Opening Plenary Session
"Nebraska and the Great Plains: Whooping Crane Conservation at the Continental Scale"
Tuesday, April 14
8:30am–10:00am
Capitol Ballroom 2, 3, and 4
Moderator
Chad Smith, President, Headwaters Corporation, Kearney, NE
Description
This Plenary Session will include a welcome to the conference and introduction from Conference Chair Dr. Chadwin Smith of Headwaters, followed by a welcome to Nebraska, the Great Plains, and the wider world of conservation from Dr. Larkin Powell, Director of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Powell will use the themes of his newly released book, "The Best of Intentions: A Story of Landscape Change in the Heart of the Great Plains," to explore forces that have re-shaped the Great Plains and to highlight a journey to a more resilient future. The Plenary Session will conclude with conservation photographer and lifelong Nebraskan, Michael Forsberg, as he takes us on a lifelong personal journey with camera in hand following cranes up and down the Central Flyway and exploring the Great Plains–once one of the greatest grasslands on Earth. See in a new way his home watershed where he co-founded an innovative multi-media storytelling project called Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT) that leverages the power of photography to explore the questions of where our water comes from and what it means to live in a watershed community. Healthy watersheds, resilient grasslands and the connectivity of migratory flyways are central to almost every conversation we have about crane conservation in the world today. Those conversations are stories and imagery that, when shared, have the power to elevate science and transcend politics to help each of us connect personally, care deeply, and understand what is at stake.
Session Schedule
8:30am–8:40am
Moderator Introduction & Overview — Welcome to NCER 2026
Join us for remarks by conference chair, Chad Smith, as we kick off the 2026 National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration!
8:40am–9:00am
Larkin Powell
Director and Professor of Conservation Biology/Animal Ecology
School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
Larkin Powell is Director for the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The School has 85 faculty with expertise in climate, water/soils, and biodiversity in working landscapes. As professor of conservation biology and animal ecology in the School, Larkin taught undergraduate and graduate courses on wildlife management and research, and his research program focused on landscape dynamics, animal demography and movements, and decisions made by private landowners in the Great Plains and throughout the world. He is a Fellow of the Wildlife Society, and the author of 7 books including The Best of Intentions: A Story of Landscape Change in the Heart of the Great Plains, released in 2025.
9:00am–9:40am
Michael Forsberg
Conservation Photographer, Research Assistant Professor
School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
Michael Forsberg is a conservation photographer, author, and educator whose 30-year career has focused on wildlife, grasslands, and watersheds in North America's Great Plains. Mike co-founded and directs the Platte Basin Timelapse project–a conservation storytelling project that informs scientific research, builds educational content, and tells stories of a Great Plains watershed in motion. Mike is a Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, a member of The Photo Society and on faculty with IANR at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In 2017, he received the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography and the Environmental Impact Award from the North American Nature Photographers Association. Mike lives with his family and a collection of unruly animals in Lincoln, Nebraska.
