Conference agenda and opportunities

Excerpt

With the SWCS annual conference just around the corner (July 26 to 30 in Tucson, Arizona), we've been having an interesting series of conversations at headquarters about the distinctions made in the conservation community between professional development, training, and education.

To the credit of the program committee, tour organizers, workshop leaders, and volunteers, the conference fits into all of the categories at the same time. We invite you to join your colleagues for dozens of opportunities to learn and make connections with attendees, exhibitors, and speakers in a variety settings and sessions.

On Sunday afternoon the Fellows Forum will discuss conservation issues and environmental challenges that are being felt in southwestern Arizona along the border of Mexico and the United States. The title of the forum is ‘Illegal Immigration and the Conservation Consequences,’ and panelists will include speakers from the ranching, law enforcement, wildlife, and government agency perspectives.

This year's Pritchard Lecture presentation will be made by a panel from the Smithsonian Institution and the Soil Science Society of America. “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil” will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the new soils exhibit that opens to the public at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington …