Putting the `ECO' in Tourism - ecotourism-related services and package tours offered by travel industry and environmental organizations

E: The Environmental Magazine, Jan, 2001 by John Ivanko

OUTFITTER/AGENT:

U.S. National Park Service and the Teton Science School

When travelers to any of the U.S. national parks venture forth from their cars for more than just a quick bathroom break, their experiences can be transforming. Numerous wildlife interpretive programs, which offer travelers valuable insights to area flora and fauna as well as the unique histories of the parks themselves, help put the all-important aspect of education in ecotravel.

Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. Rocky Mountains is one of the most majestic--high enough to support a dozen mountain glaciers, with 12 Teton peaks that reach above 12,000 feet. Grand Teton itself rises 13,770 feet above the bucolic valley of Jackson Hole, the Snake River threading the terrain below. Plant communities thrive there, from ribbons of riparian plants to sagebrush fiats, lodgepole pine forests, subalpine meadows and alpine stone fields.

The nonprofit Teton Science School offers Wildlife Expeditions, a program in which locally trained wildlife biologists teach people not only about the wildlife, but also wildlife viewing ethics and habitat preservation. These specialized safari-style tours help visitors turn a casual trip to the park into a more intimate, ecologically friendly experience.

"Often times, people approach wildlife, endangering themselves and disturbing an animal's natural behaviors," says Christy Bradburn, administrative coordinator for Wildlife Expeditions. "We teach people how to enjoy wildlife and understand their natural history." CONTACT: Teton Science School, PO Box 7580, Jackson Hole, WY 83002, (888)945-3567, www.tetonscience.org/ wildlife.

OUTFITTER/AGENT:

Tread Lightly, Ltd.

Immeasurably rich in geography, ecology, culture and history, Bolivia is home to expansive cloud forests, unique salt flats, savannas and the snow-capped Andes, making it one of the most biodiverse portions of the Amazon region. Tread Lightly trips to Bolivia, completely set up through in-country operating partners, offer backstage views of the prehistoric ruins and indigenous villages of the mystical islands of the Sun and Moon in the expansive Lake Titicaca, at 3,810 feet the highest navigable lake in the world.

Tread Lightly provides intimate cultural and natural experiences for ecotravelers to Latin America. It favors lodges that respect natural surroundings, carefully use water and other valuable resources, and employ alternative energy and waste-disposal techniques. Tread Lightly partners sponsor guide-training courses that provide rich careers for locals, helping preserve community integrity while increasing awareness for the environmental diversity and fragility of their surroundings.

Visits to Potosi and the magnificent capital city of Sucre offer ecotravelers an opportunity to enjoy Bolivia's unique cultural, as well as natural, attractions. Located at an altitude of nearly 13,100 feet, Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world and best known for the extraordinary quantities of silver extracted from Cerro Rico, "Rich Mountain." CONTACT: Tread Lightly Limited, 37 Juniper Meadow Road, Washington Depot, CT 06794, (800)643-0060, www.treadlightly.com.