Carl Parcher Russell - NPS Historic Photograph Collection
Parks Stewardship Forum calls for papers for inaugural issue
The Institute for Parks, People and Biodiversity has entered into an agreement with the George Wright Society to co-publish the Parks Stewardship Forum, a free on-line journal on the science and management of natural and cultural resources in protected areas around the world. George Melendez Wright was a UC Berkeley graduate, student of Joseph Grinnell and one of the first biologists in the National Park Service. He led flora and fauna surveys of the national parks from Hilgard Hall. Wright's legacy is ensuring the stewardship of national parks is based in good science, so it is fitting that we carry that legacy on with this new "Forum". Below is a call for papers for the inaugural issue, which will be out this year.
ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS
Parks Stewardship Forum, The Interdisciplinary Journal of Place-Based Conservation
The University of California Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity (https://parks.berkeley.edu/) and the George Wright Society (https://www.georgewrightsociety.org) are excited to announce that they have joined forces to create Parks Stewardship Forum, a new interdisciplinary journal to serve the global stewards of parks, protected areas, and cultural sites—the people at the forefront of conserving the special places most crucial to safeguarding the world’s cultural and natural heritage. Parks Stewardship Forum will continue—and significantly expand upon—the nearly 40-year publishing record of The George Wright Forum, which from 1981 through 2018 served as the the George Wright Society’s journal of parks, protected areas, and cultural sites. Like its predecessor, Parks Stewardship Forum will explore innovative thinking and offer enduring perspectives on critical issues across the whole spectrum of place-based heritage management and stewardship. It will continue to be the only professional conservation journal with an interdisciplinary focus, publishing insights from all fields related to parks, protected areas, cultural sites, and other forms of place-based conservation.
Parks Stewardship Forum will also serve as one of the communication vehicles of the new UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People and Biodiversity, bridging the published research of the University of California and other academic institutions into real-world applications. Beyond this, we plan to take the new incarnation of the Forum to higher level, with a specific recognition that parks and public lands play an increasingly important role in broader issues such as climate adaptation, public health, education, jobs, Indigenous sovereignty, and environmental justice, among others. Parks Stewardship Forum will feature younger and more diverse voices, both for their own sake and in service of helping prepare the next generation of conservation leaders. There will be an option for contributors to have their papers peer reviewed if they desire.
Parks Stewardship Forum will be published on the University of California’s eScholarship Open Access Publications platform (https://escholarship.org), whose journals have amassed over 50 million views. This arrangement ensures that Parks Stewardship Forum will reach a worldwide audience of scholars, practitioners, and concerned citizens.
The Institute and Society’s partnership for the new journal continues to honor the visionary legacy of UC Berkeley graduate George Melendez Wright, who played a pivotal role in the early development of scientific and scholarly capacity in the U.S. National Park Service.
Call for Papers, PSF Inaugural Issue: “Climate Change and Protected Places: Adapting to New Realities”
Abstracts of proposed papers accepted through July 15, 2019. Proposals also being accepted for future issues.
The first issue of Parks Stewardship Forum will explore how researchers and managers of protected places are collaborating to search for adaptation responses to climate change. Is your park, protected area, or cultural site planning for—or already managing—the impacts of climate change? If so, we invite you to share your story! We are looking for:
- Field case studies that clearly explain the climate-related impacts your park/area/site is dealing with, what resources or values are at stake, how your management approach has changed or is changing in response to the potential impacts, and what specific steps or programs you have implemented or plan to implement to adapt to, or mitigate, the impacts.
- The focus should be on solutions-oriented thinking, highlighting methods and approaches that can be adopted by other park/area/site managers.
- We actively seek case studies that reflect a wide range of cultural and natural resource issues, applications of social science, and multidisciplinary team approaches to problem-solving.
- To propose a paper (which should run 2000-4000 words), please submit an abstract by July 15, 2019, using the form at:
https://www.georgewrightsociety.org/forumsubmissions
Decisions on proposals will be provided by July 31. If your proposal is accepted, you will have until September 15 to submit a final paper for consideration, with publication of the inaugural issue anticipated for early December 2019. You can also use the form to submit proposals for future issues.
Subscriptions to Parks Stewardship Forum are free, and the GWS is offering a free trial membership to new subscribers. Visit https://www.georgewrightsociety.org/forum for details.
If you have questions, contact David Harmon, PSF managing editor, at dharmon@georgewright.org.