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2024 Natural Areas Conference (NAC24): Where Science Meets Stewardship

Manhattan Convention Center | October 7-10, 2024 | Manhattan, Kansas

For the past 50 years, NAA's Natural Areas Conference has gathered federal, tribal, state, regional, and local natural areas practitioners from nonprofit organizations, private industry, and academic institutions to foster communication and collaboration that can lead to progress in connection to challenges in the management of natural areas.

Manhattan, Kansas is nestled in the heart of the scenic Flint Hills, a globally significant remnant of the once vast tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Managing ecologically significant landscapes for the protection of biodiversity is a specialized segment of conservation and ecological science that includes management strategies to avert the permanent loss of or degradation of rare species and to preserve the unique functions of natural communities.

Thank you to our partners who make the 2024 Natural Areas Conference possible

NAC24 Partner Advisory Committee

Jenn Alley, Visit Manhattan

Sara Baer, Ph.D., Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research

Carol Baldwin, Great Plains Fire Science Exchange

Lori Bammerlin, Great Plains Fire Science Exchange

John Blair, Ph.D., Kansas State University & Konza Prairie Biological Station

Anthony Capizzo, The Nature Conservancy - Kansas

Matthew Garrett, Johnson County Park & Recreation District

Kelly Kindscher, Ph.D., Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research

Heidi Mehl, The Nature Conservancy - Kansas

Dan Meyerhoff, Kansas Association of Conservation Districts

Jesse Nippert, Ph.D., Konza Prairie Biological Center

Zak Ratajczak, Kansas State University

Eric Woofter, Star Seed, Inc.

In-Kind Sponsors

Kansas State University | Sandhill Brewing | Visit Manhattan | Wines 'Til Sold Out

Exhibitors

• Ampliflora

• Audubon of Kansas

• Cecil Frost, University of North Carolina

• Great Plains Fire Science Exchange

• Kansas Association of Conservation Districts

• Missouri Prairie Foundation

• National Ecological Observatory Network

• Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium

• Pollinator Partnership

• TRUAX EQUIPMENT

• The Xerces Society 

Sponsor and exhibitor options are still available! Contact Holli Redekop for more information. 

Plenary Speakers

Opening Plenary Speaker
Lisa Smith
Executive Director, Natural Areas Association

Keynote Speaker
Sunny Fleming
Director of Environment, Conservation, & Natural Resources Solutions at Esri

Opening Plenary Speakers

Grasslands Conservation in a Changing World

Opening Plenary Speaker
Sara Baer, Ph.D.
State Biologist and Director, Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research

Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas

Opening Plenary Speaker
John Blair, Ph.D.
Director, Konza Prairie Biological Station

Distinguished Professor, Division of Biology, Kansas State University

Opening Plenary Speaker
Kelly Kindscher, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research

Plenary Panel

Protecting Productivity & Biodiversity: Community-Based Conservation in the Flint Hills

Moderator
Rex Buchanan
Director Emeritus of the Kansas Geological Survey

Panelist
Jon P. Beckmann, Ph.D.
Wildlife Supervisor, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

Panelist
Tony Capizzo
Flint Hills Initiative Manager, The Nature Conservancy

Panelist
Andrew Davis
Cow-Calf Producer, Davis Family Ranch

Panelist
Mike Disney
State Coordinator for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Program in Kansas

Panelist
Jane Koger
Owner, Homestead Ranch

Panelist
David Kraft
Technical Coordinator, Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition

Panelist
Dean Krehbiel
Natural Resource Conservation Service

Panelist
Roger W. Wells
Tallgrass Legacy Alliance