THE KANSAS FIELD CONFERENCE: ENGAGING WITH STATE POLICY MAKERS ON NATURAL RESOURCES IN KANSAS

The Kansas Field Conference was initiated as a public outreach effort by the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) in 1995. The conference consists of a 2-3 day field trip, targeted specifically for policy makers in the state including state legislators, industry and environmental leaders, and government agency officials. There are approximately 40 attendees each year, with additional sponsorship and support provided by other state agencies and local industries. The goal of the conference is to engage with policy makers and provide education around natural resources issues in the state of Kansas. Each year, a region of the state is selected and a multi-day field trip is planned that highlights several stops in that region that are relevant to both natural resources and the communities living in the region. For example, the 2022 Kansas Field Conference was hosted in the southeast region of the state. The field trip stops focused on three overall themes: history, industries, and transformation of that region over time. Stops at the Southeast Kansas Nature Center focused on the geological history of the region whereas stops at Big Brutus and the Galena Mining and Historical Museum provided a historical background of the impact of mining within the Tri-State mining district. Industry centered stops included visits to a limestone aggregate quarry, a recently constructed wind farm, and a robotic dairy farm. Stops that highlighted how state agencies and other local industries have worked together to transform the region included a trip to Treece, which is a superfund site that is a result of the lead and zinc mining that occurred in the region.

The Kansas Field Conferences provides significant benefits to participants on the trip, but the conference also provides significant benefits directly back to the KGS. This conference promotes positive relationships between the KGS and other state agencies throughout the year. It also provides a key opportunity to engage with state policy makers about new research opportunities that the KGS scientists are engaged in as well as the significance of the research produced by KGS scientists. This presentation will highlight over 25 years of successful field conferences, including a successful example of an alternative and accessible virtual field conference option that was developed in 2020.