Sustainable Ecotourism In The Salish Sea: What Does It Look Like And How Do We Get There?

Whale watching and visitors are huge economic booms for the San Juan Islands and other Salish Sea communities. However, how do we navigate the desire for tourism and recreation in our local waters and lands while mitigating the harmful impacts such activities can have on our beloved wildlife, especially whales, and our surrounding environment? Conservationists world-wide have struggled with this very question given increased pressures and stress on ecosystems. On this episode, Angela Broderick, San Juan County’s Climate & Sustainability Coordinator, discusses the creation of a Sustainable Tourism Management Plan for the San Juan Islands as well as what a vision of sustainable ecotourism could look like for Salish Sea communities.