Longleaf Pine Savanna
	Grasslands and Game Animals
	Grasslands and Songbirds
	Grasslands and Biofuels
	Cattle grazing Eastern gamagrass

The Sixth Eastern Native Grass Symposium

** Please visit our "First Call for Participation" pages for more detailed information about the Symposium.

South Carolina will be the stage for the 6th Eastern Native Grass Symposium in October, 2008, during the height of the flowering season for many of our beautiful native grasses. The theme will be: “Eastern Native Grasslands – Managing an Ecosystem on the Edge”.

Scientists, seed producers, ecologists, wildlife managers, native plant enthusiasts, natural resource agencies, and landscape professionals from all over the eastern US will converge on the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Columbia for scientific and informational presentations, hands-on workshops and a host of field trips showcasing the native grasslands of our state.

Keynote speakers will present information in areas such as: Eastern native grass communities – History and current status Protection and restoration of eastern native grass communities Native grass communities in landscaping Native grass communities and wildlife Native grasses for biofuel production, and more.

Volunteer oral and poster presentations will cover a large variety of native grass topics:

• We will examine current information on genetics and ecology of native grass species, local seed source development, and conservation / restoration of native grasslands here in the East.
• We will also look into native grass applications in wildlife management, pollution abatement / remediation, and reclamation of disturbed lands.
• We will have a number of experts in the burgeoning field of perennial native grasses for cellulosic bio-fuels, a potentially more carbon-friendly source of energy for the future.

Field trips are planned to see first-hand some of our surviving native grass-based plant communities, a wonderful resource that we almost lost in the rush of agricultural and other forms of land development in the 19th & 20th centuries.

Field trip stops will include:

• Native grass communities including a)longleaf pine-grass and other savanna communities; b) piedmont prairie remnants; c) native herbaceous communities in managed rights-of way; and more.
• Native grass communities managed for wildlife
• Local-origin seed production efforts.
• Landscapes developed with native grass - forb mixtures
• Farm program and bio-fuel production native grass areas; and
• Native grasses in livestock production
• And more...

We hope you will join us in sharing information, technology and motivation in this important field of hope and opportunity.