To understand the importance of space, the field of spatial ecology has emerged as a central focus for many topics in ecology and conservation. Looking back at the last two decades, it is impressive just how much the problem of space has intrigued the minds of ecologists and conservation biologists. This focus has arisen from both theoretical and applied developments, most notably the growth of landscape ecology, macroecology, spatial analysis, the increased availability of spatial data, and widespread human-induced environmental change. This growth has made huge impacts on the field, and we expect those impacts to increase with time. Here, we summarize the impact of spatial ecology and conservation. We then discuss new frontiers for spatial ecology and conservation research. We end by providing guidance to readers interested in more advanced topics and further training on spatial ecology and conservation, including applied spatial modeling.