Symposium Registration

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Ventura Beach Pier at sunset with waves in foreground. Text overlay Ventura, Nov. 12-15, 2025 Cal-IPC Symposium

Registration is open! Join us in Ventura or online, Nov. 12-15

Join us for another dynamic gathering of California land mangers to network, learn, and celebrate our hard work!

Once again, we’re going hybrid, so if you can’t join us in Ventura you can attend online, streaming sessions live and interacting through our conference platform.

Book your rooms now at the Ventura Beach Marriott where the Symposium will be held, by Oct. 24. The hotel is adjacent to San Buenaventura State Beach and minutes from downtown. Registration and room blocks are available to book now!

This year’s theme sessions will explore land stewardship approaches that go beyond the approach of working to eradicate invasive plants by promoting ecological resistance to invasion, resilience to changing conditions, and recovery from major events like wildfire. Sessions will highlight strategies for strengthening habitat health while also addressing the human dimensions of adaptability in conservation.

 

SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION INCLUDES:

Wed, Nov. 12: Statewide WMA Meeting, DPR Laws & Regs session, Workshops, Career Panel

Thu, Nov. 13: Plenary and concurrent sessions, Poster & Exhibitor Gallery*, Reception & Raffle*

Fri, Nov. 14: Plenary and concurrent sessions, Discussion Groups*, Awards Luncheon*, Student Contest and Photo Contest winners

Sat, Nov. 15: Field Trips* to local restoration sites

Notes:

  • Meals: light breakfast and full lunch on Thu. and Fri. Appetizers at evening reception Thu. 
  • Not available online: Items above noted with a asterisk* are not available to online attendees. 
  • Extra fees: DPR CEUs ($100), Workshops ($50), and Field Trips ($25-$125) have cost beyond basic registration cost. 
  • Partner discount: Cal-IPC offers members of SERCAL and the California Native Grass Association a $25 discount – use the discount code 2025PARTNER. 

Workshops:  

Note: Workshops are two hours, held concurrently on the afternoon of  Wednesday, Nov. 12. Cost is $50. 

  • Weed Mapping with ArcGIS: In this hands-on workshop, you will turn data into web maps in ArcGIS and create field mapping tools for your phone or tablet using ArcGIS Field Maps and Survey123. Bring your own computer with ArcGIS license (we’ll have some loaner licenses available) and field device. We will provide a dataset for you to work with, and feel free to bring your own target species lists, boundary layers, and baseline data points. We will discuss the differences between desktop and online versions of ArcGIS and go over ways to share data with Calflora, an important step for tracking progress at the landscape level. 
  • Pre-Fire Planning and Post-Fire Management: Fire is an omnipresent reality in California. Hear guidance from experienced land managers on being prepared with the right information in the right format for sharing with responders when a wildfire happens on the lands you manage. This has significant potential for reducing weed spread and resource damage. Likewise, decisive and strategic action in the wake of a wildfire is needed to address the potential for major weed spread from the fire and the fire suppression activities.   
  • BMPs for Spot Spraying and Weed Trimming: We will show best practices for two of the most common approaches for localized weed control — spot spraying with a backpack sprayer and weed cutting with a line trimmer. Used properly, these techniques can effectively handle a wide range of situations. Experts will share the fundamentals and more nuanced tricks of the trade.  
  • Weeds 101 – IPM Fundamentals: Designed for folks who are relatively new to the field of weed management, this course covers the fundamentals of Integrated Pest Management, or IPM: the invasion curve, the range of approaches — prevention, eradication, containment, control — appropriate to the stage of an invasion, and the range of management techniques — physical, cultural, chemical, and biological. We’ll go over important resources such as the Cal-IPC Inventory and profile pages, the WeedCUT online decision support tool and database of BMPs, and mapping tools such as Calflora and CalWeedMapper. 

Calflora is offering this free workshop at the same time. Separate registration here . Space limited. 

  • Sharing Weed Data Across Jurisdictions with Calflora: In this free workshop, we will explore how you can use Calflora to share weed information across jurisdictional boundaries, as well as Calflora’s tools for EDRR, email alerts, and data QA/QC. Weed Manager “heavy hitters” will share their workflows including new tools available in Calflora. Trainer Pete Frye will demonstrate Calflora’s API and new reports designed to plan and summarize weed management. 

 

Field Trips:

Note: All field trips are on Saturday, Nov. 15. Space is limited. 

  • Santa Cruz Island: We will take the Island Packers ferry across the Santa Barbara Channel to the largest of California’s Channel Islands. At Scorpion Harbor, we’ll hear about the National Park Service’s decades-long efforts to manage invasive plants, including in the fire scars of recently burned areas. We will also tour their native plant nursery and seed operation. Full day, lunch and transportation to the island provided. ($125)
  • Santa Clara River: We will visit the Cienega Springs Ecological Reserve, the Hedrick Ranch Nature Area, a private property with riparian monitoring points, and The Nature Conservancy’s Santa Clara River Preserve, with presenters from environmental groups implementing restoration and university researchers helping to track the long-term effects of restoration. Sites feature restoration of orchards, pastures, and riparian areas where Arundo has been removed. Full day, with lunch provided. ($50)
  • Santa Monica Mountains: Tour the National Park Service’s native seed farm operation for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, with a history of Indigenous management by Chumash people followed by a century of ranching. Learn about ongoing management efforts to control fennel, Italian thistle, annual grasses, and non-native forbs. When the tour ends, consider heading off to the nearby Wendy Trailhead to hit the trails for a hike. Half day. ($25)

  • Ventura River: The private Ventura River Steelhead Preserve is the site of a three-year prescribed fire research project conducted by the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and UC Cooperative Extension. Presenters will discuss their successes and challenges of using controlled burns to control yellow starthistle while encouraging native plant succession. We’ll see videos of the burns and walk through the site to see the results for fuel abatement, invasive weed control, and habitat restoration. Half day. ($25)

Registration Rates 

Note that:

  • Early bird rates run through Aug. 25 / Regular rates run through Oct. 10 / Late rates run through close of registration Nov. 4, 5pm
  • Speaker rates are for presenters whose abstract submission is accepted – applicants will be notified in mid-July.
  • Student & Limited Income rates are for individuals in a degree program or up to one-year post-graduate and for members of our community for whom the cost of registration is a barrier to participation. Consider applying for our John H. Anderson Scholarships for students and early career professionals or students!
  • No refunds other than exceptional situations. Contact us at symposium@cal-ipc.org.

For in-person attendance in Ventura:

  • Member: $395 early bird / $445 regular / $495 late
  • Non-Member: $445 early bird / $495 regular / $545 late
  • Presenter: $295 early bird / $345 regular / $395 late ($100 discount off Member rate)
  • Student & Limited Income, Member: $25 early bird / $30 regular / $35 late
  • Student & Limited Income, Non-Member: $50 early bird / $55 regular / $60 late
  • Student & Limited Income, Presenter: free, requires discount code

 

For attendance online:

  • Member: $195 early bird / $220 regular / $245 late
  • Non-Member: $245 early bird / $270 regular / $295 late
  • Student & Limited Income, Member: $25 early bird / $30 regular / $35 late
  • Student & Limited Income, Non-Member: $50 early bird / $55 regular / $60 late

 

DPR Credits

We will be applying for DPR CEUs for licensed herbicide applicators. In past years, our sessions have been approved for 2 units fulfilling Herbicide Laws & Regulations as well as 10-12 hours of “other” units. Workshops and Field Trips often fulfill several additional hours of “other” units, but available spots fill up quickly. To get credit, be sure to sign up for DPR CEUs with your registration. Our additional fee covers DPR costs and our staff time for processing. 

Any questions or concerns, please email us at symposium@cal-ipc.org.

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