"Can the Path be Altered?" Salvaging and Renewing Communities of the Rural Plains, Larry Swanson, Director, O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, University of Montana. Many rural areas of the northern and central plains lost population during the '60s, '70s, and '80s, before this population decline slowed in the '90s. Most rural areas of the Plains region even saw population growth in the '90s and some experts began to refer to this as a "rural renaissance". However, more recently, rural depopulation has reaccelerated and out migration is being increasingly supplemented by out-right population attrition. Rural areas of the region are growing increasingly old, with rising death rates and falling birth rates. Adding to this is a farm and ranch economy that remains financially uncertain. Population growth in most of the Plains region is showing growing imbalance with most focused in and around only a few large urban centers. The question becomes- can anything be done to counter these trends? Reception begins at 3:00 pm. Free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Grassland Foundation, UNL Center for Great Plains Studies, UNL Department of Economics, UNL Rural Initiative, UNL School of Natural Resources, and Center for Rural Entrepreneurship