Gay-Straight Alliance Network

The future of biodiversity conservation depends on balancing the needs of people and wildlife through collaborative, equitable approaches. While protected areas are essential, they often carry legacies of exclusion and injustice. Around the world, efforts to improve collaboration in protected areas vary in inclusivity and power-sharing—especially in cross-cultural contexts where shared decision-making is not legally mandated. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s (PRNPR) Wild About Wolves project exemplifies the promises and tensions of government-led collaboration. The initiative aimed to foster regional cooperation, research, and action around growing human–wolf conflict. We interviewed 32 individuals—including PRNPR staff, Nuu-chah-nulth citizens, local community members, and organization representatives—with current or past involvement in the project. Participants identified several challenges: cultural differences in views on wolf management, unclear project timelines and expectations, and concerns about managerial priorities. Yet they also highlighted opportunities: strong regional conservation values, the depth of Nuu-chah-nulth and local knowledge, and PRNPR’s growing capacity for collaboration. From these insights, we co-produced a framework to improve PRNPR-led collaboration, emphasizing institutional clarity, alignment of social and cultural priorities, and more durable models of leadership and governance. While grounded in PRNPR, the lessons offer valuable guidance for collaborative conservation worldwide.

The GLSEN Jump-Start National Student Leadership Team, a leadership development program for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and ally youth designed to promote direct action community organizing and community engagement. This article examines the benefits of the program for youth’s socio-political development. Data came from a multi-year evaluation that examined changes over time (baseline, immediately post-program, and one-year follow-up) in community engagement between a program group (n = 103) and a comparison group of youth (n = 47). Results indicate that the program may support LGBT and ally youth’s socio-political development and have positive implications for their development as community leaders, but these benefits may not be sustained after program completion. Implications for further research and program development for LGBT youth are explored.