The Wild Things Conference Returns Saturday, March 1, 2025 - SOLD OUT
We’re thrilled to welcome you again to learn and share your expertise with our community. We’ve put together an exciting lineup of workshops and sessions from regional and national experts, plus meet & greets, video content, exhibitors, and sponsors. With over 140 presentations and discussion panels to choose from, the in-person program engages a diverse range of topics, research, and skills, and plenty of opportunities to meet with friends, old and new.
Thank you as well to our sponsors, scholarship supporters, and exhibitors who are all helping to make this another tremendously successful Wild Things.
Tickets for Wild Things 2025 are sold out. For additional information on the 2025 conference, visit wildthingscommunity.org.
**PLEASE NOTE: Some details are subject to change.**
NOTICE: Please be advised that photos and videos will be taken during Wild Things 2025. By attending, you consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded. Your attendance on this event constitutes your agreement to the use of any resulting media by Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves for promotional, marketing, or any other purpose in perpetuity, without further approval or any compensation.
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There is increasing concern protected natural areas are being negatively affected by chemical pesticides that strayed from target areas. We characterized the occurrence and concentration of chemical pesticides and symptoms associated with herbicide exposure at 185 randomly selected locations in Illinois, including 102 Illinois Nature Preserves Commission sites. We found at least one pesticide at 97% of sites, with herbicides being the most common class detected. We found visual evidence consistent with herbicide damage for at least 97% of site visits. The strongest predictor of symptom severity and chemical concentration was the area of row crops in the surrounding landscape.
