Be Wild in BC Blog

British Columbia looks better from a horse on a guest ranch vacation

2011-07-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I wrote an article on the advantages of a horseback vacation. Dozens of British Columbia ranches leave the gates open to visitors who come to experience a taste of western life. These range from working holiday style cattle drives to uber relaxing and life improving spas that offer trail rides. But regardless of the amount of time spent in the saddle everyone I talked to for the article agreed spending time with horses changes your outlook on life.

Read the article Life is different aboard a horse
and find your perfect guest ranch experience by exploring the BC Guest Ranchers' Association website.

Vancouver Island oceanfront resort, Tsa-Kwa-Lueten Lodge, stays true to First Nation roots

2011-01-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

In the beginning

For hundreds of years the We Wai Kai First Nation's summer village was on a bluff at the south end of Quadra Island, overlooking Discovery Passage. The location was not only ideal in terms of gathering food from the ocean and preserving it, but also a strategic vantage point. Everything from the mainland Coast Range to the mountains on Vancouver Island, the shoreline near present day Campbell River and anything in the waters of the northern Strait of Georgia, was in view.

Tsa-Kwa-Lueten Lodge from the ocean.

Fast forward to the late 1980s. The commercial fishing industry, to that point the We Wai Kai's main source of income, was starting to show signs of decline in B.C. Ahead of their time and with long term vision, the band decided to diversify into tourism by opening a resort. And the obvious location was the bands summer ancestral home. What had been an optimal defensive position was now a spectacular view that tourists from around the world enjoy. They called it Tsa-Kwa-Luten, the gathering place.

Since Tsa-Kwa-Luten Lodge’s opening in June, 1991 their focus has always been having a minimal footprint on the environment at the same time providing a connection to the past.

First Nation connection

“Because of the First Nation's connection to the land there has always been an effort to have as small an environmental impact as possible,” says Carol Ann Terreberry, the resort's general manager. A large component of that is to raise awareness of the natural environment. “What's a wilderness resort without the opportunity to step into wilderness?” she asks rhetorically.

The resort is at the southern tip of Quadra, adjacent to an 1100 acre forest so feels like it's in the middle of nowhere. The approach is along a winding road through an impressive stand of Douglas fir that gives way to the open property overlooking Discovery Passage, a mile wide channel between Quadra Island and Vancouver Island. The gardens are naturally landscaped with a nature trail heading south into the forest.

Forest hikes

In an effort to connect visitors with the natural environment and First Nation history, the resort created two interpretive pamphlets for the walking trail. One includes points of interest: the site where Captain Vancouver came ashore in 1792, tree growth patterns, First Nation bathing pools and a First Nation archaeological site. The other is an ethno-botanical checklist identifying native plants and their traditional uses.

The theme of connecting visitors to First Nation history is new in North America, but not to Tsa-Kwa-Luten. The centrepiece of the resort is the grand hall, the main entrance and lobby of the main building. Inspired by traditional long houses, the grand hall is used for meetings and celebrations. The open and inspiring room feels like a cathedral with huge Douglas fir logs, harvested on Quadra Island, holding up a wall of glass overlooking the ocean and mountains. Nearby is the equally beautiful Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre, a museum documenting the Kwakwaka’wakw history.


The Great Room at Tsa-Kwa-Lueten.

Respect for the land

The resort operates with the same respect for the land as the We Wai Kai Nation has. Recycled paper is used throughout each department. Cedar tree centrepieces on the dining room tables are planted outside after the resort closes for the winter and employees are encouraged to share transportation to work. The latest effort is a state of the art septic disposal system in the RV Park. “It's in what could be considered a sensitive spot, next to the ocean,” says Terreberry. “It was worth every penny.”

There's also a social component; a focus on hiring locally and from the band; two thirds of the 50 person staff live on Quadra and 60 percent are We Wai Kai band members or are status Indians. Staff average more than seven years at the resort and that loyalty pays off, as does the lodge's long term vision. Tsa-Kwa-Luten won awards for excellence in customer service twice from the Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C. The resort was also recognized for its sustainable focus with a three Green Keys, an environmentally sustainable rating for hotels.

“There's a lot of pride in Tsa-Kwa-Luten within the community,” says Terreberry. Deservedly so.

Contact

Tsa-Kwa-Luten, The Oceanfront Resort at Cape Mudge
A unique Island Retreat Designed to Renew Your Soul

Reservations: 1-800-665-7745, Local Phone: 250-285-2042, Fax: 250-285-2532
Email: sales@capemudgeresort.bc.ca, Web Site: www.capemudgeresort.bc.ca

BC wins big at Canadian Tourism Commission Northern Lights travel writing competition

2010-04-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

Articles and photos from British Columbia's wilderness destinations won big at the Canadian Tourism Commission's Northern Lights Awards in San Fransisco earlier this month. Backcountry skiing at Sol Mountain Touring, The Great Bear Rainforest and the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park were all honoured.

The New York Times' Ski Guide 2010 included an article by Mark Sundeen about his ski trip to Sol Mountain Touring, a member of the Backcountry Lodges of BC. Back and Beyond in BC won first prize in the Independent Journalist: Newspaper category.

B.C. freelance writer and contributor to Be Wild in BC, Andrew Findlay won in the Magazine category for his article Howl in the Mist: BC's Marine Wolves, which appeared in Westworld Magazine. In the article Findlay went island hoping in the Great Bear Rainforest with environmentalist Ian McAllister. Other ways of seeing this remote coastal wilderness and the grizzly bears, spirit bears and wolves that inhabit its rainforest is with Maple Leaf Adventures, Bluewater Adventures, members of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC, fishing resorts and many sea kayak companies like Kingfisher Adventures, Ecosummer Expeditions and Coast Mountain Expeditions.

A photo taken by Chris Harris in British Columbia Magazine of the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park won first prize for a Photograph. The mountainous and very remote park is on the western edge of the Chilcotin Mountains and is best reached by horseback. Try the BC Guest Ranches for operators in the park.

The Northern Lights Awards are given to journalists who wrote or captured images about Canadian travel destinations and is awarded every year at the CTC's annual international conference the Canadian Media Marketplace, which brings together writers, editors and photographers and tourism representatives from across the country.

One percent is more than you think

2010-02-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

Maple Leaf Adventures is one of many Wilderness Tourism Association members who gave one percent of revenue to environmental causes last year as part of 1% for the Planet. The tall masted schooner tour operator, pictured at right, belongs to the environmental non profit created by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and Craig Matthews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. 1% For The Planet verifies donations and evaluates recipient organizations to ensure donations are truly going to benefit nature.

Subscriber businesses can pick what organizations they want to donate to. In Maple Leaf’s case it was the Wilderness Tourism Association and Raincoast Conservation Foundation, a conservation organization on the B.C. central coast.

Raincoast used the 2009 donation to publish their annual Tracking Raincoast, a compilation of the year's scientific research and findings, conservation work and plans for the future. In 2008, Raincoast used Maple Leaf's donation to assist with spring and fall monitoring of their 24,000 sq km guide-outfitting territory. The organization bought the license for hunting grizzlies in the tenure and patrol to watch for illegal hunting and other activities that negatively impact grizzlies.

The WTA used the money to fund its advocacy and education work to enhance the wilderness tourism experience in B.C.

Maple Leaf captain and owner Kevin J. Smith says donating money to causes like 1% for the Planet are part of a long term vision needed to make a difference in wild places. “I’m talking about the governments that created parks and protected areas, and all the people that proposed those to the governments. Also the people that worked so hard to make hunting whales illegal. Now humpback whales are delighting our guests all along the coast. That’s investment in nature coming to fruition on many fronts.”

Siwash goes totally solar for sustainability

2010-01-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

For remote, wilderness businesses getting electrified is expensive. The easiest option is a diesel generator, but these are polluting, noisy and always hungry for cash. Few operations can ever get rid of them completely, relying on them as a backup, but many members of the Wilderness Tourism Association have found ways to augment their power with sustainable means.

Siwash Lake Guest Ranch, a luxury, boutique guest ranch, is one of the few using solar power (pictured). And this fall, with the help of EA Energy Alternatives, the fly fishing and horseback riding operation ramped up their solar feed to offset 90 percent of their diesel generator. The ranch installed a state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic system for electricity creation and also retro-fit the hot water heating system, along with new technology to capture excess energy from heated water. The ranch is also switching from gas powered to solar powered pumps for irrigation and other water systems.

“This project will save $32,000 per year in fuel costs and reduce our annual carbon footprint by 123 tons of green house gases. This is the equivalent of taking 22 passenger vehicles of the road for one year," says Allyson Rogers, owner and proprietor at Siwash Lake Ranch. "At Siwash Lake Ranch we are an advocate of local energy-efficiency and we’re proud to set an example for other small businesses that want to achieve both growth and a small environmental footprint. Our guests are excited about all the work we do to make our operations as sustainable as possible and they’ve told us they also want to support other similar businesses that show innovation and leadership in response to the needs of our planet.”

This is far from all Siwash has committed to doing for the environment. Read more on their website under sustainability or in a stewardship story I wrote about them (you can also read about some other alternative energy projects).

Go north, life is peaceful there. Go north, in the open air.

2009-12-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

I know it's not even Christmas yet, but it is time to start thinking about next summer's adventures. What are you going to do? Well if you're like a lot of Canadians going north on a canoe or raft trip is on life's list. A recent article in Canoe Roots Magazine says knocking off one of Canada's fabled wilderness rivers is a top priority for many. North of 60 is where a lot of these rivers are, but don't overlook northern B.C. The area is huge, wild and full of water. Operators say it is one of the few places where there are still rivers where you will be alone for weeks. Watch for a new guidebook to northern B.C. rivers in early 2010 from Laurel Archer. If you prefer guided, which is a good idea for anyone who doesn't have several expedition style trips under their belt, then consider these companies and the trips they lead:

Nahanni River Adventures/Canadian River Adventures: Guiding the Tatshenshini, Babine, Taku, Stakine, Gataga rivers of B.C.
Stikine River Song: all service cafe and boat rental on the Stikine River.
Skeena Valley Expeditions: Day and expediton trips on the Skeena, Babine and Tatshenshini rivers.
ROAM: Among other BC river trips, they guide the Tatshenshini.

Give sustainability

2009-12-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

It's two weeks until Christmas, which means it's almost time to start panicking about what to get people. Instead of hunting for a bunch of gifts that my relatives might not even use I've decided to give gifts that give back this year.

One of the easiest ways is to donate to a charity in someone else's name or buy a gift with a pay it forward mentality. For instance the World Wildlife Fund has a large range of animals up for "adoption." These are great gifts for kids. Buy the caribou and you'll get a high-quality cuddly toy, a personalized adoption certificate and a report detailing the work that your symbolic adoption will support. In B.C. the mountain caribou is in serious trouble and a donation to the WWF will help the species survive. A leopard frog is another good choice to help support B.C.'s environment. Once commonly found in British Columbia, the Northern leopard frog is now limited to the extreme southeastern portion of the province and has been designated as endangered in the region - loss of habitat is the most significant cause of the decline. The WWF has lots of other gift options where proceeds go to conservation work.

Another option is to give to specific causes. The WTA and its members are working for and donating to a number of causes that support wildlife and wildspaces including Save Our Wild Salmon and Adopt-a-Fry.org. Cash donations are a great way to further their work. You can also ask your favourite resorts and lodges about causes that are close to their heart. Or if you want to make it as easy as possible donate to the WTA's own Wilderness Stewardship Fund. Donations can be made in any amount. The money in the fund is used to help organizations and companies complete worthwhile sustainability and stewardship work throughout the year.

Kumsheen River Rafting wins best business to work for award

2009-12-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

Happy staff makes a good company. So making BC Business Magazine's Best Company to Work For: Under 100 Employees is very telling for Kumsheen River Rafting. In the brief article about the company in the December issue of the magazine is a anonymous quote collected as part of the survey: “Most organized company I’ve worked for. All employees here are amazing people. We’re all family. After-work activities are endless."

The 55-person, Lytton based company is the only tourism related company that made the magazine's annual Best Company awards, which result from nominations and surveys. It's a family run operation, started 1973 by Bernie Fandrich. His son Braden now runs it, continuing the tradition of offering day and overnight trips down the big, rough waters of the Thompson and Fraser rivers from their comfy base in B.C.'s arid southeastern interior.

I chatted with Braden a year or so ago about the family operation for a stewardship story. It's a great company that works to protect the rivers, land and air that they operate around and obviously treats their staff equally well.

Congrats Kumsheen

Winter is here and it's deep

2009-11-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

November has been a big month at wintercentric resorts across B.C. Records have been set and above average amounts of snow are on the ground almost everywhere.

Leading the way is the Coast Range where record November snowfalls have landed with more than 500 centimetres of snow falling in some locations. Elsewhere the snow hasn't been quite so prodigious but areas that often suffer from troubling early season layers in the snow pack, that make avalanche conditions a worry all season long, are looking at one of the most stable snowpacks in recent memory. It all adds up to a great looking season for snow focused resorts, lodges and huts across the province.

The Backcountry Lodge's of BC are looking at an excellent winter. Most of these rustic mountain hotels froze 2009 pricing for this winter. Plus, they often offer reduced rates for pre-Christmas visits. With so much snow on the ground it is a good year to jump on that offer. Conditions are looking really good at Burnie Glacier Chalet, Campbell Icefield Chalet and Mistaya Lodge.

The members of HeliCat Canada Association, a group of the best helicopter and cat skiing operations, are looking forward to a big winter, too. Like the backcountry lodges, many offer less expensive packages in the early season. Ask many ski guides and they'll tell you early season conditions are often the deepest.

Some are offering some interesting new packages. Bella Coola Heli Sports has amalgamated their two operations, one in the Pantheon Range and one near Bella Coola, and are now offering a package that includes time at both lodges and a 200 kilometre flight skiing across both tenures. Last Frontier, the proud owners of the largest tenure on earth, also have two lodges and a safari package that includes time at both. In addition this year they're offering a heli-assited touring package that involves time ski touring with the assistance of a helicopter.

If images and video of horses running through deep, fluffy snow catches your imagination check out the members of the BC Guest Ranchers Association. Many of the dude ranches are open during the winter with sled rides, winter horseback riding, tobogganing, excellent wildlife viewing and cross country skiing.

Ski films go to the Last Frontier

2009-11-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

Two of this season's top ski movies include footage from Last Frontier Heliskiing, the largest heli-ski tenure on earth. Both Matchstick Productions (MSP) and Teton Gravity Research (TGR) spent time at the remote heli-ski operation last season filming athletes skiing crazy lines in big mountains.

Re: Session, TGR's new ski title, includes footage of pro skier Seth Morrison. It was his first visit to Last Frontier and he was impressed. "The skiing is very similar to what I have skied in Alaska, but it has many more options for down-day type skiing (bad weather skiing). Many tree runs with tons of features in them; cliffs, pillow walls, pillow poppers. And with a tenure a quarter the size of Switzerland, we barley scratched the surface."

I watched MSP's new movie, In Deep, and the footage was impressive. Check out this picture by Randy Lincks from Last Frontier.

Last Frontier has two bases in northwestern B.C. One is the remote Bell 2 Lodge on the Cassiar Highway. The other is in the town of Stewart on the Alaska border. Each accesses different part of Last Frontier's massive 9,000 square kilometre tenure.

Besides their usual four, five and seven day heli-ski trips, Last Frontier is offering two new programs for 2010:

A Lodge to Lodge Heliski Safari: a tour which has guests staying half the week at one lodge and then skiing with the helicopter to the other lodge. Bags go by ground.

Heli Access Ski Touring: for the purist. Start the week with 4 days of helis access ski touring. 1st run of the day lifted out by helicopter. Stay with you guide all day ski touring. Could be short tree runs, a long traverse, or one big climb and a descent, but you'll certainly be earning your turns! Then the final 3 days of the week are "regular heliskiing".

Olympic diversion

2009-11-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

Coming to the Olympics in Vancouver will be an incredible experience, but all the cheering, partying and just being at such a busy and exciting time will be tiring. If you're looking for a way to relax during or after the Olympics check out three trips from Exposure Travel. The company organizes luxury adventure vacations from airport pick up to drop off. They have three great sounding Olympic getaways for up to eight people at very B.C. locales.

The first is aboard the Pacific Yellowfin, a luxury yacht (pictured at right). For four or more days it will be your all-inclusive home as you cruise the Sunshine Coast or Gulf Islands with a crew of 4 or more at your service. A chef prepares great meals paired with wine and spirits, while adventure guides help you decide on each day's activity.

Or rent a house on one of the Gulf Islands and make like a Vancouverite on a long weekend. There are boats and more at your disposal and a chef and guides to keep you pampered.

And the final trip Exposure Travel is offering is to a guest ranch. In February the snow will be deep, perfect for a true Canadian winter experience with horses and ice skating.

It's fun to be sustainable

2009-11-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

Tom Sawyer made painting a fence fun. Can we do the same for other everyday chores in life? That's the goal of The Fun Theory.

The idea of the website is to promote positive change by making everyday, ho-hum, things fun. A series of short videos show what happens when everyday activities are tweaked. The results are pretty impressive. Rig a set of stairs to act like piano keys and more people take them. Make recycling glass a game and everyone wants to do it. And add a sound effect to a garbage bin and people pick up litter.
It's a cool way to promote sustainability and stewardship. Imagine the possibilities.

Redeem your Aeroplan points for turns in the biggest heliski tenure

2009-11-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

Aeroplan points have always been great, but they just got a whole lot cooler. Bella Coola Heli Sports, a B.C. heliski company, recently signed an agreement with Aeroplan, an air miles reward program, which allows collectors to trade points for skiing or fishing with Bella Coola.

The exclusive offer in the heliski world applies to two programs: a $1000 gift certificate towards a three day or five day all inclusive heliski package in the Coast Range near the central coast town of Bella Coola; or a five day, guided fly fishing trip for one person on one of the world class salmon and steelhead rivers near the Bella Coola valley.

Bella Coola's snow cred runs deep. The heliskiing company hires excellent guides and runs small groups into some of the biggest and snowiest mountains in Canada. This winter they've formally amalgamated with their sister heli-ski company Pantheon to form the largest heliski tenure in North America and one of the largest in the world. There is now 1.1 million hectares, that's 2.64 million acres, of mountains that range from the rugged coast to the light powder of the Chilcotin.

The Olympics are here! And the torch is surfing?

2009-11-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, not quite, but they're getting close. Less than 160 days to go until the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 games begin. The Olympic torch is now making its way across Canada. It started in Victoria, British Columbia on Friday and is working its way north on Vancouver Island, including a stop in Tofino where it caught some surf. Check out what must be the first time the Olympic flame has caught a wave.

It's a fitting place for the torch to go in BC. This is a wild and diverse province. Sticking to the pavement isn't really BC's style and nor should it be yours if you're visiting here. Many of the coolest places are off the beaten path. So if you're coming for the games or in the afterglow set aside some time for checking out the backcountry. Here's a handy travel guide to help you find tourism businesses where you want to go, or operators who do what you want to do.

If you want to make like the torch, Tatchu Surf Adventures is a good bet for finding remote surf spots around Vancouver Island.

The highest hut in Canada

2009-10-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

This summer Larry Dolecki, an internationally certified guide, built a hut on the Lyell Icefield of the Canadian Rockies. Sitting on a nunatak, an exposed chunk of rock amid the ice, it's a lonely spot within reach of some of the longest ski lines in British Columbia.

The new hut is an outlier to the main lodges of Icefall Lodge, a backcountry ski touring operation north of Golden, B.C. and a member of the Backcountry Lodges of BC. I visited Icefall last year and the skiing was unreal. (This is a picture from the main lodge.) There's tons of variety and the alpine terrain is limitless. The tenure covers 200 square kilometres; it would take a couple days to traverse the entire tenure.

It's a demanding day trip to access the hut from Icefall Lodge. The hut sits at 2860m (9400'), making it one of the highest huts in B.C. and as far as we know the highest privately owned hut. But once you're there the five, 11,000 foot peaks of the Lyell's can be skied in a day. Dolecki, the lodge owner, says there are over a dozen glacier runs right out the door and monster 7000 foot runs that descend from the summits of the Lyells into Lyell Creek are possible. Now that's a leg burner. I can't wait to give it a go.

What's your 350 action?

2009-10-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

People in more than 150 countries are gearing up to send a message to the rest of the world this weekend: we need to do something about global warming. October 24th is a day of action for the movement. There's a website, 350.org, but it's getting inundated with entries and was a little off when I visited it recently. Still it's a good place to get inspired about what you can do. And in case you're wondering, the number 350 is the level of carbon, in parts per million, that scientists believe is safe for the Earth. We're at 387 right now. Go to 350.org/plan to find out more about the movement and the number 350.

Still looking for inspiration? Here are some other possible actions:

Take the day off from the car. Bike, walk, car pool or take public transit if you have to go out.

Buy local food. Visit a farmers market. You'll cut down on greenhouse gases and have better tasting food.

Turn off your computer. We're guilty too. Instead of letting your computer sleep, shut it down. How long does it really take to boot up?

Turn your heat down. Drop your thermostat, maybe just at night, and snuggle up to keep warm. Who knows where it might lead?

And why not make travel plans for next year, focusing on a vacation that's easier on the earth. For some tips check out this article from an archived issue of Be Wild in BC Magazine.

Early season XC skiing at Golden Alpine Holidays

2009-10-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

The mountains of eastern B.C. are some of the first in North America to become skiable, and they're getting close right now. While we usually think of downhill skiers as fanatical in the early season - burning skis to beseech the snow gods to be kind - cross country skiers can be equally devout. Especially racers. And especially in an Olympic year.

There aren't many lodge's or resorts that work to get their terrain open for cross country skiers. The exception is Golden Alpine Holidays. During the winter the collection of four, comfortable, backcountry ski chalets are ground zero for some excellent ski touring. Visit the company's media page for some videos of ski film crews' footage from previous winters. But it also offers up its Sentry Mountain lodge for cross country skiers in the fall, as early as October 10. In years past the Canadian National cross country team has hit the 7.5 kilometers of classic and skate trails around the lodge for early season training (pictured, photo from GAH).

With the Olympics in Whistler and Vancouver in less than four months there's no doubt the team is eager to get up there again. Only the weather will determine when that will be, but as soon as the conditions are right GAH will be ready. And the offer isn't only open to the national team. Anyone can book the lodge for an early season XC fix. Five day trips, including the helicopter ride, and private XC trails are $800.

Discounted trips with WTA members

2009-10-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

It's the definition of win-win. Book a trip with several WTA members and you get a discount and wild salmon get a helping hand. The salmon conservation organization Save Our Salmon (SOS) has teamed up with several stewardship minded WTA members to raise money for salmon conservation on the B.C. coast by offering discounted tours and trips.

Book, through SOS, a 3,4, or 7-day heliski trip for two with Last Frontier Heliskiing, a remote heli-ski operation in northern B.C., and you'll get a 20 percent discount. SOS receives a charitable donation of 60 percent of the cost of the trip.

Backcountry skiers can donate half the cost of a week of guided and catered skiing at Bear Mountaineering's Burnie Glacier Chalet, near Smithers, to SOS. Echo Valley Ranch and Spa also has a good deal and there are several other prizes and opportunities for people donating to the charity.

But if I had to chose one experience for my donation it would be Maple Leaf Adventures Tall Sails and Ales. Two spots are available on the October 22 to 27th sailing around the Gulf Islands off Vancouver Island, which would be nice all by itself. (Above is a photo of the Maple Leaf, a tall masted schooner, sailing in the Gulf Islands with Mount Baker in the distance, photo by Kevin J. Smith/Maple Leaf Adventures.) But this tour stops at many of the local micro breweries and brew pubs and a beer expert is on board for the trip (see picture below, photo by Kevin J. Smith/Maple Leaf Adventures). Now that's a worthwhile cause. The charity trip is discounted, $2000 compared to $2215, and $1000 of it goes to SOS.

Taking advantage of these opportunities saves you money, supports environmentally minded operators and helps fund the work SOS is doing to speak for wild salmon. For details on all these discounts and opportunities head to Save Our Salmon's Support Us page.

Stop the plastic = stop the hunt

2009-10-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

Disposable plastic water bottles are not good for the environment. They require petroleum to produce, create greenhouse gases in transport and need to be recycled or landfilled after consumption. They're especially evil if you consider that the water is often no healthier than regular tap water. So we at Be Wild in BC are congratulating Knight Inlet Lodge for cutting individual plastic water bottles from its service. Of course the grizzly bear viewing lodge on the B.C. coast, east of Campbell River, isn't leaving its clients dry.

"While no guest will ever go without water on one of tours we are encouraging guests to either bring a bottle with them or to purchase ($7.50 Cdn.) one of our metal Knight Inlet Lodge bottles," says Phil Bergman, the operations manager. One hundred percent of the funds raised by the sale of these bottles will go towards Stop the Hunt, Knight Inlet's campaign to end grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia. Every year the bear viewing operation buys the grizzly bear tag from the local hunting guide outfitter to ensure no bears in their bear viewing tenure are shot. To date it has cost the lodge, its staff and guests more than $100,000.

Knight Inlet has also recently launched a new blog. Here's what Phil says about it in the lodge's latest newsletter:

Knight Inlet Lodge is pleased to announce the launch of our blog site - www.knightinletlodge.com - it's intended to be a way for our guests, past and future, to keep up to date on the goings on at the lodge and with our company. We are encouraging guests to post comments and photos of their visit. We also encourage everyone to use it as a forum to communicate with each other regarding the ongoing struggle to “Stop the Hunt” of grizzly bears in British Columbia.

Travel is good for you

2009-09-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the September issue of Conde Naste Traveller. The members of the WTA missed out on the World Savers Awards, a hat tipping to travel companies giving back to the environment and society, but not because they didn't qualify. In fact after reading about the winners I'm confident many members of the WTA are doing as much or more, especially when their relative size and revenue are considered. You can find out more about some of the stewardship initiatives of some of the WTA members here.

What I found most interesting in the magazine, though, were two articles on the benefits of travel, both related to overall health. The first article says a holiday of a week or more in length gives the most health benefit. The other plus for longer trips is that the overall environmental impact is reduced. More frequent, shorter trips create more carbon emissions, through flights and/or driving back and forth, and mean more impact from cleaning and washing accommodation. Plus, travel can be stressful and tiring.

Among the five tips offered in the article another rang true for me: Get off your beach chair. Being active is important - I know I always feel better if I get some exercise every day, especially on holiday. The good news is most of the members of the WTA specialize in active, week or longer vacations at lodges or on tours. Week long trips like sea kayaking on the B.C. coast where the chances of seeing an orca, like the one pictured, are high or ski touring at Icefall Lodge, a member of the Backcountry Lodges of BC, are both week long, active vacations. Search through more options here.

The other interesting article was more specific about how travel can reduce your chances of getting heart disease, depression and other health issues. Perfect: another excuse to pack my bags.

Skeena Steelhead: quality waters heating up

2009-09-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

The Fall steelhead run is in full upstream migration on the Skeena River of B.C. Goverment bodies are forecasting a better than average return this year of the sea run rainbow trout, which means fishing for these lunkers should be good. (Click here for more details on government numbers.)

The Skeena and it's tributaries are considered some of the best steelhead fishing rivers in the world. The region is become the place to go to catch big, hard fighting fish, but as it does the angling experience is threatened. To head off a potential crisis the provincial government and anglers are working to find a balance between access for all, a quality fishing experience and the long-term survival of the fish species.

“This is a critical turning point for the Skeena,” says Pierce Clegg, owner of Babine Norlakes Lodge, a steelhead guiding operation on the Babine River. “Right now we’re loving the steelhead to death. We need to find a way of managing our love.”

Clegg and other guides and resident anglers in the area are working to implement the Skeena Quality Waters Strategy (QWS), signed in 2005. The new process replaces the old classified waters method of management that grouped rivers, with an Angling Management Plan, where each river is micro managed river by river and sometimes section by section.

Geoff Straight, the head guide at Bell 2 Lodge Steelhead Fishing, welcomes the process as a change in tact from the usually politically motivated method of managing fish. “It is new for government to actually have a ‘committee of user groups’ legislated to help in the decision making process and an annual monitoring process, as well as having a reasonable timeline imposed,” he says.

The Skeena QWS is the second such process in B.C. The first QWS plans were approved and implemented in the East Kootenay’s to manage rivers in southeastern B.C., and is showing signs of success. However, the Skeena is more complex, since it involves the mysterious variable of ocean survival of salmon and steelhead.

Thus the government and the Skeena QWS committee is left with a conundrum – how to limit and spread out the fishing pressure without having control over fish numbers. Everyone involved admits there are no easy solutions, but certain commitments are mandatory. “The government needs to support this initiative by dedicating the resources for the QWS to work - enforcement namely and funding at the right time,” Straight says. And he says the fish have to be protected, otherwise there is no point. “Fish farming and commercial fishing is currently destroying our angling resource,” he says. Both provincial and federal governments must collaborate on fish management plans, he believes.

The Skeena QWS is in its final draft stage. Watch this blog for more news on it.

Green in the rainforest: King Pacific Lodge's sustainability ideal

2009-09-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

I mentioned some WTA members that were going carbon neutral. Well here's another with serious sustainable ambitions that go beyond the environment.

King Pacific Lodge in the Great Bear Rainforest, in Gitga'at territory on BC’s central coast. Set in one of the most ecologically and culturally sensitive parts of the province, the lodge is a leader in sustainable initiatives, from its close cooperation with the local First Nations community to its carbon neutral vacation packages (read about some of their initiatives here). And now the latest: The Great Bear Rainforest Eco-Challenge.

As part of a “giveback getaway" available in 2010, guests are set a series of challenges, all designed to help them gain a deeper understanding of the culture and ecosystem of the area; success earns donations in the guest’s name to local community and conservation groups. And the eco-challengers really have to earn their donations.

Tackling a five-mile open water kayak trip or mastering vocabulary in the Sm'algyax language will, for example, earn a $100 donation to the local Hartley Bay School. Participants may also try capturing four marine or land mammals on film, releasing three salmon caught on self-tied flies, photographing two of the three bear species living in the area, or climbing a nearby mountain and snapping shots of edible plant species to prove they’ve been there. Any one challenge will earn a donation to the school, to the North Coast Cetacean Society, or to the Gitga'at Cultural Centre; completing all seven tasks will earn a $1,000 donation to the Hartley Bay School. It’s not entirely altruistic: three challenges will win a luxurious spa treatment. A well-deserved eco-challenge win. www.kingpacificlodge.com

Children going wild

2009-09-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

A $200 a night spa, let alone a $1500 a night resort, are not the kind of places you'd expect to find toddlers and pre-teens, but that's just what wilderness resort owners are finding more and more. Parents want to bring their kids with them on their wilderness holidays. And so they should, researchers and nature advocates are saying louder and louder.

For many kids that grow up in a city, hanging out in the forest, camping out overnight or riding a horse on the range is more exotic than a trip to Dubai. Author Richard Louv calls it “Nature Deficit Disorder" in his book Last Child in the Woods. Turns out humans are hardwired to learn in a natural environment, processing sensory information from all our senses at once. Not just being visually distracted and zoned out by TV or video games or texting. Not spending time in the wilderness not only lessens our value for wild places but is also harmful to kids development.

There's an excellent article on this topic in the summer issue of explore Magazine which you can find here.

What wilderness resort operators are finding is that parents are realizing this disconnect and many are trying to do something about it. They remember spending time in the wilderness with their parents and remember how important those experiences were.

To feed the growing demand many resorts are offering family style programs or specifically cater to families with programs designed to instill a value in wild places and nature in the whole family. You can read more about some of these options in an article that appeared in the first issue of Be Wild in BC by clicking here. Or browse through the members of the WTA and discover some of the potential experiences like staying at a backcountry lodge as the family pictured did at Mistaya Lodge in the Canadian Rockies.

Better stewards, better rivers

2009-08-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

Pass on the enjoyment and protect the environment. That was the thinking behind 7 Canyons Advetures Pass it On program, started two years ago. At the end of each wetland wildlife safari in the Columbia River marshes near Golden, B.C. (pictured), each guest is invited to take a Pass it On postcard to be given to other travelers, family or friends. In the future, if the receipients join 7 Canyons for a tour and hand in their card the company will donate $5 to Wildsight, a local environmental organization.

"It's a pay it forward concept," says Larry Sparks, 7 Canyons general manager. "We've had a great response so far. And they generate a lot of conversation."

It's a selfless act but one that is familiar to Jim DeHart, executive director of the BC River Outfitters Association, a coalition of the province's best river tour companies. "As an association we have leading best practices guidelines in safety, stewardship and guest experience," he says. "But all of our members still manage to exceed them, especiall on the environmental front."

DeHart's own company, Destiny River Adventures, on vancovuer Island, charges a $2 habitat surcharge, raising more than $8,000 for local environmental and river restoration projects.
Canadian River Expeditions, now Nahanni River Adventures, was a driving force behind the creation of Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, protecting the northern B.C. wilderness from mine development.

On the Thompson and Fraser rivers north east of Vancouver, Kumsheen Rafting Resort has instilled clients with a value for rivers and is a supporter of the Creek Protection Society of B.C.

The list of good deeds goes on. Each company has its own story, but the important thing, says DeHart, is that the companies that rely on rivers are the biggest stewards, as well.

Running on neutral - carbon neutral

2009-08-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Bluewater Adventures and Spirit of the West Adventures went carbon neutral this year, the first companies of their kind to do so.

"We decided that to be a responsible and sustainable business, and to really call what we do ecotourism, we had to do a lot more than recycle," says Breanne Quesnel of Spirit of the West, a sea kayaking tour operator based on Quadra Island near Campbell River. "We had to make our operation as sustainable as possible and part of that was becoming carbon neutral." This sentiment is echoed by Bluewater adventures, whose owner Randy Burke operates a beautiful sailing ship on the B.C. coast.

Gong carbon neutral doesn't mean the companies have eliminated all their carbon emissions. Rather they have worked to eliminate or reduce as much as they can and for the remainder they have purchased carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are like buying shares in projects that remove future carbon emissions, with two important caveats: the projects wouldn't happen without the financial support and the amount of carbon eliminated is quantifiable.

WTA members leading the way to carbon free energy

2009-08-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

Members of the BC Wilderness Tourism Association are working towards a day when they will be carbon neutral with funding from the government.

The Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund, announced by Premier Gordon Campbell, provides $25-million to off-the-grid businesses and communities to develop innovative, clean energy projects.

“Developing renewable energy projects is not cheap or easy,” says Evan Loveless, WTA executive director. “Funding like this is exactly what our members need to find solutions to their energy needs and achieve their clean, renewable energy goals.”

The money supports the BC Energy Plan and the government's goal of electricity self-sufficiency by 2016 and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020. The B.C.'s premier says the ICE Fund will showcase B.C. technologies to the world and drive solutions to climate change.

Already many WTA members are leaders in the use of renewable energy projects, their remote locations forcing them to look for solutions to wean themselves off expensive and carbon emitting generators in exchange for harnessing the wind, sun and water before it became trendy. Strathcona Park Lodge runs almost entirely off a small hydro system with a back up generator only kicking in when a series of small dams run low. Near Golden Hydra River Guides uses solar panels to power their office on the banks of the Kicking Horse River.