Lisa Naughton

Lisa Naughton is a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With a PhD from the University of Florida and postdoctoral training at Princeton University, her research focuses on biodiversity conservation in developing countries, human-wildlife conflicts around protected areas, and land tenure systems in tropical regions. She teaches courses including Environmental Conservation, People-Wildlife-Landscapes, and Tropical Ecology.

Her research spans three continents:

• Participatory zoning processes in Tambopata, Peru
• Land tenure impacts in tropical forest regions
• Human-wildlife interactions around East African protected areas
• Wolf recovery attitudes in Wisconsin

Her publications demonstrate consistent focus on conservation policy evaluation, with recent work examining economic impacts of conservation policies on local communities and efficacy of payment-based conservation programs.

Honors include multiple Fulbright awards, USAID grants, and the Vilas Faculty Research Award. She serves on editorial boards and collaborates with international conservation organizations including the Wildlife Conservation Society. As faculty affiliate of the Land Tenure Center, she contributes to forest governance policy initiatives.