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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Register Now - Early Bird Registration Closes August 31<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This event is unique - it is completely dedicated to the needs of the community of natural areas practitioners. We bring together leaders from across our profession to offer the information you need to excel in your work: cutting-edge science, emerging strategies, and hands-on understanding - plus collaborative exchange with the community of your fellow professionals.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This year's conference offers programming that directly engages with attendees on the topics they most want to hear about. You can access the full conference schedule at <a href="https://www.naturalareas.org/conference.php">https://www.naturalareas.org/conference.php</a> under schedule.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a name="_Hlk517254187">A few of the in-depth symposia you can expect include:<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk517254187'>Leveraging data and technology to inform natural areas management<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk517254187'>Growing regional partnerships to address invasive species and strengthen ecosystem resilience<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk517254187'>Conserving and managing karst systems<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk517254187'>Collaboration in urban natural areas restoration<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk517254187'>Using the native seed strategy in restoration work<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk517254187'></span><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>New for 2018: ID Workshops<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We are <a href="http://www.memberleap.com/ct.php?lid=20534167&mm=31488504233" target="_blank">offering six ID workshops</a> to strengthen natural areas practitioners' grasp of the fundamentals of their work: Invasive Plants, Invasive Insects, Midwestern Ferns, Grasses, Sedges and using Digital Herbarium Tools. https://www.naturalareas.org/conference.php#ID%20Workshops<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>You can attend a full-day, <br>pre-conference workshop on BMPs for Pollinators featuring Xerces Society, or sit at the Pollinator Roundtable to discuss the latest thinking on the subject of pollinators in natural areas management.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.memberleap.com/ct.php?lid=20520725&mm=31488504233" target="_blank">Plenary Speakers</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Our Keynote Speaker is Professor Scott Russell Sanders, award-winning author of A Conservationist Manifesto and Stone Country: Then & Now. We expect a full house for our Closing Plenary, featuring Former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis and Dr. Gary Machlis, co-authors of the book The Future of Conservation in America: A Chart for Rough Water.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>https://www.naturalareas.org/conference.php#plenary<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>And we're offering <a href="http://www.memberleap.com/ct.php?lid=20521947&mm=31488504233" target="_blank">7 half-day Field Workshops</a> to get you out onto the land to engage in the strategies you'll be hearing about. Choose from these and more:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Creating bat habitat in oak woodland and limestone glades<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Restoring hardwood forest from former agricultural land in the Hills of Gold<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Canoeing through karst caves on the Lost River<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Improving wetland quality at the Beanblossom Nature Preserve<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>https://www.naturalareas.org/conference.php#field%20workshop<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Registration grants you access to all of our symposia and oral presentations - plus the NAA Awards Dinner and the Poster Reception<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There's SO much more.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Find out more about the conference by <a href="http://www.memberleap.com/ct.php?lid=20523169&mm=31488504233" target="_blank">visiting our conference page</a>. <a href="https://www.naturalareas.org/conference.php">https://www.naturalareas.org/conference.php</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There you'll find information about all our programming and events, <a href="http://www.memberleap.com/ct.php?lid=20524391&mm=31488504233" target="_blank">student opportunities and programming</a>, and you can also <a href="http://www.memberleap.com/ct.php?lid=20525613&mm=31488504233" target="_blank">reserve your room</a> at the Biddle Hotel in the Indiana Memorial Union, our conference venue.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Don't wait. Early Bird registration closes August 31, and Workshops and Field Workshops have limited capacity.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><br>We'll see you in Bloomington!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks to our sponsors: The Nature Conservancy – Indiana Field Office; Indiana Forest Alliance; the Indiana Academy of Science; the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; iDigBio; Sitka Technology Group; Central Indiana Land Trust; EcoLogic; Indiana Karst Conservancy; Sycamore Land Trust; Applied Ecological Services; Woody Warehouse Nursery, Inc.; Indiana Department of Natural Resources<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Kate Luce Angell <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Communications and Outreach Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><a href="mailto:kangell@naturalareas.org"><span style='color:#0563C1'>kangell@naturalareas.org</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>412-925-2537<br><br></span><u><span style='font-size:8.0pt;color:#0563C1'><o:p></o:p></span></u></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://www.naturalareas.org/"><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=80 height=56 style='width:.8333in;height:.5833in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D408A3.FF7C88B0" alt="Natural Areas-Assocation-COLOR_email"></span></a><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><br><br></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Please plan to join us for the 2018 <br>Natural Areas Conference in Bloomington, IN<br>October 23-25, 2018. <br><a href="https://naturalareas.org/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://naturalareas.org/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>