Announcement: 2014 Texas Plant Conservation Conference – November 6-8, 2014
Hosted by the University of Texas-Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center,
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Registration is now open for the 2014 Biennial Texas Plant Conservation Conference,
November 6-8, 2014. For complete information or to register, please visit http://www.wildflower.org/conservation_tpcc/
Come learn about current research and conservation projects on rare plants, native plant communities, plant monitoring methods and plant management practices of native Texas plants at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, one of the friendliest conference spots in Texas. The goal of the conference is to foster communication among conservation organizations, agencies, academics and the public about native plant conservation.
Highlights of this three day conference include plenary lectures, two days of talks along with 12 poster presentations, lifetime achievement awards presentations, and a social mixer-dinner buffet reception. Three one-half day field trips focusing on central Texas plants are offered on Saturday, Day 3 of the conference.
Plenary Speakers include:
· Keynote: Dr. Fred E. Smeins, Professor of Ecology, Ecosystem Science and Management Department, Texas A&M University. “Plant Conservation in Texas since the Signing of the Endangered Species Act: A Glance through the Rearview Mirror.”
· Plenary: Jeffrey Keeling, Department of Biology, Sul Ross State University. “An Annotated Vascular Flora and Floristic Analysis of The Nature Conservancy’s Davis Mountains Preserve, Jeff Davis County, Texas.”
Talks and Poster Presentations include:
· Current rare and endangered species research on Texas prairie dawn, Tobusch fishhook cactus and Navasota Ladies’-tresses funded with a novel mitigation grant from the USFWS.
· Status updates and current research on Texas wildrice, Chisos Mountains hedgehog cactus, slender rushpea, dwarf broomspurge, south Texas ambrosia, Correll’s false dragon head, Comanche Peak prairie clover and more.
· Research reports and poster presentations on conservation education/outreach, plant-host interactions, vegetation classification, plant mapping and monitoring, rare species assessments, plant community structure and more.
Wildflower Center tours include:
· Guided lunchtime tours of the Wildflower Center gardens, seed lab, green roof research plots and more.
Field trips include:
· Bull Creek Walk, Wade and Wonder with Bill Carr in Northwest Austin
· The Purola Conservation Easement with by Bob Harms near Dripping Springs
· The Lady Bird Lake Boardwalk with Susan Plettman Rankin and Stan Wilson in downtown Austin