On March 7, 15–20 women on the Black Hills National Forest participated and provided support as volunteers, exhibitors and speakers about forestry, botany, range, engineering and archaeology at the 12th annual Women in Science Conference at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. This was the largest conference since its beginning, drawing 786 young women in grades 6–12 from 17 middle and high schools.

The event provides an introduction to a variety of careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.