Kansas Herpetological Society

2025 KHS Annual Meeting -Manhattan
2025-11-07 18:00 - 2025-11-09 12:00 UTC
This year’s meeting will be held 7-9 November at the DoubleTree Hotel in Manhattan, KS.
Registration:
Register by midnight (PST) on 9 October to receive a discount. Register here! Registration includes access to both poster sessions, paper talks, the KHS Business Meeting, and the famous KHS Live Auction! KHS provides beverages and snacks throughout the weekend as well.
Early Student Registration: $20
Early Regular Registration: $45
Full Student Registration: $30
Full Regular Registration: $60

Friday Workshops:
MWPARC is hosting two pre-conference workshops on Friday, 7 November from 2-5pm. Student cost is $25 and Professional cost is $35.
Click here for workshop registration. Registration for the full weekend is not required.
Workshop 1: Community outreach project development: How to develop and implement conservation projects in your community.
Led by: Dr. Nicole Palenske Ladner (Department of Natural Sciences, Central College) and Dreux Watermolen (Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources)
Are you interested in learning more about how to educate your community by studying herps in their natural environment? Join our workshop to explore how you can study live animals in both education and community outreach. We will explore Community Citizen Science development and explore ways that you could try to implement projects in your community. Feel free to bring your laptop – though not required. We’ll provide some worksheets on how you could create a project of your own.
Workshop 2: Getting started with ecological niche modeling/species distribution modeling
Led by: Dr. Mona Papes, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee
The development of GIS tools with applications in ecology and evolution has enabled new research avenues. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) used to investigate species’ geographic distributions has generated much interest in the past couple of decades. This workshop will introduce participants to the theoretical aspects of ENM and data inputs in modeling algorithms and will include a demonstration of one modeling algorithm (Maxent). The workshop will close with a discussion about uses and limitations of model outputs (potential distribution maps) to address questions related to species’ ecology, conservation, and biogeography.

2nd Call for Paper and Poster Presentations:
Effective immediately, the Society is accepting titles for talks and posters to be presented at the meeting. Herpetologists at all levels of expertise are encouraged and urged to give scientific presentations. Please submit titles here. There are limited spaces available, so submit early. Titles are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and are due by noon (CST) on 20 October, 2025. If our spaces fill up, we will close submissions early. Despite an earlier miscommunication, abstracts are not being required this year.

Due to the ever-growing popularity of the Poster Session, the KHS Executive Council has decided to split it into two sections. Section A will be held Friday evening before the social, and Section B will be held Saturday evening before the Awards Ceremony and Live Auction. Poster presenters will be assigned to either Friday or Saturday evening. This allows presenters time to see other posters, and gives more time for each poster to be read/discussed by attendees. Presenters should contact KHS Editor Travis W. Taggart (twtaggart@fhsu.edu) AND myself if they are unable to attend a session and need to ensure scheduling for the other option. Schedule assignments will be communicated once Title Submissions close on 20 October. See below for more information on timing.

Call for Auction Items:
The perpetually thrilling KHS Live Auction is back and will be held Saturday evening after the KHS Awards Ceremony. Additionally, we will be hosting a Silent Auction throughout Saturday. There will be items to raise money for MWPARC, as well for KHS and our many awards! KHS and MWPARC are seeking any items that may fit the description of “loosely associated with herpetology and/or herpers” for the auctions. They may be designated to support MWPARC, KHS, or both. Funds raised for MWPARC support Field Research Travel Grants. Funds raised for KHS are used towards endowments for awards, as well as supporting the publication of pocket guides, field guides, and the state Eco-meet program. Historical items seen at the auction include (but are definitely not limited to) field/hiking/camping equipment, books, art, posters, herping experiences, clothing (either new, used, or stolen from comrades), knick-knacks, and the disappointment of bidding rivals. The value of many objects is likely to be dubious and subjective. Please do not bring live/dead animals, or parts thereof. Remember to pack extra spending cash or your neighbor’s credit card, as there will be free beer and you’ll want to buy more than you brought money for. Conference organizers are seeking a dedicated individual who may be interested in helping to organize the auction items as they are received. If you’re interested, please contact me. Lacking any volunteers, one may be selected at random. Auction items should be delivered upon your arrival to me or other individuals to be advertised in the future, or to a clearly labelled table/zone within the Ballroom. Remember, correlation between price and value is more often a myth than reality at the KHS auction.

Hotel:
The DoubleTree Manhattan by Hilton is a newly remodelled hotel complete with an on-site restaurant and bar, perpetual supplies (supposedly) of freshly baked cookies, and a brand-new, indoor saltwater pool! So bring some inflatable crocodilians and play “frogger” in the pool with your colleagues and/or trustworthy strangers. The DoubleTree folks have also generously updated our breakfast bar from traditional continental to Hilton Hot, whatever that means. Presumably, the food will be warm and tasty! The hotel has set aside a large block of rooms for us at $119/night for Friday and Saturday nights. They have also reserved a smaller block of rooms for us that will include Thursday night for anyone coming in early to attend MWPARC events.
To reserve a room for Friday/Saturday nights, click here.
To reserve a room for Thurs/Fri/Sat nights, click here.

Airport:
For anyone needing to fly, Manhattan does have a small airport close by. Flights from Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth arrive a few times daily.

*Merchandise:
T-shirts designed by KHS’s own Felix Harrington will be available for pre-order soon! One is an American-Traditional Tattoo art style featuring an Alligator Snapping Turtle, and the official meeting shirt is a more classic-KHS design with a Coachwhip. Hang tight, details will come along.

Pre-order Meals:
Sometimes, you just want to get to a conference hotel and not leave for a few days. I’m excited to offer Saturday lunch and Saturday dinner options for anyone who doesn’t want to rush across town during the all-too-quick meal breaks! If you look forward to getting out for Thai food, or a microbrewery, or ordering at the hotel restaurant, skip ahead! If you want one or both of these options, they can be selected in the webstore during (or outside of) registration. Deadline to order is Midnight, 9 October. If you have dietary restrictions and would like to explore other options, please reach out to me. The DoubleTree is happy to accommodate special requests.
Saturday lunch– Fiesta Buffet: Ground beef, fajita chicken, flour tortillas, lettuce, shredded cheese, jalapeño, guacamole, sour cream, queso, seasoned black beans, Spanish rice, tortilla chips & salsa, and sopapillas & honey. $17.
Saturday dinner– Midwestern Buffet: Fresh greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, shredded cheese, croutons, Italian & ranch dressings, macaroni and cheese, roast beef, herb roasted chicken, homestyle mashed potatoes, green beans, buttermilk biscuit, and chocolate cake. $27

Awards:
Including the brand new award announced below, the KHS and Center for North American Herpetology give out $5,000 at the Annual Meeting. Many of these awards are student-focused and strive to recognize current herpetology while honoring the history of Kansas Herpetology as well. Check the KHS website for a full list of the awards and their information. Of particular interest is The Suzanne L. and Joseph T. Collins Award, which for this year is a $1,000 prize for the best photograph of an amphibian or reptile native to Kansas. Note that membership and attendance to the Annual Meeting is required to be eligible for these awards. In our effort to continue to remove financial barriers wherever possible for students, a membership is included gratis with student registration. The cost is covered by contributing memberships, as well as generous donations from individuals. Awards requiring a written proposal must be received by KHS Awards Chair Dan Fogell by 25 September 2025. This includes the below-mentioned Brunson-Roth Grant, the Gloyd-Taylor Scholarship, the Kamb Grant for Research on Kansas Snakes, and the Gann Scholarship for Women in Herpetology.

Announcement of the Kenneth L. Brunson & Stanley D. Roth Grant for Student Research:
In the fall of 2024, two paragons of Kansas conservation passed away. Before almost any of us can recall, Stan Roth and Ken Brunson stood at the forefront of conservation and education for Kansas’ flora, fauna, and wild places. To my mind, they were the last bastions of a bygone era where being a phenomenal general naturalist was an intrinsic calling born from living in and with nature. They lived full lives and left behind tremendous shoes to fill. Towards that end, the KHS has established a grant to memorialize them. The Brunson-Roth Grant awards $500 for the best proposal for student research on Kansas Herpetofauna. The KHS hopes to grow this amount in the future.

Annual Meeting Travel Grants/Call for Donors:
Every year, KHS supports students traveling to the annual meeting by offering $100 awards to help offset the cost of travel. Awardees are selected by a random name selector run by me and observed by KHS Media Director Shania Burkhead-Harris and President-elect Tom Luhring. Interested students in need of travel aid should fill out this form. KHS has a commitment to fund 5 awards from a generous benefactor. If you’re able to support more of these grants, visit here to donate. For the low cost of at least 20ish cups of coffee, you too can help a student attend the KHS Annual Meeting.

Keynote Speaker:
KHS is proud to host Lisa Barrow, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Museum of Southwestern Biology and Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, for this year’s Keynote Address. Stay tuned for more information!

KHS 2026 Spring Field Trip
2026-04-17 17:00 - 2026-04-19 12:00
Somewhere in Labette County, Kansas. Campsite to be determined. Please check back for additional information as the field trip date approaches.

KHS Annual Meeting - 2026
2026-11-06 18:00 - 2026-11-08 12:00
More information will be posted as plans for the 2026 KHS Annual Meeting are settled.
