George Wright Society :: Parks, Protected Areas Cultural Sites

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The George Wright Society champions stewardship of parks, protected & conserved areas, cultural sites, and other kinds of place-based conservation by connecting people, places, knowledge, and ideas. By uniting people from many different backgrounds around a common passion for protecting Earth’s natural and cultural heritage, we create the collaboration needed to meet today’s greatest conservation challenges.

INNOVATING ACROSS BOUNDARIES FOR
Parks • Cultural Sites
Protected / Conserved Areas

University of Montana, Missoula • October 20–23, 2025

Plan to join us as we launch a new series of annual workshops exploring the latest in place-based conservation!

Registration now open — register early and save!

Program ready to view — still accepting proposals for Posters

GWS ParkForum 2025 1-min Intro

GWS ParkForum 2025 1-min Intro

Play Video

Check out the latest issue of our open-access journal, Parks Stewardship Forum

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INSPIRED BY GEORGE MELÉNDEZ WRIGHT

The first-ever biography of our namesake — the visionary who revolutionized management of America‘s national parks

“Emory’s enumeration of Wright’s accomplishments—including a survey of wildlife in Western parks, the first of its kind—is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Highly recommended for nature lovers and park enthusiasts.” LIBRARY JOURNAL

Watch our virtual chat
with author Jerry Emory!

Parkwire, GWS’s daily global digest

of park news • Follow on FB

Latest top headlines • 27 June 2025

Florida's governor says that a large migrant detention center being built inside of Big Cypress NPres will have no effect on the Everglades ecosystem or efforts to restore it. https://buff.ly/t6FIReG

Some prominent MAGA figures are unhappy with Republican proposals to sell off federal public lands. https://buff.ly/JsE75yB

Tanzania is transferring a big chunk of its largest NP, Nyereye, to a lesser-protected game reserve, Selous, ostensibly to ease conflicts with local villages. https://buff.ly/CObDEHG

Park visitors continue to give the Trump administration an earful through the "tattletale" signs posted in NPs. https://buff.ly/YQnngab

Four endangered gorillas that were rehabilitated and then released into Virunga NP in Democratic Republic of Congo last year are doing well, but still face many hurdles to their long-term well-being. https://buff.ly/YdFxsMo

Trump's efforts to slash federal agency staffers has resulted in an 11% reduction in DOI agencies. USNPS has lost 10% of its permanent staff. https://buff.ly/O8mZuXi

A Senate rule-making official has thrown out a Republican proposal to sell millions of acres of federal lands, determining that it cannot proceed under a special process that allows the GOP to bypass a filibuster. https://buff.ly/tWotBoe

In a major move, Trump's secretary of agriculture announced that they intend to repeal the Clinton-ear Roadless Rule, an executive order that has protected 58 million acres of national forests since 2001. https://buff.ly/SBQPpkY

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