Top 10 Eco-Destinations in North America
(Page 3 of 4)
January/February 2005
By Laurel Kallenbach
Alternative energy: None
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Conservation practices: Eco-cleaners, organic cotton bathrobes, recycling, local products.
Benefits to local ecosystems: Wildlife-friendly fencing; 40 percent of acreage open for wintering elk. Studies on coexisting with elk herds and wolves and trout creek conservation.
Educational programs: Experts address locals and visitors on valley conservation; staff naturalist and environmental specialist.
(406) 682-3030; PapooseCreek.com
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, CALIFORNIA
America’s National Parks protect some of the nation’s greatest natural treasures, but they also suffer from destructive tourism. Yosemite gets so many visitors—almost 4 million annually—that the Yosemite Valley has traffic jams and air pollution. So what’s it doing on Natural Home’s list? We just couldn’t write off the National Park system, which though beleaguered and underfunded, is getting into the ecotourism game.
About the size of Rhode Island, Yosemite is 95 percent wilderness. The remaining 5 percent (Yosemite Valley) is the domain of cars, RVs, hotels, gift shops, and campsites. To counteract the damage, the park enhanced its traffic-reducing shuttle system with eighteen hybrid buses, removed the parking lot at Lower Yosemite Falls, and is greening its concessions and guest services.
AHWAHNEE RESORT HOTEL
How it’s built: A national historic landmark, the Ahwahnee was built in 1927.
Alternative energy: None
Conservation practices: Compact fluorescent bulbs in public areas, nontoxic cleaning products, waste recycling, water and energy savings programs, organic fertilizers and integrated pest management, native-plant landscaping. YosemitePark.com
Canada
WILDERNESS OUTPOST AT BEDWELL RIVER
CLAYOQUOT SOUND, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Accessible by float plane or boat, this summer-only Vancouver Island resort offers luxurious accommodations in canvas tents situated in the rainforest along the Bedwell River.
How it’s built: Tents and other buildings are on raised cedar platforms to minimize impact on the land.
Alternative energy: Wind- and solar-powered electricity.
Conservation practices: Composting toilets, gravity-powered water lines, organic garden and greenhouse.
Benefits to local ecosystems: Raptor rehabilitation project, bear mapping, and restoring salmon-spawning habitat.
Educational programs: First Nations interpretive trail on a nearby island.
(888) 333-5405; WildRetreat.com
CREE VILLAGE ECOLODGE
MOOSE FACTORY ISLAND, ONTARIO
Owned by the MoCreebec Council of the Cree Nation, this twenty-room island eco-lodge is accessible by air or train/boat. Visitors participate in whale sighting, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, river trips, and cultural tours.
How it’s built: Designed according to Cree values with an A-frame replica of a traditional winter dwelling.