Reflections on the 2014 SWCS International Annual Conference

Excerpt

As I look back on the four days we spent in suburban Chicago, Illinois, last month for the 69th International Annual Conference of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), my two strongest impressions were the relevance of the program to our global conservation challenges and the diversity of our more than 400 conference attendees and the ideas they expressed. These two factors made for an exciting and thoughtful exchange of science and policy perspectives concerning our life on land and its impact on water. A heartfelt thanks goes out to Tommy Bass, program committee chair, and the entire annual conference planning team for their work to assemble a comprehensive program featuring plenaries, workshops, symposia, oral presentations, exhibits, posters, and tours; these opportunities provided an ideal forum for learning and networking.

The conference theme “Making Waves in Conservation: Our Life on Land and Its Impact on Water” suggested two strong messages. First, it emphasized the importance of understanding the science of our actions and the environmental consequences—both positive and negative—of those actions. And second, it implied that this understanding is not enough. We need action on the part of everyone to address our conservation issues to “make waves.”

In the…