Re: [Paddlewise] Ethics of a Tour Guide (was Yum Yum Yellow)

Outfit3029_at_aol.com wrote:
> 
> [snip] My primary focus while on these
> trips is nature observation.  I am an outfitter but I never lead groups
> larger than four.  My first concern is for the natural world not the
> manufactured one.  When the local tourism gurus caught on to the buzz of
> Ecotourism, I became involved with the citizens advisory board.  My spot was
> on the ethics committee.  When I realized that promotion was the focus and
> not protection of resources I withdrew my participation.  The gurus wanted me
> to reveal my paddling spots in order to create a slick glossy brochure that
> would attract millions.  My response was this, "Telling you where my paddling
> spots are is like being fifteen years old and telling everybody what a good
> kisser your girlfriend is, after two weeks they are all agreeing with you."

(BTW, Sippy Wallace wrote a great blues tune on the other side of this called
'Women Be Wise' -- sung as a duet with Bonnie Raitt on Raitt's anthology CD.)

> So these are my credentials, I have made a life choice to forgo fortune in
> order to more fully appreciate the natural world around me.

Bruce has efficiently outlined a common dilemma:

He earns some income taking people to nice paddling places -- private and
fragile enough that he does not want them broadcast about for the multitudes. 
What are the ethics of this?  Bruce does not "own" these places.  In fact, I
bet he feels the critters have more right to them than he does.

I face much the same dilemma where I live, in that I am often beleagured by
friends who want to go to some of the special, fragile spots I know about in
my area.  If I took them all, and my paddling buddies did the same, those
spots would not be special any more:  they'd be destroyed!

OTOH, if Bruce (and non-outfitters such as me) do not at least help members of
the general public to appreciate the nature of fragile, wild places, support
for their maintenance will soon wither.  And, part of that appreciation must
involve visiting those places.  So, there is a role for what Bruce does.

What is Bruce's role?   Never show people those places?  Blindfold them so
they can not bring others?  Charge a lot so only the well-to-do can afford to
visit?  Think about it a lot and avoid groups such as the citizens advisory
group he describes?

Where is Edward Abbey when we need him?

-- 
Dave Kruger
very confused, in
Astoria, OR [where it rains 8 feet a year and is always foggy and nasty]
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