IEP Stakeholders News

The 2026 Annual IEP Workshop will be held March 16-18, 2026 at the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) building (715 P Street, Sacramento, CA 95814).

An Open Call for Abstracts will be coming soon in mid-August! So, gather your colleagues together and get your ideas flowing for presentations and posters.

The workshop will be a free, hybrid event held in the CNRA Auditorium (~290 in-person attendees). Oral presentations will be livestreamed over Zoom for virtual attendees.

Workshop registration will open in early February 2026.

How to Receive Workshop Updates

This announcement is being shared widely across multiple listservs and contact groups. To receive future announcements about the 2026 Annual IEP Workshop, make sure to subscribe to the IEP Workshop listserv.

Visit the subscription page on the IEP website to sign up for the workshop listserv and any other listservs of interest.

Please share this announcement widely with colleagues, peers, managers, staff, and others who may be interested in presenting or attending the workshop.

More information on the 2026 workshop will be posted soon on the Annual IEP Workshop page.

Questions

Contact workshop organizers Adam Nanninga (Adam_Nanninga@fws.gov) and Christine Joab (iep@wildlife.ca.gov).

Note: This initial email is being sent to multiple IEP listservs and Contact Groups, so apologies for cross postings. Please subscribe to the IEP workshop listserv for future updates.

Invitation to Participate: Planning the 2026 IEP Workshop Program and Events

The 2026 IEP Workshop planning kick-off meeting will be held virtually Tuesday, July 1, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. via MS Teams. (See Teams link below).

We need volunteers to help us plan the workshop program and activities. We also need volunteers to moderate sessions, organize a training event, run the poster session, host the mentor luncheon, manage the early career awards program, coordinate workshop volunteers, organize an art display, and craft fun and relaxing after-hours social events.

Are you interested in helping us? If so, come join us!

The Workshop Organizing Chair (Adam Nanninga, USFWS) will discuss the planning process and expectations, roles and responsibilities, timelines, and then we’ll dive into brainstorming ideas.

Interested in attending? Send an RSVP email to iep@wildlife.ca.gov and adam_nanninga@fws.gov.
Interested in attending but cannot make the kick-off meeting? Don’t worry, you can still participate!
Send us an RSVP email asking to add you to the participant list.

Mark your Calendar!
Microsoft Teams - 2026 IEP Workshop Kick-off Planning Meeting
7/1/2025 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 280 277 594 941 8
Passcode: hp7eR2at
Dial in by phone: +1 916-535-0984,,507530076#
Phone conference ID: 507 530 076#

Who can participate?

• IEP member agencies, IEP partner organizations (including students from partnering academic institutions), and IEP stakeholders.
• Early career staff are encouraged to participate with approval of their supervisor.
• Career staff are also encouraged to participate.

What is the time investment to participate?

• There are 11 scheduled meetings between July and January focused on developing the program and events.
• This is an active work group with planning deadlines. We need participants to bring ideas and a can-do spirit!
• We also need volunteers to chair activities within the workshop. Consider being a session moderator or chair an event task.

Background materials:

• 2026 Workshop Planning Calendar (PDF)
• Workshop Principles (PDF)
• Workshop Planning Committee Roles & Responsibilities (PDF)

Please share this invitation with others!

This announcement is being shared widely, so apologies for the cross postings!