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The George Wright Forum
Published 1981–2018

From 1981 through 2018, the George Wright Society published The George Wright Forum, an interdisciplinary journal that explored innovative thinking and offered enduring perspectives on critical issues across the whole spectrum of place-based heritage management and stewardship. The George Wright Forum published insights from virtually every field in cultural and natural resources related to parks, protected areas, and cultural sites. 

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Beginning in 2020, that same editorial vision is carried on in a successor journal, Parks Stewardship Forum, co-published by the UC Berkeley Institute for People, Parks, and Biodiversity and the George Wright Society.

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Below you can get a taste of The George Wright Forum by exploring the three issues from 2018, the last year of publication. We are working on making the complete archive avaliable on this website.

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The George Wright Society believes that better knowledge makes better decisions—and better parks. We also want to support our colleagues working in place-based conservation no matter where they may be, and no matter how well-resourced they are. Therefore we have an open-access policy to all our publications: you may download them free of charge. If you too support this principle, please help us deliver it by joining or donating to the GWS.

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Vol 35/3 (2018)

Letter from Woodstock
For the Betterment of Everyone
Rolf Diamant

 

Finding and Fostering Resiliency in Difficult Times: Reflections from GWS Members

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Introduction

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Coming Together to Overcome Challenging Times
Gina L. Depper

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If Our Eyes Were Open Wide Enough
Vernon C. “Tom” Gilbert 

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Building Community and Elevating Voices:
The Impact and Role of the George Wright Society in Natural Resources

Rebecca Stanfield McCown

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Science and Nature Conservation: Reflections from a Geezer
Stephen Woodley

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A Road to Better Futures: Thoughts from an International Perspective
Tim Badman

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The Expectation
Jerry M. Mitchell

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Forrest Gump Lives, or How the George Wright Society Helped Me
Learn to Overcome Existential Career Adversity

Gary E. Davis

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A Multigenerational Perspective on Overcoming Challenges in Protected Area
Research and Management

Carena J. van Riper and Charles van Riper III

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The George Wright Society: Collaborating Across Disciplines
Stephanie Toothman

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For Public Use, Resort, and Recreation:
The Struggle Over Appropriate Recreation in Yosemite National Park

Michael Childers

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Social and Integrative Approaches to Health in Zion National Park
Sara B. Newman, Derek C. Herrmann, Kevin B. Naaman, W. Thomas Means,
Deborah A. Tysor, Raven J. Berman, Alysha A. Walter, Mayra V. Robledo, and
Elizabeth L. Oliphant

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North American Protected Areas Conference: A Proposal
James R. Barborak, Juan E. Bezaury, Ernesto C. Enkerlin-Hoeflich, David Gutiérrez,
David Harmon, Nikita Lopoukhine, Jerry Mitchell, Nora Mitchell, David Reynolds,
Rosa Maria Vidal, and Mike Walton

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A Sustainable Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone? Steps to End 17 Years of Debate
Wade M. Vagias, Dan Wenk, David Jacob, Kurt Fristrup, Christina Mills, and
Molly Nelson

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The Economic Valuation of Mangrove Forest Ecosystem Services:
Implications for Protected Area Conservation

Mahmoud Sarhan and Rady Tawfik

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Principles for Studying and Managing Natural Quiet and Natural Darkness
in National Parks and Other Protected Areas

Robert Manning, Peter Newman, Jesse Barber, Christopher Monz, Jeffrey Hallo,
and Steven Lawson

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Vol 35/2 (2018)

Special issue:

The National Parks: Shaping the System

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This is a special issue devoted entirely to a new edition of The National Parks: Shaping the System, the definitive history of the development of the US National Park System. The new edition, the fourth to appear since the book’s original publication in 1985, is by Barry Mackintosh, Janet A. McDonnell, and John H. Sprinkle, Jr. 

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Download entire book (filesize = 33mb)

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Contents:

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Preface to the fourth edition

Introduction

Shaping the System: Before the National Park Service

Forging a System, 1916 to 1933

From the New Deal to War and Peace, 1933 through 1951

Mission 66 and the Environmental Era, 1952 through 1972

Towards a New Century, 1973 through 2004

(re)Shaping the National Park System, 2005 to 2017

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Appendix

  • National Park System Classifications

  • Chronological List of National Park System Areas

  • Directors of the National Park Service

  • Affiliated Areas

  • National Heritage Areas

  • National Historic Trails

  • National Scenic Trails

  • Wild and Scenic Rivers

  • NPS Cooperative Programs

  • Suggested Readings

  • Index

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Vol 35/1 (2018)

A Note from Our Executive Director
Jennifer Palmer

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Letter from Woodstock
Requiem for an Advisory Board

Rolf Diamant

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On the Path to Understanding:
125 Years of Social Science Research in America’s National Parks

James H. Gramann, guest editor

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Charting a Path: A Critical History of Social Science in America’s National Parks
James H. Gramann

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The Need for a Comprehensive Socioeconomic Research Program for the National Park Service
David Pettebone and Bret Meldrum

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Overview of the Interagency Visitor Use Management Framework and the Uses of Social Science in its Implementation in the National Park Service
Kerri Cahill, Rachel Collins, Susan McPartland, Aleksandra Pitt, and Rose Verbos

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For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People:
An Exploration of the Economic Benefits of National Parks

Leslie Richardson, Lynne Koontz, and Bruce Peacock

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Applied Anthropology in the National Park Service’s Second Century of Stewardship
Jennifer Talken-Spaulding and Joe Watkins

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Park Break: Engaging Students in Social Science to Inform Decision-making in Parks
Ryan L. Sharp, Aleksandra Pitt, and Rose Verbos

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People of Color and Their Constraints to National Parks Visitation
David Scott and KangJae Jerry Lee

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Yellowstone’s Howard Eaton Trail as Management Tool and Cultural Artifact
Judith L. Meyer

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Local Communities, CBOs/Trusts, and People–Park Relationships:
A Case Study of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana

Naomi Moswete and Brijesh Thapa

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Solutions to Coastal Flooding: Can National Parks Turn the Tide?
Cliff McCreedy

 © 2026 George Wright Society
info@georgewright.org

 

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