference hosted by the Natural Areas Association (NAA), the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, the Missouri Natural Areas Committee, and the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils.
This year’s conference will be held at the Tan-Tar-A Resort on the shores of beautiful Lake of the Ozarks in the Osage River Hills region of the Missouri Ozarks. Missouri’s Ozark Highlands are home to some of the largest springs in the world, thousands of caves, the largest block of remaining forest and woodland in the central midwest, and many endemic species. Within an hour drive of Tan-Tar-A Resort are tallgrass prairies, glades, savannas, woodlands, forests, fens, caves, springs, Ozark streams, and the Missouri River.
Please join us as we connect today’s natural area managers with academics and students and young natural resource professionals with seasoned professionals from a variety of natural resource disciplines.
Research
Discover the latest research results for species and habitat management, and learn about the challenges, successes and pitfalls in conservation site management.
Stewardship & Training
Attend thought-provoking plenary sessions, symposia, workshops and hands-on field trips to Missouri natural areas and features. This year’s conference features many paired workshop and field trip combinations for more intensive training. Continuing Education Credits will be offered through the conference.
Networking
Share your story of conservation stewardship and learn from more than 300 of our nation's conservation leaders.
Topics
- Natural Resource Connections Symposium
- Big Rivers: Ecology and Management
- Caves and Karst: Ecology, Protection and Management
- Prescribed Fire: Managing for Diverse Landscapes with Fire
- Woodland and Glade Ecology, Restoration, and Management
- Native Grasslands: Ecology and Management
- Stream Ecology and Conservation Management: Patterns of Aquatic Species Diversity
- Plant Identification: Native Grasses and Composites of the Midwest
- Invasive Species
- Reptile and Amphibian Ecology and Management
- Macrofungal Ecology and Identification: Fungal Interactions in our Natural Communities
- Pollinators in Natural Areas
- Conservation Easements and Natural Area Protection
- Making New Connections — Resources and Applications in Spatial Technology for Natural Resource Professionals
- Dendroecology: Describing Long-Term Environmental Change — the Language of Tree Rings
- Human Dimensions — Connecting Everyone to Nature
- Modern Molecular Genetic Techniques and the Use of Genetic Surveys in Conservation Biology
