An official website of
The theme of the year…
Confluence is expressly focused on providing a place for collaborative conservation professionals, students, and emerging leaders to connect with one another and learn together about the best-practices, processes, and outcomes of collaborative conservation. It will be structured to support peer-to-peer learning about collaborative processes and skillsets, and designed as best as we can to create a space for community-building, networking, and mentorship for everyone who attends.
We do this through:
Fort Collins is about an hour north of Denver by car or shuttle, and Colorado State University (CSU) sits in the middle of town, making it a central location for our gathering. CSU is also the home of WCCN’s host organization, the Center for Collaborative Conservation.
We have several options for registration with Early Bird and Full prices for all options. Early bird will be available till 2025 until February 28, 2026. Regular price will be charged from March 1, 2026 until the close of registration on May 5, 2026.
For any organizations that would like to showcase their work at Confluence, we will be offering both Full and Half Table options, which include one registration.
We are looking to support folks who may be attending as early career professionals, representing themselves, coming from small non-profits, or for other reasons of need. To access discounted prices, please fill out a short application form. After a quick review, we will let you know if we can approve the discount. Applications for discount registration will close on April 30, 2026.
| Registration Type | Early Bird Price | Regular Full Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Registration | $420 | $520 | — |
| Half Table | $510 | $610 | Includes one registration |
| Full Table | $560 | $660 | Includes one registration |
| Discounted Registration | $245 | $345 | Application required; closes April 30, 2026 |
(1) skill-building sessions
(2) community-building and connecting discussions and activities.
Confluence emphasizes two-way learning when both session leaders and participants share their experiences, ideas, and expertise. So, we will be looking for a variety of session types, but across the board, we will be interested in proposals that engage the audience very intentionally.
We will also be looking for facilitators who can help us bring joint discussions to life.
Applications for sessions will close on January 15, 2026. Applicants will be informed about their sessions by February 1, 2026.
For posters, we are opening applications for two different categories:
(1) skill-building
(2) community-building and connecting
For each, posters can be focused on collaborative projects, storytelling, research, or other innovative elements of your work that you would like to share.
We are also looking for proposals for art pieces that speak to our overarching theme – The Future of Collaboration: The Power of Working Across Divides. In this moment of immense change and uncertainty, we feel that art offers an opportunity to communicate via alternative means, express ourselves as people more fully, and share visions of the future and hope with one another. We will consider visual arts, as well as other media types.
All applications are due by midnight on January 15, 2026. The planning committee will review all submissions and notify applicants by February 1, 2025.
For anyone who may be seeking more support to attend Confluence. We have limited funding to support registration and travel, but we will support as many people as we can based on need and the potential for applicants to contribute to the event as participants, WCCN members, and/or presenters. The maximum amount of support that we can offer to any one person is $1,500 and we will give partial support when appropriate and to support more people in attending.
we are excited to offer 3 different levels of support for participation in Confluence 2026.
Depending on need, these three options are:
(1) Complimentary registration
(2) Partial scholarships, and (3) full scholarships (up to $1,450) to help cover registration, lodging, and travel.
Scholarships will be provided via post-event reimbursements through Colorado State University (pending your submission of required paperwork).
Scholarship applications will close on February 15, 2026.
Getting to Fort Collins
If you are traveling to Fort Collins from out of state, we suggest flying into Denver International Airport (DEN/DIA). From there, you can rent a car or take a shuttle to Fort Collins. There are several shuttle services, but two of the commonly used options are Landline and Groome.
Hotel Options
We will post information on our hotel block here as soon as we have it.
Parking on Campus
The closest visitor parking to the Lory Student Center is lot 310, which is just north of Lory. Parking here is $2 per hour from 7:30a – 4:00p, and you can pay with the ParkMobile app or with your license plate at meters.
It is important to make sure that you are parked in the right part of the lot, which is marked for hourly parking. Lot 310 also includes permit only parking, but there are signs that will help you tell if you are parking in the right spot.
If you are interested in sponsoring Confluence 2026, please email WCCN Director, Aireona Bonnie Raschke at araschke@colostate.edu.
Finally, we are so grateful to the organizations that are bringing Confluence 2026 to life via sponsorships, and dedication of time.
If you have any general questions, please email WCCN Director, Aireona Bonnie Raschke at araschke@colostate.edu.
Learn more about legacy Confluence gatherings from 2020, 2022, and 2024 here.
