The complete program will be available here in early June. In the meantime, we can share our plans for the workshop's Plenary Sessions.

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PLENARY SESSIONS

We’ll kick things off on Monday, October 19, with two insightful Plenaries. The first will orient us to the Southeast region through an introduction to the Tennessee RiverLine, a 1.2-million acre linear park that follows the Tennessee River from Knoxville all the way to Paducah, Kentucky. Panelists Brad Collett (RiverLine Executive Director) and Clay Guerry (Recreation Specialist, Tennessee Valley Authority), plus another TBA, will discuss this innovative conservation area that knits a whole watershed together. Ryan Sharp (Professor, UTK) will moderate.

 

After a break, we’ll move to a second Plenary that truly meets the moment by Assessing the State of Historic Preservation in Challenging Times. Our speakers will be Sarah Wiecksel (President, American Historical Association), Anne Mitchell Whisnant (Professor, Duke University), and Alan Spears (Senior Director for Cultural Resources, National Parks Conservation Association), with Eboni Preston Goddard (Southeast Regional Director, NPCA) as moderator.

 

The Tuesday, October 20, Plenary will be Protecting Karst Resources in Tennessee and the Greater Southeast: The Physical, Biological, and Cultural Elements. The term “karst” refers to landscapes formed when rocks such as limestone and dolomite dissolve, forming unique above-ground features as well as caves and other subterranean features. Large karst areas are found in Tennessee and beyond in the Southeast, and are extremely significant in terms of ecology and biodiversity, as well as being highly important culturally. This session will feature three experts who will walk us through the key elements of these fragile and beautiful landscapes: Chris Groves (Professor, Western Kentucky University), Matt Niemiller (Professor, University of Alabama in Huntsville). and Jan Simek, (Professor, UTK).

 

On Wednesday October 21, Derek Alderman (Professor, UTK) will present on Reconciliation Through Place Names. His cultural geography scholarship examines the racial justice dimensions of place naming and commemorative landscapes. From 2022 to 2025 he served on the now-disbanded U.S. Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names. Seth Kannarr (recent PhD recipient, UTK) will moderate.

 

Our closing Plenary on Thursday, October 22, will be a panel of TBA students and early-career professionals sharing their vision of where American place-based conservation needs to go next as we navigate an extraordinary time.