Parks Stewardship Forum, the interdisciplinary journal of place-based conservation, is co-published by the UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity and the George Wright Society. It continues and expands upon The George Wright Forum, which was published from 1981 through 2018 by GWS.

 

Parks Stewardship Forum creates and delivers leading-edge information and interdisciplinary problem-solving across all topics relevant to the world’s parks, protected/conserved areas, cultural sites, and other forms of place-based conservation.

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Parks Stewardship Forum is an open-access journal published on the University of California’s eScholarship platform.   To date (September 2021), PSF articles have been viewed over 43,000 times, with over 10,600 downloads.

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What kind of material does Parks Stewardship Forum publish?

We believe that effective place-based conservation requires thinking that goes beyond the horizons of a single specialty or discipline. Parks Stewardship Forum is all about making connections: among different ways of thinking, different ways of acting, and different ways of engaging the public. We are especially interested in submissions that:

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• Spotlight multidisciplinary problem-solving techniques and results as pertain to parks, protected areas, cultural sites, and other effective measures for protecting and conserving special places.

• Explicitly link research understanding with management action. We want to highlight leading-edge conservation scholarship from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities whose findings are immediately useful to, and usable by, managers on the ground.

• Connect place-based heritage conservation with broader issues such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, public health, education, jobs, Indigenous sovereignty, and environmental justice.

• Take a strong point of view, clearly articulated and backed by rigorous thinking.

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How do I contribute to Parks Stewardship Forum?

Proposals for papers and photoessays

We welcome proposals for papers in either of PSF’s two main departments:

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• “New Perspectives,” for non-peer-reviewed articles that will be evaluated solely by the journal’s editors; or

• “Advances in Research and Management,” for articles that will undergo formal peer review.

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We also welcome proposals for:

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• “The Photographer‘s Frame: Photoessays in Conservation,” which tell a compelling story in photographs.

 

Proposals for Theme Issues

We also accept proposals from people who would like to guest edit a Theme Issue of PSF.  Theme Issues are centered on a set of 4–8 papers around a theme, which are organized by a Guest Editor.  (The set of themed papers does not constitute the entire issue of the journal; there is always other content as well.)  More information

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Submission preparation guidelines for papers and photoessays: Quick guide

Articles for “New Perspectives” (non-peer-reviewed articles)

• 2000–4000 words, unless prior arrangements made with editors

• Up to 5 photos, tables, and figures in combination

• Up to 10 references

• No publication fee charged

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Articles for “Advances in Research and Management” (peer-reviewed articles)

• 3000–5000 words, unless prior arrangements made with editors

• Up to 10 photos, tables, and figures in combination

• Up to 25 references

• A publication fee of US$100 is charged for accepted peer-reviewed articles to help defray editorial costs (there is no charge unless the article is accepted; this fee is waived for GWS members and faculty of the University of California system)

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“The Photographer‘s Frame: Photoessays in Conservation”

• 10 photographs, each with a descriptive caption that, taken together, tell a conservation story

• 500-word photographer‘s preface

• No publication fee charged

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This is a summary of PSF's submission guidelines.  Complete guidelines will be provided to authors whose proposals are accepted for consideration.

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How do I submit a proposal for a paper or photoessay?

To send a proposal for a paper or photoessay to Parks Stewardship Forum, fill out the form at the bottom of this page. The editors will review your proposal and, if deemed a potential fit for the journal, respond with specific instructions on how to submit your paper or photoessay. 

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Questions?

Contact the editors at psf@georgewright.org.  We are glad to help!