2026 Natural Areas Conference (NAC26): Where Science Meets Stewardship

October 5-8, 2026 | Asheville, NC

For more than 50 years, the Natural Areas Conference has been the premier gathering for land and water management practitioners and scientists from federal, tribal, state, regional, and local organizations, as well as NGOs, private industry, and academic institutions - connecting conservation science and those who provide on-the-ground management to protect biodiversity. 

While a national conference offering content on a wide variety of regional topics, the 2026 Natural Areas Conference (NAC26): Where Science Meets Stewardship will also shine a spotlight on the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene, the region’s long-standing commitment to conservation and natural areas stewardship, and many other important land and water management topics from across North America.

NAC26 is where practitioners gather to share emerging research and evidence-based practice; as well as access to new relationships, knowledge and collaboration that can advance plans, practices, and methodologies to address a wide variety of challenges in the management of natural areas.

This event is a national forum for information-exchange among natural areas practitioners. Participants have shared countless stories about how information gained from their participation in this conference had a direct impact on the land they steward.

Join us as we celebrate this region, its people, and learn from their experiences, as they rebuild and restore the lands and waters of southern Appalachia.

The Call for Proposals & Posters will open January 2026.

Registration will open late spring of 2026.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Interested in becoming a sponsor or exhibitor? Contact Lisa Smith for more information.

Be the first to learn more about the 2026 Natural Areas Conference (NAC26): Where Science Meets Stewardship, 
including information about conference planning in Asheville, the call for proposals, and more.
Click here to join the NAC26 distribution list.

If you need more information for budgeting purposes or to make the case for participation, please to reach out to us at info@naturalareas.org.

Why should you attend the 2026 Natural Areas Conference?

• The NAC is where science meets stewardship - - bridging the gap between research and practice.
  
• The NAC gathers more than 350 natural areas practitioners in one location featuring plenary and concurrent sessions, symposia, round tables, field workshops, and poster presentations.
  
• The NAC is the forum for information-exchange among natural areas practitioners across North America. Participants have shared countless stories about how information gained from their participation in this conference had a direct impact on the lands they steward.
  
• The NAC provides science-based content for natural area practitioners and researchers seeking applied science, practical solutions, and knowledge transfer related to the management of natural areas on a day-to-day basis; such as land stewards in land trusts, nature centers, and nature preserves who manage land for their conservation or natural area values.
  
• The NAC supports the conservation and the protection of biodiversity by providing access to quality science, new knowledge, best practices, and emerging methodologies for those who steward natural areas.

Conference Topics
The Natural Areas Conference is a national convening of land management practitioners. We welcome proposals to share new knowledge, innovative methodologies and evidence-based practices in land and water stewardship across a wide variety of topics.

Along with many other important stewardship topics, NAC26 will focus on the challenges and new learning as the region works to restore many unique natural areas from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene. NAA strongly supports proposals related to this work, as well as any other regional land and water management topic of importance to the Southern Appalachia.

Call for Proposals will open in January 2026.

• Post-disaster Recovery and Restoration of Natural Lands and Waters

• Conservation of Eastern Deciduous Forest Ecosystems (Healthy Forests)

• Wetland Ecosystem Management
  

• Aquatic Resource Management and Conservation 

• Grassland Management and Conservation
  

• Climate Adaptation and Resilience

• Advances in Invasive Species Management

• Native Plant Materials in Restoration

• Good Fire/Bad Fire Management (Fire Science and Practice)

• Wildlife and Fisheries Habitat Management

• Invertebrate/Pollinator Conservation

• Soil Science and Considerations in Natural Areas Management

• Restoration of Natural Areas

• Native Plant Conservation

• Value of Small Natural Areas

• Indigenous Perspectives on Natural Areas Management

• Technology in Natural Areas Management

• Communicating the Importance of Your Work to Lay Audiences

• Engaging New Audiences in Land Stewardship

• Urban Natural Areas

• Private Lands Conservation Efforts

• Rare Species Conservation 

• Economics of Natural Area Conservation 

• Collaborative Conservation