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George Wright Society

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The George Wright Society (GWS) is a nonprofit association of researchers, managers, administrators, educators, and other professionals who work in, or on behalf of, parks, protected areas, and cultural/historic sites. The GWS focuses on the scientific and heritage values of these areas by promoting professional research and resource stewardship across all the natural and cultural resource disciplines that are required for modern-day park management. The society is named after George Melendez Wright (1904 - 1936), an American biologist.

History

The GWS was founded in 1980 by Robert M. Linn and Theodore Sudia, both of whom served in the position of chief scientist of the U.S. National Park Service. The society was created in response to a need voiced during the first and second national conferences on science in the U.S. national parks (1976 and 1979, respectively): namely, for an independent nonprofit professional association to exchange and synthesize information useful to natural and cultural resource management.[1]

Membership

Membership in the GWS is open to anyone who shares its objectives. Most members come from the U.S. and Canada, with other individuals scattered across countries outside of North America. As of 2011, the GWS has 980 members. Although named in honor of a scientist, from the beginning the GWS has been interdisciplinary: members come from a wide variety of fields, such as archaeology, biology, history, social science, air and water quality, environmental ethics, etc. The interdisciplinary nature of the GWS distinguishes it from professional societies focused on particular subjects.

Scope and activities

The GWS is concerned with parks, protected areas, and cultural sites anywhere in the world. These three overlapping terms cover a broad array of places, both “cultural” and “natural,” managed by different entities under a variety of designations:

  • parks at all levels: national/federal, state/provincial, county, and city
  • historic, archaeological, and other cultural sites; cultural landscapes; protected landscapes/seascapes
  • research areas and designated wilderness within national and state forests; other protected natural areas
  • national and state/provincial wildlife refuges, and other similar protected public lands
  • natural and cultural areas and sites administered by tribal nations and/or indigenous people; community-conserved areas; sacred natural sites
  • marine protected areas; estuarine, freshwater, and other aquatic sanctuaries
  • private land-trust reserves

The GWS also encompasses disciplines and activities that link with or otherwise support the work of parks, such as GIS and museum work.

The two main activities of the GWS are both related to the sharing of interdisciplinary information. It organizes the U.S.’s largest professional conference in the field, the George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites, held every two years; typically, over 1,000 people attend. Recent conferences have included sessions on inventory and monitoring,[2] remote sensing,[3] wilderness,[4] climate change,[5] and cultural heritage interpretation.[6] It also publishes a thrice-yearly journal, The George Wright Forum, which explores a wide range of issues having to do with parks. Recent issues have focused on topics such as environmental history and U.S. national parks,[7] civic engagement,[8] integrating science and management,[9] and the 100th anniversary of Parks Canada.[10]

The GWS promotes greater diversity in the parks professions through three programs: the George Melendez Wright Student Travel Scholarship aimed at minority students, and a Native Participant Travel Grant Program, aimed at Native people from North America, both of which are given to enable attendance at the GWS's conference; and Park Break, a week-long, in-park seminar where graduate students learn about research and resource management issues in the host park.

Through the GWS Awards Program, the society recognizes achievements in Natural Resources, Cultural Resources, Social Science, and Communications, as well as lifetime accomplishments in any of the park-related professions.

The GWS offers a daily news digest, Parkwire, that provides links to research and resource management news from parks, protected areas, and cultural sites around the world.

References

  1. ^ Linn, Robert M. (1981). "The Membership". The George Wright Forum. 1 (1): 11–12.
  2. ^ "2011 George Wright Society Meeting". U.S. National Park Service. U.S. National Park Service.
  3. ^ National Aeronautic and Space Administration. "Landsat at the Biennial George Wright Society Conference". Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  4. ^ U.S. Forest Service, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute. "Conference and Workshops". U.S. Forest Service. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources. "George Wright Society Conference". University of Arizona. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. "George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites". National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ American Society for Environmental History. "Environmental History and the National Parks". American Society for Environmental History. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  8. ^ U.S. National Park Service. "Civic Engagement Resources". U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  9. ^ Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center. "Science and Management: The George Wright Forum". Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  10. ^ Parks Canada. "Respected International Journal Showcases Parks Canada". Parks Canada. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
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