Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

Header photo courtesy of Visit Fort Wayne. Other website photos courtesy of local host teams.

About The Organization

The Conservation Enhancement Fund (“CEF”), is a Kansas not-for-profit corporation, organized for charitable, educational and scientific purposes and to assist the Midwest states in planning and hosting the annual Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference (“Conference”), a scientific/educational conference hosted on a rotating basis by state members of Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The current rotation schedule for the Conference is as follows beginning in 2026: Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, and Missouri.

Officers:

Shannon Lott (MI), President
Chris Kennedy (KS), First Vice President
Kelly Straka (MN), Second Vice President
Pete Hildreth (IA), Past President
Kendra Wecker (OH), Member
Tim McCoy (NE), Member
Jason Sumners (MO), Member

About The Conference

The conference attracts up to 1,000 biologists and students from state, federal, and tribal natural resources agencies and universities from the Midwest, Great Plains and Canadian provinces for the purposes of sharing technical presentations, poster displays, plenary sessions, and networking opportunities for wildlife professionals. Attendees include professionals in the field of fisheries and wildlife, including; directors, assistant directors, program managers, wildlife and fisheries biologists, as well as college students.

85TH MIDWEST FISH & WILDLIFE CONFERENCE January 19-22 St. Louis, Missouri. The Road to Resiliency - from surviving to thriving in conservation. See you there.

Thank you for attending! January 25-28, 2026

The 86th Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference was hosted by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and held January 25-28, 2026 in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. Thank you for attending!

Check Conference Program Archives under Resources for information.

SAVE THE DATE

The 87th Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference will be held February 7 - 10, 2027 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please mark your calendars and make plans to join us!