In Kentucky, various groups and agencies are involved in rare native plant species.  These groups perform a variety of services including surveys, research, land protection, propagation, and ex situ conservation, among others.  Unfortunately, these groups rarely (if ever) work in concert and thus there are a number of missed synergistic opportunities. This project proposes to bring together representatives from these groups to share their perspectives with each other as well as with a broader public at the Kentucky Botanical Symposium, an event co-sponsored by The Arboretum and held at the Good Barn. In the state of Georgia, various agencies including the University, the native plant society, the state botanical garden, and the state government have allied to form the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance (GPCA).  These efforts were led by Jennifer Ceska, who is currently the Conservation Coordinator for GPCA. Funding from the Barnhart Fund for Excellence will bring Ms. Ceska to the Kentucky Botanical Symposium as the Keynote Speaker. Through her presentation and other panel discussions we hope to move toward creating a plant conservation alliance in Kentucky. If successful, we could become a model for neighboring states.