April 2010
With this issue of the International Journal of Wilderness (IJW), we have successfully completed our 16th year in press. IJW was initiated in 1995 by the University of Idaho – Wilderness Research Center, the WILD Foundation and Fulcrum Publishing under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Dr. John Hendee. To date, we have produced IJW as three printed issues per year (April, August, and December) and we plan to continue that production by bringing you the same quality presentations, but in electronic format available on line.
The revised IJW website provides free, download-able past issues (1995 through last year’s volume). Each issue is searchable by looking at the table of contents or using the search engine on the web page. The pages you see are designed to look just like the printed pages in the original document. We will continue with that same high quality issue layout and page format so there will be no apparent change to readers as we transition to a completely electronic system.
The current volume is available for subscribers only and you can receive the current volume through an on line subscription and payment process. You can access full copies of every past issue of the International Journal in an easy to read online format and also available for download (PDF). Additionally, for a slightly higher subscription fee you can subscribe and receive a digitally printed version of the online issues, if you are unable to download the Adobe Acrobat files or read them on line.
The three main reasons for this change to electronic files and on line distribution are that it: allows IJW to be more widely distributed and used for the stewardship of wilderness and protected areas worldwide; maintains the subscription rate at an affordable level by keeping production and distribution costs down; and is an environmentally responsible approach to sharing information.
IJW is the information tool of choice for wilderness managers and advocates, produced through a unique collaboration between The WILD Foundation and its many partners and sponsors whom we will continue to rely on for support. Our decision to go to an electronic journal for IJW fits with changes in publishing and sharing information worldwide. The expanded access to IJW will allow for more information links between wilderness professionals, scientists, educators, environmentalists, and interested citizens worldwide.
Every issue will continue to contain peer-reviewed research articles and feature presentations from numerous countries, as well as the Wilderness Digest announcements and book reviews. IJW presents the latest in wilderness management, research and stewardship, while covering related issues on the sustainability of wildlands around the world, community involvement in protected areas, and policy issues.
We look forward to your continued involvement in IJW as a reader, subscriber, sponsor, or author.
Chad P. Dawson
Managing Editor