KEY INFO
Where: Oklahoma City, OK at the Fordson Hotel
When: July 20-23, 2026
Theme: The Modern Frontier
Registration Cost: TBD
SAVE THE DATES: JULY 20-23, 2026
The ACI Conference will take place in Oklahoma City, OK, July 20-23, 2026. Our friends from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are excited to welcome you to OKC for a week of collaboration, networking and craft improvement.
Named one of the best places to visit by Atlas Obscura and Southern Living, Oklahoma City offers all of the culture, cuisine, attractions and amenities you’d expect in a modern metropolis. And with its rugged Western past, working stockyards and title as “Horse Show Capital of the World,” it’s rich in cowboy culture, as well. – VisitOKC.com
Schedule
ACI is “Where Outdoor Communicators Connect”, and the annual conference is a great event to come together to learn, network, share ideas and discuss the successes and challenges we share as conservation communicators.
Make sure to bookmark this page and check back often as we add sessions, speakers, workshops and other key elements of the conference schedule.
Registration
Registration will be open in early 2026, so stay tuned.
Call For Sponsors
The Association for Conservation Information conference is welcoming sponsors to join nearly 150 outdoor communicators from around the country. This is a great opportunity to interact with professionals from state and federal conservation agencies, NGO’s and supporting groups in the natural resources and conservation space who serve as communicators, educators, PIO’s, marketing and outreach specialists. We would love to have you join us! To request our sponsor deck, simply email smokey.solis@odwc.ok.gov for more information on how you can be involved in supporting ACI and interacting with our members.
Call For Speakers
We are always looking for engaging, informative and dynamic speakers and presentations for our event. Are you a subject matter expert that is excited to share your expertise with our attendees? Do you have a success story you would like to brag about to your colleagues? Or do you have a great presenter in mind that you would refer as a ‘must have’ speaker? If so, please email betsey.york@odwc.ok.gov.
Hotel
The Fordson Hotel, part of the Unbound Collection by Hyatt, is a tribute to Oklahoma City’s rich history, celebrating Fred Jones’ entrepreneurial spirit and the significant impact of the iconic Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant.
Our conference group rate for the Fordson’s spacious, contemporary loft-style rooms is $179/night. Booking for the 2026 conference is currently not open but check back often for updates.
Travel – by air
Will Rogers International Airport (OKC) is a 13-minute drive from the Fordson Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. Named one of the Top 10 Domestic Airports in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure in 2025, Will Rogers offers both non-stop and connecting flights to most major cities in the U.S.
Travel – by car
- Wichita: 163 miles, 2 ½ hrs
- Dallas: 207 miles, 3 hrs
- Springfield: 287 miles, 4 hrs
- Little Rock: 337 miles, 4 ½ hrs
- Kansas City: 353 miles, 4 ½ hrs
- Austin: 390 miles, 6 hrs
- Jefferson City: 421 miles, 6 hrs
- St. Louis: 500 miles, 7 hrs
- Santa Fe: 534 miles, 7 ½ hrs
- Des Moines: 546 miles, 7 ½ hrs
- Baton Rouge: 615 miles, 9 hrs
- Denver: 661 miles, 9 ½ hrs
See you in Oklahoma City, July 2026!
On behalf of all of us at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, we are excited to have you in OKC for ACI CON 2026! Our conference theme of “The Modern Frontier” represents the evolving space where technology, culture, and human connection meet in our world as conservation and outdoor communicators. The ever-changing, fast-moving and unpredictable nature of this modern frontier requires authenticity, creativity, relatability and pioneering new ways to connect people to conservation and the outdoors. Make plans to join us in OKC, July 20-23, 2026 for what we hope to be the best ACI conference yet! – Blake Podhajsky, ODWC Conference Coordinator