2015 Field Technology Conference Registration Opens

The Western Forestry and Conservation Association (WFCA) has announced that registration for the Fifth Annual Field Technology Conference (FTC) is open. FTC 2015 is hosted by WFCA, Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) and StreamNet. The conference will be held Nov. 18-19 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Portland, Ore.

The Field Technology Conference offers attendees an insightful look at trends in field data collection hardware (smartphones, handheld/tablet computers, GPS receivers, laser rangefinders, and other data collection instruments), remote sensing (UAVs, photogrammetry, lidar) and mapping software (data collection, data processing, map building) along with outdoor demonstrations and a field trip.

“This will be our fifth conference. With the addition of the fisheries track and participation from the Civil GPS Interface Committee, we should have a significant attendance increase this year,” said moderator/co-organizer Eric Gakstatter. “We continue to attract speakers with strong expertise in their disciplines to present their work and thought leadership.”

The conference offers three tracks:

• Common field technology: Discussing field data collection technology used across all disciplines such as UAVs, GPS, and mobile devices.
• Forestry: Forestry-specific technology presentations.
• Fisheries: Fisheries-specific technology presentations.

In addition to the three technical tracks, there will be outdoor technology demonstrations as well as a fisheries field trip to a local slough for a live demonstration of field data collection technology (space limited).

On the second day of the two-day conference, there will be presentations from the Civil GPS Interface Service Committee (CGSIC). CGSIC is the only forum in which civilians have the opportunity to interact directly with US GPS authorities.

FTC 2014 attendees included representatives from Federal/State/Local government, Fortune 1000 companies, Native American tribes, higher education and natural resource consultancies.

The registration fee is $250 if registered by Nov. 5 and $295 if registered after that date. The government rate is $195 and $245 if registered after that date. Attendance to the CGSIC presentations on November 19 is free of charge and open to the public (lunch not included).

The registration fee includes lunch on both days as well as refreshments during breaks. The conference room rate is $99/night plus tax. After Oct. 27, the reduced rate will be subject to availability.

To register or learn more about the conference agenda, go to the conference website.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact Richard Zabel Richard@westernforestry.org, 503/226-4562.