As part of its effort to make the Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference a less wasteful event, the planning committee decided that it would not have a registration gift- no pen, no canvas bag, no CDs, basically nothing that will end up as clutter on its way to landfill.

We recognize that people really like getting new things, even if they didn’t need them, and that many of us regularly use swag gathered at various meetings. The question is- how many tote bags, AFS pens, and TWS leather portfolios does a person need? You’ll have to be the judge of that, but if you find that you’ve got extras in your office, Do we have an idea for you!

Meeting participants- please bring meeting paraphernalia you’re not using to the first ever Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference Swag Swap! We’ll take pens, pencils, highlighters, canvas bags, duffels, water bottles, portfolios- anything in decent condition with an agency/ university/ meeting logo that you want to give away. In this way, students and forgetful professionals will have a place to grab precious meeting loot, and we won’t be contributing to the clutter in your life! Leftover items will be donated to local charitable organizations.

The Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference planning committee is committed to setting an example for meeting attendees and other conference organizers by the way we conduct this event. Some things we’re doing to make this event more resource friendly:

No junk! No abstracts CD (they’ll be available online, and free wireless will be provided at the conference center), no meeting bag (we assume you have one), no t-shirt (it wouldn’t keep you warm enough, anyway), no giveaways of things that will clutter your life. Please see the Survival Guide so that you’re equipped for the meeting! Locally produced food- as much as possible, we are pushing the Monona Terrace to buy food from responsible local producers; we think you’ll be surprised by and pleased with our menu! Smart buying and healthy food will be better for everyone, including our finned and furred friends, than a lame give/ throw-away. Power for the conference will be provided from renewable sources. Our meeting purchases are made with responsible manufacturing in mind first, price second. The secondary costs of cheap goods are an insidious onslaught on the resources we work hard to protect.

We hope you appreciate these efforts, and find this meeting as comfortable, warm, and exciting as the meetings you’ve come to expect from Wisconsin hosts.