The IACD Conference will return February 19th & 20th, 2026. Our conferences are an intimate gathering of friends and professionals dedicated to conservation management and education. You are invited to join us at the 2026 IACD Conference for presentations that matter, to network with other professionals, and have fun with like minded friends.
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Pre-Conference Sessions
Chainsaw Safety & Maintenance Workshop with STIHL- 8:30am - 11:30am
Join STIHL representatives Ian Hunt (North Region) and Michael Siebert (South Region) for a hands-on workshop all about chainsaw safety, maintenance, sharpening, and cutting techniques. They’ll also showcase some of STIHL’s newest tools and equipment—giving you a first look at the latest innovations in the field.
This session will take place in the cabin located behind the Starved Rock Visitor Center, just down the hill from Starved Rock Lodge.
EEAI Project Aquatic WILD Workshop - 8:30am - 11:30am
Join the Environmental Education Association of Illinois (EEAI) to dive into Aquatic WILD! This curriculum supplement is focused on educating grades K-12 on water wildlife and ecology, with activities that work in both formal and informal settings. Activities are also linked to careers in water resources/ecology and have STEM based extensions to help youth build their skills and interests. Participants in this workshop will receive a hard copy of the Aquatic WILD activity book and walk away ready to take several activities back to their organization!
Hike at Matthiessen State Park - 8:45am - 11:30am
Join Judith Wallace for a hike at Matthiessen State Park to observe the unique features and stunning vistas!
Thursday Afternoon Keynote Speaker
Picturing Conservation in the Prairie State - 1:15pm - 2:30pm
Inspired by a visit to a restored prairie in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in 2013, artist Philip Juras has repeatedly traveled from his home in Georgia to Illinois to discover—and rediscover—a vision of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem that has virtually vanished in North America. Through his landscape paintings, Philip will take us on a prairie tour of publicly and privately managed nature preserves from the Chicago area to the southern end of the state. His paintings of remnants, restorations, and a few imagined re-creations celebrate tallgrass prairie conservation in Illinois and the stewards who make it possible.
Thursday Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Funding for Land Conservation in the Prairie State - 2:45pm - 3:35pm
In 2024, Prairie State Conservation Coalition (PSCC) - an IL non-profit state association for conservation organizations - received a final grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation before they closed their doors for good, which totaled $47 million. The purpose of the grant was to establish a PSCC natural areas grant program. In summer of 2025, PSCC, under its new program, the Prairie State Conservation Fund, launched its very first grant cycle in the area of land acquisition. Get an update on this grant-making program of PSCC and how your organization can benefit.
Telling Your Story: Authoring Engaging Interpretive Signage for Your Guests - 2:45pm - 3:35pm
In a world saturated with information, your conservation message needs to be more than just facts. This presentation is a practical guide for Illinois Conservation District staff and partners who want to transform static signs into dynamic tools for public engagement, education, and stewardship. You will learn proven techniques to craft compelling narratives and design signs that inspire visitors to care about Illinois' natural resources.
Key Takeaways:
Storytelling First: Learn to move beyond jargon to focus on a single, powerful theme for each sign, connecting emotionally with your audience. The 3/30/3 Rule: Master the critical balance of text and visuals to ensure your message is absorbed in 3 seconds (the hook), 30 seconds (the main points), and 3 minutes (for the deeply interested).
Selecting Trees For Removal in Oak Woodland and Savanna Restorations - 2:45pm - 3:35pm
Tree thinning is one of the most important steps in successful oak savanna and woodland restorations. Proper tree thinning can help preserve and increase site-wide biodiversity, facilitate oak regeneration, improve the health of existing oaks, carry fire more effectively, and complement the re-introduction of savanna and woodland plant communities. As stewards of natural areas, we are tasked with making decisions on what trees stay and what trees will be removed. This presentation aims to break down some of the key considerations behind this process, and how they can help us meet our restoration goals.
Restoration Discussion- 3:45 pm - 4:35pm
This popular session is back! Join fellow land managers and conservation professionals for an open discussion on restoration practices and challenges commonly faced in natural areas. From invasive species management to prairie establishment and everything in between, we’ll share ideas, lessons learned, and favorite tools-of-the-trade. If you have a restoration tip, technique, or tool you swear by, bring it along—or send photos and info to Phil Julius at PJulius@MaconCCD.org or Mitch Lovgren at MLovgren@MaconCCD.org.
Maps: We'd Be Lost Without Them - 3:45pm - 4:35pm
During the first part of this presentation, Beth will be discussing ways Macon County Conservation District has used ArcGIS Pro to create maps for our programs, events, and trails. Examples of the maps, information about map creation, data collection, tips, tricks and ideas of how ArcGIS Pro can be used will be discussed. During the second part of this presentation, discussion will be opened up for other organizations and individuals to share their ideas, tips, tricks and issues that may have come up. GIS is best shared, so come prepared with your questions, creative solutions and ideas! A laptop with ArcGIS Pro, will be in the room.
Beavers - Nature's Civil Engineers - 3:45pm - 4:35pm
Beavers bring many emotions. A child watching a beaver eat at the zoo is completely memorized. A naturalist studying the engineering ability is in awe. The landowner who just lost a giant tree, well we can all assume that feeling. Historically, beaver have succeeded despite human pressure. When left to their own devices they can be one of the most beneficial ecological assistants – when they pick the place WE want them. Whether it is a person making the decision or a beaver. One thing to remember, beavers are impressive.
Thursday Evening Dinner Speaker
Environmental DNA reveals the Salamander Mussel Simpsonaias ambigua alive in Illinois, USA, after a century in obscurity - 7:00pm - 8:00pm
The Salamander Mussel (Simpsonaias ambigua) is a tiny, thin-shelled freshwater mussel and one of the rarest in North America. What makes it truly special? Its survival depends on an unusual partner: the Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus), a fully aquatic salamander. While most mussels use fish to host their larvae, the Salamander Mussel only uses mudpuppies, which live under slab rocks, bedrock, and woody debris in rivers. This unique relationship has tied the mussel’s fate to the salamander’s, and both have become increasingly hard to find. In Illinois, the Salamander Mussel hadn’t been seen alive in over a century. Conventional mussel surveys often miss them because they inhabit under rocks and are so small. That’s why we turned to a revolutionary new tool: environmental DNA (eDNA)—a method that detects traces of genetic material in water—to uncover their presence. Our work at the Illinois Natural History Survey found a positive detection of the Salamander Mussel and subsequent surveys collected live individuals, offering hope for future conservation of this rare and fascinating species.
Friday Breakout Sessions
Recreational Hunting Program Design for Accomplishing Conservation Goals - 9:30am - 10:30am
The McHenry County Conservation District has managed a waterfowl, turkey, and white-tailed deer recreational hunting program for 25 years. Since 2001, the District modified the deer program multiple times to adjust to human dynamics, program demand, and in attempt to accomplish conservation goals on approximately 10,000 acres. The presentation will provide an overview of the District's deer program which began with one site and now covers 25 sites providing 133 unique hunting zones for 350 hunters who harvested 250 deer last season representing a $173,000 value for deer removal in addition to $47,000 in revenue through hunting permit fees.
Wildlife Surveys from the Ground Up - A Group Discussion - 9:30am - 10:30am
Does your agency have any active wildlife surveys in progress? Or have you done some in the past? This roundtable discussion is to bring people together from different districts to share ideas on building a wildlife survey. We will discuss what strategies people use and what works and what doesn't. Come prepared to share your ideas on best ways to survey what animals we are protecting at our different sites!
Partnering with the Conservation Fund to Protect and Aquire Land: Finding the Right Approach for You - 9:30am - 10:30am
The Conservation Fund (TCF) is a nonprofit organization and an accredited land trust working in all 50 states to conserve land and water resources and promote sustainable economic development. We use a partnership-based model, having worked with all levels of government (federal, state, local, and Tribal) as well as other nonprofit organizations to protect over 9 million acres across the U.S. This session will provide an overview of the various ways your organization can partner with TCF to achieve your organization’s land protection and acquisition goals. TCF prides itself on flexibility, adaptability, and expediency, allowing TCF respond quickly when called on by our partners. TCF staff will present 5 different ways TCF can partner with you to protect and acquire land – co-ops, assists, loans, grants, and the Farms Fund - and offer specific examples of successful past projects for each. Attendees will walk away with a baseline understanding of how a partnership with TCF can complement and enhance your existing land protection efforts. In these uncertain times of reduced funding for land protection, strategic partnerships will become more and more important.
Innovative Public Programs and Special Events -10:45am - 11:45am
Creating and implementing public programs and special events is often a balancing act between providing something educational and mission-based, but also fun, engaging, and sustainable. The Macon County Conservation District has been working to develop innovative programming that brings new ideas to the community and gets more people into our green spaces. We will discuss some of these programs and special events, as well as some of our staple events that we're looking to revamp, and facilitate a discussion about successes and lessons learned. Come prepared to share!
Making Use of Invasive & Hazardous Trees for Onsite Construction Projects -10:45am - 11:45am
Discover how invasive and hazardous trees removed during routine maintenance and natural resource management can be transformed into valuable building materials. This session will highlight tools and techniques used to process onsite timber, showcase completed construction projects, and compare the cost benefits of repurposing trees versus purchasing commercial materials.
Stop Herbiciding Thistles (in Natural Area Restorations) -10:45am - 11:45am
Thistles are often treated as an enemy in natural area restorations — but what if they’re actually just a symptom of a problem? This presentation compares two prairie restorations with similar thistle infestations but contrasting management approaches. In conjunction with results from a soil herbicide residual study, Juli Mason makes the case that herbiciding thistles can be counterproductive, potentially hindering the establishment of native perennials that would otherwise outcompete them.
Drawing on 25 years of experience in prairie and wetland restoration, Mason shares how her own perspective has evolved — from conventional weed control to a more systems-based understanding of plant community dynamics. Attendees will be encouraged to rethink standard thistle management practices and consider how building plant community resilience may be the most effective “weed control” strategy of all.
2026 IACD Conference
Save the Date!
February 19th & 20th 2026
Starved Rock State Park
Working to Preserve and Protect Illinois' Flora and Fauna
The past conferences have been incredibly popular, so be sure to register early to ensure your spot. When you attend IACD conferences, remember, overnight accommodations are separate from conference fees and are the responsibility of the attendee.
Rates and deadlines will be as follows:
$150 full conference registration
Registration is non-refundable. If you find you cannot attend, you may request to transfer your registration to someone else.
Registration Issues or Questions contact Ashton Dukeman: ADukeman@MaconCCD.org
Click HERE to register.
Lodging
Conference host lodging will once again be at the Starved Rock Conference Center and Lodge. Lodging reservations are separate from your conference registration. Visit Starvedrocklodge.com or call 815-667-4211. Room block is under IACD.