Re: [Paddlewise] The Ocean is Big, Our Impact Bigger

From: Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com>
Date: Wed, 03 May 2000 20:57:48 -0700
HTERVORT_at_aol.com wrote:
> 
> I just got back from three wonderful days out on Santa Cruz Island, one of
> the Northern Group of Channel Islands here in Southern California.  I was
> leading a small group of parents and their children with two assistant
> guides.  The weather varied from small-craft warning conditions to calm and
> warm, allowing us to get in some varied but restricted paddling.  The general
> large-period swell prevented us from getting in most of the sea caves, but
> the few we did enter were magnificent.
> 
> Now the downside:  [snip]

> I apologize for rambling on over such a wide range of subject matter, but I
> just needed to vent.  Watching such goings-on and then listening to the Park
> Rangers talk about how little they can do to better the situation leaves me
> with a feeling of helplessness.  Hopefully, if we keep the subjects alive and
> pass on our knowledge to others, the cause will not be lost.

Great post, Harold.  I really appreciate responsible outfitters like yourself. 
Outfitters can have an enormously positive effect when it comes to educating
the novice public.  You have them when they are at their most receptive, and
you are in a position to have the greatest effect.  It is especially gratifying
to read of your awareness and pro-active behavior in educating others about
kayaking which can negatively affect sensitive wildlife, such as the seabirds
nesting in caves.

I know that on the West coast of Vancouver Island, the outfitters I have seen
are among the most wildlife-sensitive paddlers.  They know that if the wildlife
are driven from their territory, their customers will have a much diminished
experience, and therefore not return.  A case where doing the right thing for
the birds and the beasts is also the right thing for your bottom line.

Keep up the great work!

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR

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Received on Wed May 03 2000 - 22:09:06 PDT

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