81st SWCS International Annual Conference
July 26-29, 2026
Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark
St. Louis, Missouri
The 81st SWCS International Annual Conference took place on July 26-29, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri.
This year’s theme, Gateway to Conservation, embraces St. Louis’s historic and geographic significance. Located just south of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the two largest moving bodies of water in North America, St. Louis has long been a meeting place for people, ideas, and opportunity. For thousands of years, vibrant Native American communities thrived across the Upper Mississippi River Valley, where tens of thousands of people called the region home. Later, the city became a hub for westward expansion, symbolized by the iconic Gateway Arch, which today provides an entryway to 128 miles (and counting!) of interconnected greenways.
As we gathered at this gateway from East to West, we ithought about expansion in a new way: the expansion of conservation itself. How do we widen our reach, deepen our connections, and strengthen our collective impact around the world? How do we show reverence for the past while forging a future? Just as the Mississippi and Missouri rivers converge here to flow forward together, so too can our efforts unite, an inspiring symbol for the future of conservation.
SWCS brought together our conservation community of researchers, practitioners, industry leaders, farmers, and students from around the world to share inspiration, connections, and wisdom for success.
The conference featured the latest ideas, technologies, and practices and foster dialogue around their adoption. Through workshops, sessions, symposia, tours, exhibits, and demonstrations, cutting-edge research and practice developments in soil health, water quality, and resource management was shared. Scientists, practitioners, and farmers presented their work at the field, farm, and watershed scale that span the private and public sectors. Applications of social theories and examples of successful outreach and education enabled attendees to identify ways to scale up localized successes. Participants also heard about policy and economic developments that build a framework to increase conservation adoption and support future generations.
Thank you to our 81st SWCS International Annual Conference Sponsors!
Platinum Sponsor
Diamond Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Student Leader Development Sponsor
Exhibitors
Great Plains Fire Science Exchange
Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative
MU Center for Regenerative Agriculture
National Conservation District Employees Association