Every two years, the George Wright Society organizes a premier interdisciplinary professional meeting on parks, protected areas, and cultural sites. By these three overlapping terms we mean a broad array of places, both “cultural” and “natural,” managed by different entities under a variety of designations:

• parks at all levels: international, federal, Indigenous, state/provincial, regional, and city
• historic, archaeological, and other cultural sites; cultural landscapes; protected landscapes/seascapes
• research areas and designated wilderness; other protected natural areas; grasslands, wildlife refuges, conservation areas, and other protected public lands
• areas and sites protected by tribal nations and/or Indigenous peoples; community-conserved areas; sacred natural sites (this year we will hold a special session on “decolonizing conservation”)
• marine protected areas; estuarine, freshwater, and other aquatic sanctuaries
• privately protected areas; land-trust preserves
• areas of shared governance/management

The GWS Conference also encompasses disciplines and activities that link with or otherwise support the work of parks, such as academia, GIS, and museum work.  Everyone is welcome to register and attend.

A major goal of the GWS is to encourage more diversity among stewards of parks, protected areas, and cultural sites. More information on the event and available scholarships is available here.