Call For Presentations: Keystone Coldwater Conference Feb. 26-27 - Defending & Restoring Coldwater Habitat In A Changing Pennsylvania Landscape

The Coldwater Heritage Partnership is now accepting presentation proposals for the 2027 Keystone Coldwater Conference to be held February 26-27 at the Wyndham State College Homeland Conference Center in State College.  The deadline for proposals is December 1.

This year’s theme is “Defending and Restoring Coldwater Habitat in a Changing Pennsylvania Landscape.” 

From warehouses and data centers to large-scale solar, development pressure is reaching more of the places where our coldwater streams begin, and shifting weather is adding stress to the streams themselves. 

The program will focus on what chapters, watershed groups and partners can do about it: restoring degraded streams, protecting healthy ones and speaking up when local planning and zoning decisions are made.

The Keystone Coldwater Conference is a place to share information, network and learn from others. 

If your PA Trout Unlimited chapter or organization has completed a successful project, conducted research, built an effective monitoring program, or found a way to engage your community or local officials, we encourage you to submit a proposal.

We want to hear about:

-- Protecting healthy streams from development and land-use change

-- Advocacy at the local planning, zoning and permitting level

-- Successful on-the-ground restoration projects

-- Current research and scientific findings

-- Effective monitoring efforts, including volunteer monitoring

-- Building resiliency to warming water, flooding and drought

-- Community stewardship, outreach and education

-- Innovative funding sources and partnerships

-- Measuring and building upon successes

Presentation formats--

-- Workshops (Friday, Feb. 26): 90 minutes or three hours

-- Presentations (Saturday, Feb. 27): 30 or 60 minutes

We will do our best to accommodate your preferred format, but it is not guaranteed.

What you’ll need to submit: a title; names, affiliations and contact information for all presenters; an abstract of up to 2,500 characters covering what you’ll present, how it relates to the theme and what attendees will take away; and a biography of up to 1,000 characters for each presenter.

Click Here to submit proposals.  Questions should be directed to Jillian Barnsley Hazi, PA Trout Unlimited Executive Director by email to: jill.barskey@tu.org.

Visit the Keystone Coldwater Conference webpage for updates on the Conference.

The Coldwater Heritage Partnership hosts the Keystone Coldwater Conference and provides funding, technical assistance, and recognition for the evaluation, conservation, and protection of Pennsylvania’s coldwater streams. 

It is a collaboration of the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited; the Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, Environmental Stewardship (Growing Greener) Fund; the Fish & Boat Commission, and the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds. 

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-- Registration Open! Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit Feb. 23-24 At University Of Delaware; Presentation Proposals Due Oct. 30  [PaEN]  

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[Posted: October 20, 2026]  PA Environment Digest