Responsible Recreation Conference: Pathways, Practices and Possibilities
On May 10th, I will be leading a workshop titled, “Using Ethical Space to support recreation planning in the Upper Columbia” at the Columbia Mountains Institute Responsible Recreation Conference. In this workshop, I will support building capacity for organizations and governments to engage in Ethical Space-based responsible recreation conversations. We will actively learn and brainstorm creative ways to honour the values, protocols, and laws of all to achieve responsible recreation goals. I look forward to sharing space with a group of like-minded individuals who are committed to supporting human-land relationships and sharing the beauty of the outdoors.
Conference Description:
“Recreation and adventure tourism is expanding globally, with the Columbia Mountains region being no exception. From hiking, mountain biking, dirt biking… to motorized and non-motorized watercraft use, all activities can have an impact on wildlife and ecosystems. However, empirical measures of impacts are often difficult to obtain, with unknown thresholds that ultimately affect the viability of wildlife populations and ecosystems. This limits policy development and impact management. Furthermore, the cumulative effect of multiple overlapping recreational and industrial activities on the landscape are seldom considered or addressed.
This two-day conference is timely as an increasing number of people are pursuing outdoor activities, and there is growing recognition of the limited information, tools, and resources for managing and monitoring the impacts of these pressures on wildlife and habitat. It will be an excellent opportunity for scientists, managers, business operators, students, and the interested public to network and learn about current thinking on increasing outdoor recreation activities and the effect on wildlife and ecosystems. The event will address key questions regarding the effects of current and future development and showcase best practices of established commercial and community-managed recreation and adventure tourism tenures. The conference will include… opportunities for dialogue on …baseline monitoring, measuring disturbance, accessing cumulative impacts, understanding best practices, success stories, and field trips.”
To learn more about the conference, please check out the Columbia Mountains Institute Website.
