Opening Plenary
Braiding Knowledge Systems for Wildlife Conservation
October 6
The Opening Plenary will also feature the Aldo Leopold Address and Caesar Kleberg Keynote
Session Overview
The concept of braiding knowledge systems, or “two-eyed seeing,” which recognizes the strengths of Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, has been around for more than a decade. Our plenary speakers from both the United States and Canada will help us understand how these two ways of knowing can be brought together by establishing an ethical space to cultivate respect, conversation, and collaboration. They will contrast how this can be achieved in the U.S. and Canada, and will provide a perspective from our next generation of wildlife professionals. By recognizing the common ground between these knowledge systems and understanding the important elements of both to wildlife conservation, we can leave the world in a better place for future generations.
Now, more than ever, our members need to stand together to protect our profession and ensure the future of wildlife conservation across America.
Art Rodgers
This year’s plenary was developed by TWS President Art Rodgers. President Rodgers is a research scientist for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and a TWS Fellow. He previously served two terms on Council as the Canadian Representative and President of the Canadian Section. On Council, President Rodgers has brought greater recognition of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge to TWS and has served as a unifying voice across borders and membership. This year’s plenary reflects the thoughtful and unifying leadership he has brought to TWS.
Two-eyed Seeing
The Wildlife Professional, Jul/Aug 2020
Members of TWS can learn more about “two-eyed seeing,” in advance of the plenary by reading our cover story in the Jul/Aug 2020 issue of The Wildlife Professional. To access a digital copy of the magazine, log in to your membership on wildlife.org and navigate to “Publications.”
“Science is powerful on its own. Traditional knowledge is powerful on its own. When you bring them together, it’s something that is hard to refute by anybody.”
–William Housty
Excerpt from The Wildlife Professional, Jul/Aug 2020
Each year, The Wildlife Society bestows its highest honor, the Aldo Leopold Memorial Award, to an individual with distinguished service to wildlife conservation. The following year, that individual delivers the Aldo Leopold Address. This year’s address is being delivered by Maurice Hornocker, the 2024 Aldo Leopold Memorial Award recipient.
Maurice Hornocker
Retired wildlife biologist and author of “Cougars on the Cliff.”
Maurice Hornocker grew up on a farm in Iowa, developing a natural curiosity for wildlife in his early years. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Montana, then began his PhD research on mountain lions at the University of British Columbia under another Aldo Leopold Award-winning mentor, the 1970 recipient Ian McTaggart Cowan. For this work, which was the first of its kind, Hornocker studied the ecology of the big cats in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area in Idaho—an area relatively free of human effects on wildlife.
With the help of David Johnson, a retired journalist, Hornocker wrote about these experiences in field research on mountain lions in his memoir, Cougars on the Cliff: One Man’s Pioneering Quest to Understand the Mythical Mountain Lion.
This year’s plenary is supported by the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (Platinum Sponsor). The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute is the leading wildlife research organization in Texas and one of the finest in the nation. The 2025 opening plenary will conclude with the annual Kleberg Keynote.
