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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Snake Road in the Shawnee National Forest, once a site of snake persecution, has transformed into a conservation area dedicated to protecting reptiles. This talk explores how landscape management policies have shifted public perceptions of snakes. Using surveys of visitors and residents, interviews with educators and policymakers, and archival research, the study examines whether direct encounters with snakes foster greater tolerance and appreciation. Findings indicate increased positive attitudes influenced by social and cultural factors, though high visitor traffic raises sustainability concerns. The presentation discusses how intentional landscape management can promote biodiversity and reshape attitudes toward uncharismatic species, offering insights for future conservation efforts.
