The NAC Heads West

摘要

The 33rd Natural Areas Conference, co-hosted by the Natural Areas Association and the National Park Service, was held September 20-23 in the heart of Grand Canyon country-Flagstaff, Arizona. The conference focused on changes to the natural and cultural landscape of the Grand Canyon region, and to the "Old West" in general. Over 400 people from 36 states and Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Peru, and South Africa gathered to explore the history and diversity of this vast and dynamic ecoregion. But, as one would expect at a NAC, the locales under discussion ranged from East to West and from South America to South Africa. Concurrent sessions offered diverse topics such as the role of genetic analysis in conservation biology, ecological monitoring and assessment of natural areas, setting priorities in conservation planning, invasive species, climate change, fire ecology, and natural areas programs. Plenary talks and field trips highlighted the natural and cultural resources of the Colorado Plateau, an area nearly the size of Germany.