WAC - Is Ecotourism Helping or Hurting our National Parks? 12/14/17

Is Ecotourism Helping or Hurting our National Parks?

    

        Have you ever thought about how ecotourism positively and negatively hurts national parks? Ecotourism is supposed to be a very good thing for us (humans) and wildlife. But currently, this is not the case. Ecotourism is actually hurting our national parks and also the animals and wildlife that lie within them. Ecotourism is hurting our national parks through changing their mindset and making them think more about the money that they will make rather than the animals they are supposed to protect. National parks are making these animals habituated or not "wild" and are putting these animals through conditions that are irregular. Furthermore, this is happening today and has become a huge problem the United States needs to face.

       One reason/way ecotourism is hurting our national parks is by ecotourism affecting how they (national parks) see ecotourism. Originally, ecotourism was seen as a way for humans to explore wildlife but also a way to protect the animals. Now, many national parks aren't looking at ecotourism this way and instead are seeing ecotourism as a huge money maker. This changes how the animals are being treated because national parks are now spending less and less time on protecting the animals. This takes away from the whole purpose of national parks by not allowing national parks to preserve wildlife. Currently, “ecotourism is the fastest-growing sector of the tourism industry, but while operators often tout lofty conservation goals to lure customers, little oversight or evaluation actually ensures that such goals are being met,” as said by Christie Wilcox who wrote an article for the Washington Post. One example of how ecotourism is changing national parks mindsets is in Kona, Hawaii, where they have Manta Ray (a marine life/aquatic species) ecotourism where tourists can be underwater with these majestic creatures. Preserving the Manta Ray species is not all of what the national park is thinking about. The national park was mainly thinking about the money that would be made because of these creatures. The fact that ecotourism brings in so much money really takes away from what ecotourism is meant to do. Wildlife such as the Manta Ray species are greatly affected in a negative way. The real goal of national parks and ecotourism is to show wildlife to people, but also protect it (wildlife) at the same time. Many, many national parks and places that offer ecotourism (including the Manta Ray habitat in Kona, Hawaii) are not actually preserving the wildlife they originally set out to protect. These national parks are only completing one side of their goal, which is to show wildlife to people, but are forgetting about the other side of the goal. This side of the goal is helping animals as well, and not just humans. The selfishness of people result in animals being hurt. In Kona, Hawaii, many have said that for decades now that selfish operating practices are currently happening due to the greed of the workers. These selfish operating practices “are placing both the mantas and the tourists that come to see them at risk.” Christie Wilcox wrote that in her article for the Washington Post about ecotourism with Manta Rays in Kona, Hawaii. Christie also said, “I tried to remind myself that some of the money paid by all of these people would be used to conserve this place, to protect the majestic animals we anxiously awaited. But looking around, it was hard to believe that any of this was going to help the manta rays.” This just goes to show that ecotourism brings greed and selfishness to the national parks, in result hurting the animals that the national parks are supposed to be protecting. Most importantly, National Parks are not using the money paid by the people that want to see the wildlife for no good. They are using this money selfishly and harming wildlife because of this.

       The second way ecotourism is hurting our national parks is by ecotourism making animals suffer through conditions that normal animals would not and do not go through. Currently, animals that aren’t considered completely “wild” are put through conditions and things to try and make them more “wild” and more like the rest of their kind/species. They are put through these conditions all because of the fact that these national parks that offer ecotourism aren’t doing their job well enough. For example, when bears are considered not “wild” or habituated (habituated bears are bears “that don't run when they see or smell people because they've gotten so accustomed to us,” as said by NPR) biologists and national park staff have to do things to the bear to make it “wild” again. These bears have to be euthanized which means that they have to be with humans (which is not good for them) to get the procedure done. In euthanizing the bears will have tests ran on them, shots, get things implanted, and other abnormal things for bears. Regular animals wouldn't be going through these things. Regular animals can fend for themselves and aren’t dependent on only one food source. Regular animals do not like to be in the presence of humans. Animals shouldn't be put through these practices and it is not the animals that are to blame, but the national parks. These animals are completely defenseless. Because sometimes animals are getting to close to humans, these humans may do something that could greatly affect the animals. Poor behavior from humans is another factor of what these habituated animals have to go through. Poor behavior from humans really hurts animals and can cause death. It is bad enough that these animals have many interactions with humans, but by humans doing something that could hurt the animals just takes it one step further. For example, “in 2015, a family interfered with a bison calf in Yellowstone National Park, which they had presumed was in danger because it was alone in the snow. Bison are physiologically equipped to handle the harsh winters in the midwest. In the end, the family’s misjudgment cost the bison its life after attempts to reunite it with its herd failed,” as said in a SENCER article. People are destroying animal’s homes and many may not realize that what they are doing can really hurt wildlife, which is a huge problem. “In another, more subtle case, Big Meadows, in Shenandoah National Park, faces a particular chronic human-wildlife conflict that affects meadow ecology with visitors frequently going off trail. This misstep causes a disruption of the plants in the meadow, which is an especially big problem because Big Meadows is a unique type of wetland and host to the highest concentration of rare plants in Shenandoah National Park,” as said in an article by SENCER. Just simply going off trail can really hurt animals and their homes. The primary reason for many animals (habituated animals) having to be put through conditions that aren’t normal is not because of the animals themselves. They are put through these conditions because of the simple fact that national parks aren’t doing their job to protect the animal’s habitat. This takes away from the animals living a normal “wild” life. These conditions like being with humans and getting shots totally take away from these animals normal lives, not because of themselves (animals), but because of us, as humans.

       In contradiction, some believe that ecotourism is actually helping our national parks. Reasons for believing in ecotourism helping our national parks is the facts that ecotourism provides income and boosts the economy, ecotourism can make people more curious and more knowledgeable about animals. Ecotourism provides more than 200,000 jobs and have a 30 billion dollar impact on the economy of the US through visitor spending. People become more curious and knowledgeable because of the fact that you can learn many things from ecotourism. This information above may seem convincing, but when you look at the other side of the equation that I am expressing (how ecotourism is actually hurting our national parks). You can see that there is much more information and evidence that support my claim that ecotourism is hurting national parks. The primary reason their claim that ecotourism is helping the national parks is not compelling enough is that their reasoning is only focusing on themselves as humans. All of their reasons had to do with how ecotourism helps humans, and none of them had to do with how it helps animals. My claim has evidence that ecotourism hurts people and animals. Their claim doesn't support both parts to the story (how ecotourism helps/hurts animals and humans). This is why other’s ideas about whether ecotourism helps or hurts our national parks are not compelling enough. Other’s ideas simply do not have enough evidence to back up their claim that ecotourism helps our national parks.

       Lastly, and most importantly, the last way ecotourism hurts our national parks is by ecotourism hurting the animals that national parks are supposed to protect. These animals that are considered habituated, are irregular to the rest of their kind. These animals are not actually getting preserved. If they were getting preserved these animals would be regular like the rest of their kind. Interactions with humans is a huge part of this because interactions with humans is one of the biggest ways these animals are being hurt and become unpreserved. These national parks make these animals not “wild” and not regular. Ecotourism is the reason for these animals not being properly protected and preserved. Many animals today are on roadsides, next to towns, and just to close to people. This completely changes their life, and makes them get sick, and because of this as I mentioned before many things are done to them to make them regular. National parks and humans "are basically killing the animals with our kindness," as said by NPR. Our kindness makes these animals attached to us which is very bad for them. Humans by being kind and giving them (animals) food makes the animals to rely as humans as their food resource. First of all human food is bad for animals , and second of all once we stop giving these animals food they die because they won't know how to get food. It is not their fault they never learned how to hunt or get food because of the fact that they were just getting food from humans. That is just one example of how we "are basically killing the animals with our kindness.” Most importantly, ecotourism is a very terrible thing for animals, and the animals being taken away from a normal, regular life.

       For the reasons stated above, ecotourism is hurting our national parks. But most importantly, it is putting the animals within the national parks through abnormal conditions for regular animals. Ecotourism is hurting the actual animals themselves in ways that should never occur in the first place if it weren't for ecotourism. So the next time you think about going to a national park, or doing ecotourism, think about how the national park will be affected and about the animals that will be hurt in the process.