The Natural Areas Conference (NAC) is designed for land and water management practitioners; those who conduct research or practice on-the-ground stewardship of natural areas to protect biodiversity for future generations. Land stewardship benefits from shared knowledge rich in diverse perspectives. NAC24 invites participation from all viewpoints, backgrounds, abilities, and experiences to enrich learning for all.
In order to advance opportunities for new learning, collaboration, and information sharing, the NAC24 agenda will include optional half and full-day opportunities for both pre-conference experiences on Monday, October 7, and workshops and embedded field workshops on Wednesday, October 9 that related to the conference topics. A sample of some of the opportunities are listed below.
Transportation to and from the workshops will be provided unless otherwise noted. Full-day workshops will include a boxed lunch.
For those who prefer to "choose their own adventure," there will be additional "self-led" field trip suggestions on the conference app (coming soon!)
Click here to learn more about the conference topics and the Call for Proposals. Click here to see the Overview Agenda.
Registration will open during May 2024.
Monday, October 7, 2024
Timing TBD for each workshop
Base Camp Flint Hills to Council Grove, KS.
Join Matt Garrett, biking enthusiast and Natural Resource Manager, Johnson County Park & Recreation District, for a bike tour of the beautiful Flint Hills. One of the last remaining tallgrass prairie ecosystems in the world, the Flint Hills is home to abundant prairie plant and wildlife, spectacular views, and national historic sites. We will bike approximately 20 miles between Base Camp Flint Hills and Council Grove, KS, on a mostly downhill portion of the trail. Transportation from the Manhattan Convention Center to Base Camp and the return from Council Grove will be provided, along with a rental bike, and boxed lunch.
Ogden Access Ramp - River Mile 163
Friends of the Kaw will lead a group 14 miles down river, paddling from Ogden to Manhattan. This is a beautiful section of the river that is relatively untouched despite its proximity to Manhattan, KS. Transportation to Ogden and back to the convention center and lunch will be provided.
Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS)
Dr. John Blair, Director, Konza Prairie Biological Station & Distinguished Professor, Kansas State University will offer a broad introduction to the Konza Prairie Biological Station, it’s history and development as a partnership between Kansas State University (KSU) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The workshop will include an overview of the site-level fire and grazing treatments, and information on some of the major research and environmental monitoring programs at the station, such as Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER), , The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), and the US Geological Survey (USGS), etc. Transportation provided.
Manhattan Convention Center
Asters (Symphyotrichum) and goldenrods (Solidago), with 22 and 14 species in Kansas, respectively, are among the most conspicuous, fall-blooming wildflowers in Kansas. Members of the species-rich sunflower family (Asteraceae), their identification often vexes both beginning and veteran botanists. Dr. Craig Freeman (Kansas Biological Survey & The University of Kansas Center for Ecological Research) will offer an introduction to the morphology, ecology, and identification of the goldenrods and asters of Kansas, focusing on the species found in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Basic morphological features and terminology will be explained and illustrated, and distinguishing features and ecological attributes of the species will be presented. Keys to the species in both genera will be provided, and use of the keys will be explained and illustrated. Participants will work with fresh and preserved material to identify specimens using the keys and other relevant reference material provided.
Manhattan Convention Center
Lichens are fungi that meet their nutritional needs by employing one or more algal partners in a photosynthetic symbiosis. This strategy, in which they have been described as "fungal farmers," has proved to be highly successful: lichens are abundant and widespread, and represent diverse fungal lineages. They also play important roles in nutrient cycling and animal ecology, and are indicators of air quality and ecosystem integrity. Caleb Morse (Kansas Biological Survey & The University of Kansas Center for Ecological Research) will lead a workshop intended for participants who may be interested in lichens, but are largely unfamiliar with them, this workshop provides an overview of lichenology, including aspects of their biology, ecology, and conservation, and an introduction to lichen identification. Participants will gain hands-on experience in diagnosing important morphological features and in simple spot testing for secondary chemistry, with an emphasis on identifying common "macrolichens" from eastern North America.
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Timing TBD for each workshop
Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS)
Dr. John Blair, Director, Konza Prairie Biological Station & Distinguished Professor, Kansas State University, will provide an overview of the reintroduction of bison at KPBS to understand how their grazing and non-grazing behaviors affect ecological processes and biodiversity in tallgrass prairies. The workshop will include information about the management of bison for research and conservation and results of past and ongoing studies of the interactions of fire and bison at KPBS. Transportation provided.
Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS)
Join Dr. Sara Baer (Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas) and Dr. Elizabeth Bach (The Nature Conservancy) on a tour of long-term field experiments at Konza Prairie. Discussion will include insights from the long-term experiments at Konza Prairie and applications at The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands. Highlights will include low-cost/low-effort approaches to monitoring grassland ecosystems, integrating management with academic research, and outreach opportunities beyond the conservation community. Transportation and lunch provided.
Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS)
In this workshop, Dr. Jesse Nippert (Kansas State University & Konza Prairie LTER) Chris Helzer (The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska), and Dr. Sam Fuhlendorf (Oklahoma State University) will briefly orient participants to the complexities of managing woody plant encroachment in grasslands. We will then embark on a tour of Konza Prairie to evaluate legacies of fire and grazing treatments that have led to various woody plant communities (shrub, tree, and mixed assemblages). We will also visit locations that have utilized specific management techniques (fire, grazing, mowing, simulated drought, etc) to control the spread or restore grassland impacted by woody plant encroachment. The workshop will conclude with a round table discussion back at Konza Prairie headquarters to solicit feedback on some new approaches for adapting to increasing pressure from woody plants. This approach will evaluate what has worked, what isn't working, and what the road ahead may entail for woody plants in grassland ecosystems.
Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS)
Dung beetles assist with landscape resilience by removing waste, retaining soil nutrients, reducing pest flies that consume dung, enhancing plant productivity, aerating soils, and maximizing rain permeability. They are the uncelebrated heroes of grassland health. In this workshop, Dr. Mary Liz Jameson (Wichita State University) and colleagues will discuss the: 1) importance of dung beetles, especially for ranching and farming, 2) natural history of dung beetles and key features that makes them soil engineers, 3) features for dung beetle identification and dung beetle diversity, and 4) best practices for managing healthy and efficient dung beetle communities. We will visit the the field to learn how to survey for dung beetles using pitfall traps and interpreting dung beetle traces.
Kansas Biological Survey & University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
This field trip will be traveling to deeper soils in eastern Kansas to see projects at the KU Field Station (just north of Lawrence, KS) to tour the Native Medicinal Plant Research Garden with its ethnobotanical focus, then the species-rich Rockefeller Native Prairie (over 200 species, including two T&E listed) in the morning, lunch will be at the research headquarters, and the afternoon will be focused on seeing the field research plots of Dr. Bryan Foster (his prairie restoration research is focused on species pools and seed limitations) and then Dr. Jim Bever (who studies how mycorrhizal associations benefit the establishment of prairie plants). The field trip will be led by Dr. Kelly Kindscher, ethnobotanist and restorationist. Transportation and lunch will be provided.
Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie, Wamego, KS
The 164-acre Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park is a unique combination of historic site, geological wonder, and tallgrass prairie remnant of remarkable biological diversity. The Mount Mitchell Prairie Guards have been developing this natural area for 19 years. It now includes walking trails, historical signage, and ADA compatible facilities, including a path to the ruts of the Topeka-Fort Riley Road, which was the westernmost route of the Underground Railroad. Recent work includes returning 100 acres of former farmland to native prairie.
Among its distinctions, the Park is: a Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area Star Attraction; a National Park Service Network to Freedom Site commemorating the Underground Railroad; an auxiliary site of the Brown V. Board National Historic Park and the US Civil Rights Trail. It is also a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places; an auxiliary site of the Kansas River Water Trail; an official Monarch Butterfly Way Station; and a featured attraction along the Native Stone Scenic Byway and the Road to Oz. When improvements are completed, the Park will be eligible for inclusion in the Kansas African American History Trail. Transportation will be provided.
Milford Nature Center, Junction City, KS
Join local author and birding authority, Chuck Otte, for an opportunity to view the birds of the region and the season, who call the habitats at the Milford Nature Center and Milford Lake area home. This will be a half day workshop with time being spent in grassland and riparian woodland areas. Early October marks the peak of sparrow migration and the return of Harris's Sparrows to winter in the region. This area is well known for it's diversity of habitats and boasts a check-list of over 330 species. Bring comfortable walking shoes, binoculars, and clothing appropriate for the weather. Transportation will be provided to and from the nature center; returning to the Manhattan Convention Center before lunch.
Griffin Wyrick Conservation Easement/Kansas Land Trust
This workshop will be an exploration of the unique natural communities of the Flint Hills by local botanist/ecologist, Jacob Hadle, Research Staff, Konza Prairie LTER, and regional botanist/ecologist, Justin Thomas, Director and primary instructor, Institute of Botanical Training, with on-site examples. The discussion will focus on reading the landscape through various expressions along a spectrum of chaotic to dynamically stable states and how these states are common features of any landscape (reading the hallmarks of dynamically stable and damaged systems regardless of ecoregion). Regionally characteristic flora will highlight the discussion. Topics will include succession, nutrient cycling, thermodynamic ecological stability, prescribed fire, and a heightened awareness of ourselves as living, contributing members of the natural world. This workshop will be held on private lands protected by the Kansas Land Trust (KLT). KLT staff and landowners will be present to lead a discussion about the role of conservation easements in Kansas, the importance of stewardship, and maintaining strong and trusting relationships with owners of conserved land. Transportation and lunch provided.
Fort Riley, Kansas
Situated at the junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers, early Fort Riley and the surrounding countryside consisted of unbroken prairie for as far as the eye could see. The only interruption of the prairie was along timbered stream corridors and steep, wooded hillsides dominated by fire-scarred chinkapin oak. Today, an impressive portion of Fort Riley (roughly 40,000 acres) remains as native prairie, where one can still enjoy the same prairie vistas observed in the 1890s. Home to many Federally-listed Threatened & Endangered species among many others, Fort Riley strives to delineate sensitive habitats, including high quality native prairie, so that military exercises can be adjusted to minimize ecological damage. Learn more about prairie conservation at Fort Riley, fire protocols, and how nature and the military are working together to preserve this ecologically significant landscape. Transportation will be provided.
Flint Hills
This workshop will travel to the central Flint Hills to meet with some of the ranchers, conservation groups, and government agencies that are working together to conserve the four million acres of remaining tallgrass prairie within the Flint Hills. Join Kristen Hase (NPS), Tony Capizzo (TNC), Chris Mushrush (Mushrush Red Angus Ranches), and Jim Lauer (Homestead Ranch) for presentations and discussions about addressing some of the biggest threats to the landscape, including woody plant encroachment, invasive species, and incompatible development. We will start the tour at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve to learn about the public-private partnership between NPS and TNC and discuss Preserve management, including prescribed fire, conservation goals related to bison and cattle grazing, and exciting research projects including a partnership project with Mushrush Red Angus deploying virtual fence technology. We will then travel to the Mushrush Red Angus Ranch and the Homestead Ranch, both of which are on the leading edge of conservation practices and research, to learn about their partnerships with the different conservation organizations and agencies and hear their perspective on how conservation fits within their ranch and business management.
Join the people who protect and manage our natural areas.