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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Hybrid invasive cattail (Typha × glauca) establishes dense monocultures throughout eutrophic Great Lakes wetlands. Large-scale restoration research at Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge [Saginaw County, MI] is currently assessing repeat harvesting treatments and cattail-derived-biochar application to reduce Typha dominance and address nutrient loading. Loyola University Chicago graduate researchers are exploring reintroduction of dominant wetland plants (hardstem bulrush & tussock sedge) post-cattail management in a greenhouse experiment. A second graduate study is investigating the impact of cattail management on waterbird occupancy, utilizing machine-learning technology and wildlife recorders. Results will inform land managers on potential solutions to address cattail monocultures to improve biodiversity.
