From June 2nd through June 5th in 2019, the North American Prairie Conference will be held at the University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL). This is the most important and largest prairie conference held this year and will have presentations from across the United States.
The Houston Sierra Club is a sponsor and invites all Sierrans to attend the entire conference or for one or two days. The conference is for private landowners, natural resource professionals, government agencies, educators, landscape architects, master naturalists, volunteers, advocates and activists, and members of the public. Registration is now open. Early register before April 22, 2019 and get the low rate of $260 for the entire conference. For information and to register go to: www.northamericanprairie.org.
Oral and poster presentations will be on topics like: prairie-watershed connection, prairie management, restoration of degraded land, prairie animals and plants, assessment and monitoring of prairies, control of invasive species, urban prairies, prairie ecosystem services, geo-ecology and evolution of the coastal plain, climate change and prairie conservation, economics of prairies, the human connection, historical and societal perspectives, branding and marketing of prairies, and community engagement and communication. The conference agenda includes:
1) June 2nd, pre-conference field trip to the Texas Institute for Coastal Prairie Research and Education and UHCL mixer with welcome by, Jaime Gonzalez, Houston Urban Conservation Programs Manager, The Nature Conservancy
2) June 3rd, Keynote Speaker, Carol Davit, Director of the Missouri Prairie Foundation; Invited Speaker, Dr. John Jacobs from Texas A&M Agrilife Extension and Texas Community Watershed Partners; conference sessions; and UHCL evening banquet with Featured Speaker, Dr. Reed Noss, Chief Science Advisor, Southeastern Grasslands Initiative
3) June 4th, guided field trips to the Big Thicket, Southwest and West Houston prairies, barrier island and Gulf shore coastal prairies, and urban prairie sites; and Texas barbecue dinner at the Armand Bayou Nature Center; and Featured Speaker, Dr. Dwayne Estes, Director of the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative
4) June 5th, Featured Speaker, Chris Helzer, The Nature Conservancy, Nebraska; Invited Speaker, Dr. Kelly Kindscher, Senior Scientist, Kansas Biology Survey, University of Kansas; and conference sessions
For information contact Evelyn Merz, 713-644-8228, elmerz@hal-pc.org or Brandt Mannchen, 832-907-3615, brandtshnfbt@juno.com.