Call for Proposals - New River Symposium, 2026, to be held at AppState in April

[Grace Marasco-Plummer]

Dear RIEEE Colleagues,

The New River Symposium will be held on the Appalachian State campus April 9-11, 2026! Please see the call for proposals below, and watch for registration to open in the coming weeks.

Thank you,

Grace

--------------------------------------------

Plemmons Student Union // Appalachian State University // Boone, NC

April 9-10, 2026

For more information: newriverconservancy.org

Proposals are due on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 5:00pm

THEME

The New River Conservancy (NRC) invites you to be a part of the 2026 New River Symposium. The 2026 theme is New River Rising: Resiliency in the Watershed -  highlighting themes of resilience and the intersections with ecology, community and economy. How is this theme showing up in your work? From defending biodiversity to adapting to a changing climate, the watershed is full of folks who help support our mission to protect the waters, woodlands and wildlife of the New River Watershed. We look forward to receiving your proposal. 

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

NRC is primarily looking for proposals that fall under the conference tracks listed below, but also welcome proposals outside of the scope of this list. We are interested in including some multi-presenter panel sessions, so please consider if your proposed presentation could be made in collaboration. Topics that are underlined would be ideally covered as panels.

Panel Session: 50 minutes in length, with at least 10 minutes of that time dedicated to questions. Panel sessions require at least 3 panelists.

Presentation Session: 20 minutes in length, with at least 5 minutes of that time dedicated to questions. If your presentation does not fill 15 minutes, you can combine with another presentation or instead present at a poster session.

Poster Session: Poster set up is Thursday, April 9th between 12pm-4pm. The manned poster session is Thursday from 4pm-6pm.  

Conference Tracks and Example Proposal Topics:

Ecological Communities Track:

• Riparian Buffers
• Rain Gardens and Lawns
• Water Quality
• Data Management
• Acquisition + Restoration
• Aquatic Surveys
• Urban and Regional Planning

Cultural Endurance Track:

• Oral History of the New River
• Conservation Planning
• Stewardship Initiatives
• Land Trusts
• Landowner Education
• Volunteerism
• Funding/Resources
• Emergency Management
• Art
• Civic Engagement

Recreation Economy Track:

• New River Water Trail
• Community/ Infrastructure Development
• Architecture + Engineering
• Trail Development
• Tourism/ Business Development
• Land Use Planning
• Public + Private Partnerships
• Overlap of Recreation and Conservation

PROPOSAL EVALUATION

Proposals will be evaluated independently by 2-3 reviewers from the symposium program planning committee. In reviewing proposals, the planning committee may request to combine multiple proposals into a panel session or suggest a poster in place of a presentation.  

PRESENTER EXPECTATIONS

The New River Symposium is an in-person conference. All presenters must be able to join us in-person in Boone, NC. Presenters are expected to pay for their registration fee or apply for a scholarship. Scholarships are limited please email symp...@newriverconservancy.org with any scholarship questions. Student attendees registration fee will be waived thanks to our partners at Appalachian State University. Presenters and students are responsible for their own travel and accommodations.

Questions about the process or looking for feedback on your draft proposal?

Contact the Programs Committee, symp...@newriverconservancy.org

____________________________
Grace Plummer
Managing Director
1117 Peacock Hall
828-262-7514

Find us online

Join our Google Group

[Grace Marasco-Plummer]

Dear Colleagues,

The deadline to submit to present at the 2026 New River Symposium, to be held on campus April 9-11, has been extended to Monday, February 16 - please see details and a link to the submission form below.  Registration is also open here.

Students are encouraged to present, as well, and are admitted free of charge.  Please share this link with your students - registration is required.

Thank you,

Grace

____________________________
Grace Plummer
Managing Director
1117 Peacock Hall
828-262-7514

Find us online

Join our Google Group

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Grace Marasco-Plummer <plum...@appstate.edu>
Date: Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Subject: Call for Proposals - New River Symposium, 2026, to be held at AppState in April
To: Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics <group...@appstate.edu>

Dear RIEEE Colleagues,

The New River Symposium will be held on the Appalachian State campus April 9-11, 2026! Please see the call for proposals below, and watch for registration to open in the coming weeks.

Thank you,

Grace

--------------------------------------------

Plemmons Student Union // Appalachian State University // Boone, NC

April 9-10, 2026

For more information: newriverconservancy.org

Proposals are due on Tuesday, February 16, 2026 at 5:00pm

THEME

The New River Conservancy (NRC) invites you to be a part of the 2026 New River Symposium. The 2026 theme is New River Rising: Resiliency in the Watershed -  highlighting themes of resilience and the intersections with ecology, community and economy. How is this theme showing up in your work? From defending biodiversity to adapting to a changing climate, the watershed is full of folks who help support our mission to protect the waters, woodlands and wildlife of the New River Watershed. We look forward to receiving your proposal. 

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

NRC is primarily looking for proposals that fall under the conference tracks listed below, but also welcome proposals outside of the scope of this list. We are interested in including some multi-presenter panel sessions, so please consider if your proposed presentation could be made in collaboration. Topics that are underlined would be ideally covered as panels.

Panel Session: 50 minutes in length, with at least 10 minutes of that time dedicated to questions. Panel sessions require at least 3 panelists.

Presentation Session: 20 minutes in length, with at least 5 minutes of that time dedicated to questions. If your presentation does not fill 15 minutes, you can combine with another presentation or instead present at a poster session.

Poster Session: Poster set up is before 11am on Thursday, April 9th. The manned poster session is Thursday from 4pm-6pm.