“Boots on the Ground: Conservation and Management in Practice”

2026 Annual Meeting-Grand Junction Feb 17th-Feb 19th 2026

Thank you to this year's conference sponsors!!

AWARD WINNERS

CCTWS Special Recognition Award - Kathy Griffin, CPW
CCTWS Professional Achievement in Wildlife Management Award - Brian Holmes, CPW
Jim Olterman Award for Professional Achievement in Wildlife Management - Brian Sullivan, CPW
Douglas L. Gilbert Award for Professional Achievement in Wildlife Sciences - David Otis, Emeritus Faculty
Allen Anderson Award for Outstanding Wildlife Student - Aidan Hallsworth, Colorado State University

Jim Olterman Scholarship - Danielle Terry, Colorado State University

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation - Emily Macklin, South Dakota State University

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation - Laura Farnsworth, CU Denver

Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation - Arrow Myers, Western Colorado University

PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

Overall Winner - Arrow Myers, Western Colorado University

Birds - Arrow Myers, Western Colorado University (Wilson's phalarope)

Mammals - Arrow Myers, Western Colorado University (Red fox kit)

Amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates - Jackson Ballard (Greater short-horned lizard)

Aquatics - Gwen Harris (CPW tech deploying dye)

Human Dimensions - Cody Hinkley (Trail camera photo of wildfire)

Humor/Comedy - Makayla Golden (Surprise!)

Landscape and plants - Joy Havens (Gnarled oak tree)

Trail camera - Bighorn sheep project, BLM (Mountain lion adult and cub)

REGISTRATION

Registration is closed so we can give the venue a head count.

Day-of registration will be available for an increased fee.

CO-TWS Members

Professional Members: $250 early bird -- $300 late

Student Members: $100 early bird -- $150 late

Professional Non-member*: $265 early bird -- $315 late

Student Non-member*: $115 early bird -- $165 late

*Non Members – This price comes with an annual membership, so if you need to renew you can do that by buying a non-member registration

Workshop-Day-Only Registration (opens Feb 9th at 8 AM) -- $50

One-Day Registration (available in person at the conference) -- $100

Hotel Room Block

Our block is split between three hotels in Grand Junction, the Hampton Inn, Tru by Hilton, and Fairfield Inn and Suites. Please use the following links to book hotels by January 31st at the discounted rate.

Hampton Inn

Tru By Hilton

Fairfield Inn and Suites

SCHEDULE

Conference at a glance

Detailed Agenda

(see below for workshop and field trip descriptions)

List of Abstracts

(alphabetical order by presenting author's last name)

Thank you to those of you presenting talks and posters. Here is some presentation information and best practices:

All presentations:

Use sufficient contrast between the text and background that will work in both dim and bright rooms and be easily read by audience members. Use this website to check contrast.
Avoid using color to convey differences in information. A person with a vision disability might miss out on the meaning conveyed by different colors. Instead, use underline or bold. Use this website to check color accessibility.
Use sans serif fonts such as Arial or Calibri. These are easier for people with low vision or a reading disability to read than fonts such as Times New Roman.
Make sure that figures, tables, and their content are large enough for the audience to see. Avoid having to say “I’m sorry you can’t see this”.
Use understandable terms: Avoid slang, jargon, acronyms, and colloquialisms, unless you define them.
All presenters must register and pay the appropriate meeting registration fee

Oral presentations:

12 minutes, followed by 3 minutes for Q&A and transition to the next presenter.
Microsoft PowerPoint format (pptx) or Google Slides, “widescreen” slide size (16:9).
Limit the information on each screen/slide so it is easily read from the back of the room.
Use the default font of 44-point bold font for headings.
Use a 32-point font or higher for short, simple bullets.
Include no more than six lines of text on each slide.
We encourage talks to be submitted 3 days before the conference via email to Jack Grider (jack.grider@state.co.us). Talks MUST be uploaded 24 hours in advance of your presentation time.

Poster presentations:

Bring a printed version of their poster to the conference.
As much as possible, use visual aids rather than text to communicate ideas.
Avoid clutter that could make your poster overwhelming to the reader.
Posters should be 48” X 36”.

Code of Conduct

Attendance at this meeting is at the discretion of the Colorado Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Anyone violating this code of conduct will be asked to refrain from attending the meeting or to leave.

Photo Contest

Submit your best wildlife photos here before February 9th to compete in our annual photo contest.

Plenary Speaker Bios

Gear Swap

We will be hosting a gear swap/giveaway on Wednesday February 18th at 5-6 PM in the main banquet hall of the conference. This is meant to benefit students, technicians, and early career biologists who may not have filled out their gear cabinet yet, and generally to make gear more accessible to everyone. All conference attendees are welcome to bring five items (or fewer) of gently used outdoor gear (e.g., field pants, packs, bike gear, boots, trekking poles, tents, etc.) they would like to swap or donate. Emphasis on the word gently, as this is not meant to discard old, broken gear. Swappers will be responsible for staying with their gear, trading or giving it away, and removing unwanted items at the end of the event.

Workshop Descriptions

Held Tuesday February 17th (Note many of these overlap in time-Please do not sign up for 2 overlapping workshops or field trips)

Title: Facilitating Depolarization: Tools for Reducing Conflict and Depolarizing Conservation Issues

Organizer/Contact: Mireille Gonzalez (CSU)

Workshop Description (40 people max):

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (with breaks and lunch)

In an increasingly polarized world, our ability to communicate across divisions is essential to building stronger, more resilient communities. Polarization has become one of the biggest barriers to natural resource management today- whether it’s wolves, and use, or climate policy, polarized debates stall decision-making and erode trust. Many engagement processes aren’t designed to reduce conflict; too often, they entrench it by overlooking the people, histories, and values shaping conservation debates. This interactive workshop provides practical facilitation techniques to reduce polarization and support constructive dialogue in contentious contexts. Drawing from real-world examples in human-wildlife conflict, participants will explore strategies to engage diverse values, manage difficult emotions, and design processes that move groups from entrenched positions toward shared goals. The session begins with a broader look at how to design effective stakeholder engagement processes aimed at achieving outcomes such as depolarization and conflict resolution. It also introduces research-based frameworks from deliberative democracy and conflict resolution, showing how research can inform practice in accessible ways. Tailored for Colorado TWS members, many of whom are biologists and managers, the workshop highlights how these skills can strengthen collaboration across disciplines and with communities, helping practitioners apply technical expertise more effectively in socially complex situations. Through interactive activities, participants will practice navigating conflict, fostering empathy and perspective-taking, and reframing wildlife issues to open space for more constructive dialogue.

Title: Fundamentals of Plant Identification

Organizer/Contact: Becky Ruzicka (CSU)

Tuesday Feb 17th half-day 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 25 people max

Workshop Description:

This workshop will introduce participants to fundamentals of plant identification, with a focus on why it is an essential skill for wildlife managers. We’ll cover basic plant morphology, learn to recognize the most common plant families in Colorado, and highlight key species that are important ecologically or frequently encountered in the region. Weather permitting, we’ll head into the field to practice identification skills in real-world settings. Participants will gain familiarity and confidence in identifying common plants.

Title: Logistics of habitat restoration and incorporation of native plants into wildlife projects

(FULL - NO MORE TICKETS AVAILABLE)

Organizer/Contact: CPW Habitat Unit, Wildlife Habitat Research, and Land Use staff

Tuesday Feb 17th half-day 1:00 - 5:00 PM, 25 people max

Workshop Description:

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Wildlife Habitat Research staff will cover the how and why of "habitat" seeding projects implemented in western Colorado. This workshop will focus on big game species, greater sage grouse, and Columbian sharp-tailed grouse; however, the framework for project planning can be applied to other species. We will begin with the functional needs of the focal wildlife species including seasonal plant utilization (forage, cover), followed by site potential with considerations for soils and ecological site descriptions. The workshop will showcase large scale seeding projects conducted in salt desert, sagebrush, pinon-juniper and mixed mountain shrub communities, incorporating both intact native and previously altered environmental settings. For each habitat type, we will provide seeding methods and outcomes over time. Additionally, methods for analyzing forage quality and quantity will be discussed as a metric to evaluate success of seeding projects. Participants will leave with a better understanding of the complexities of implementing wildlife seeding projects in western Colorado.

Field Trips

Title: Palisade Insectary

Description: see https://ag.colorado.gov/conservation/palisade-insectary

Biological control is a method of pest management that uses the natural enemies of weeds or pests. The Palisade Insectary imports, raises, researches, and distributes biological controls for the state of Colorado.

Successful biological pest control does three things:

reduces costs
cuts down on the amount of chemicals entering the environment
establishes helpful insects for a natural, permanent pest control choice.

More than 90 insects and fungi have been studied and released for use since the Insectary was started in 1945.

When: Tuesday 10 AM (limit 20 people) and Friday 10 AM (limit 20 people). Note: leave 30 minutes minimum to drive from the Convention Center to the Insectary. Tour is approximately 1.5 hours, excluding drive time.

Title: Cross Country Skiing on the Grand Mesa (Weather Dependent)

Description: Carpool to the Grand Mesa for a day of cross country skiing (carpool will also pass by Powderhorn ski area for downhill skiiers). Note there is a suggested $20 per person donation.

There are several rental places in Grand Junction (Board and Buckle is one - https://www.boardandbuckle.com/rentals/)

When: Tuesday meet at Convention Center and leave at 8:30 AM (it takes about an hour to get to the ski area).

Title: Society of American Foresters Field Trip (Weather Dependent)

Organizer: Ian Reilling (SAF)

Description: Carpool to some local sites to see how we transition from alpine to desert systems in ~10 air miles. SAF leaders will be discussing topics relevant to local natural resource management and showing examples of different forest types throughout the afternoon. Specific sites are TBD.

When: Tuesday meet at Convention Center and leave at noon.

Title: Out in the Field (OiTF) Evening Social

Description: Join fellow LGBTQIA+ CCTWS members and allies for an evening social on Wednesday Feb 18th. Details on location and time will be forthcoming, but it will be offsite within walking distance of the Convention Center. There is no registration fee for this event, but please indicate whether you plan to attend on the registration form. All are welcome.

CCTWS

“Boots on the Ground: Conservation and Management in Practice”