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Marine Wildlife Viewing
Guidelines Now Online
Produced by the Watchable Wildlife Marine Viewing
Working Group, this collection of guidelines is intended to help you
enjoy watching marine wildlife without causing them harm or placing
personal safety at risk.
More...
Web Site Launched, Conference
Held to Promote Wildlife Tourism
The Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW) offers pointers to civic and business leaders
wishing to develop nature tourism in their communities through its
new web site.
The web site, which can be viewed at
http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/wlm/tourism, offers:
- Nature tourist demographic
information
- A process for creating a community
nature tourism site or event, including assessing community
features, planning and evaluating success
- Resources for nature tourism
businesses
Besides the website, WDFW and the
state Office of Community, Trade and Economic Development are
planning a September conference to promote wildlife-viewing tourism.
Guest Speakers will include Jim Mallman President of Watchable
Wildlife Inc.
According to a national survey by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife viewers, fishers and
hunters spent more than $2.18 billion in Washington in 2001.
Virginia's
Birding and Wildlife Trail
Within Virginia’s 43,000 square miles of diverse natural habitat,
you can find some 400 species of birds, 250 species of fish, 150
species of terrestrial and marine animals, 150 species of amphibians
and reptiles, and a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial
invertebrates. The Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail celebrates
this diversity. In fact, it is the first statewide program of its
kind in the United States. In Virginia, three phases of the trail
link wildlife viewing sites throughout the state. Check out
http://www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/vbwt/index.asp for more
details.
Vermont
Leads the Pack of Wildlife Watchers
Robert
Winkler
National Geographic News
July 1, 2002
Nearly
one-third of Americans age 16 and older—more than 66 million—fed,
photographed, and observed wildlife in 2001, and they spent $40
billion doing so, according to the latest figures of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Statistics released by the
government in May and June reveal that, over the past five years,
the ranks of wildlife watchers swelled by 5 percent and that spending
on wildlife-watching equipment such as binoculars and birdhouses
jumped by 33 percent.
Vermont
had the highest participation rate of any state: 60 percent of
residents age 16 and older engaged in some form of wildlife watching.
Second-place Minnesota had a 54 percent participation rate, while
Alaska and Wisconsin, at 53 percent, tied for third.
Virginia Birding Trail Gets
$400,000 in Grants
RICHMOND,
Virginia, July 21, 2000 (ENS) - The Virginia Department of Game
and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) announced Thursday that it has received
two major grants to support development of the coastal phase
of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail. The agency will
use the new funds to determine routes for the Trail and create
a map and signs for the coastal portion of the trail. A mountain
stretch is next on the Trail's agenda. More than 2.2 million
people spend almost $700 million a year on wildlife watching
in Virginia, including birders looking for the state's 400 resident
and migratory bird species. The trail is expected to encourage
additional ecotourism visits to the region.
The
Commonwealth Transportation Board has approved $300,000 for
the Trail as a transportation enhancement project. DGIF will
get $100,000 from the state Department of Environmental Quality's
(DEQ) Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program in October.
"The collaborative funding received for the Trail is indicative
of the tremendous support exhibited for this project," said
DGIF director William Woodfin, Jr. "With this funding we look
forward to creating the coastal portion of what will one day
be a birding and wildlife watching trail that will allow residents
and visitors alike to more fully enjoy Virginia's great natural
resources." During the past nine months, DGIF has worked with
communities, businesses and citizens in the coastal area to
identify potential sites to be included on the Trail. The agency
is reviewing more than 200 nominations for these sites.
For
more information contact
David
Whitehurst who is leading this effort for Virginia Department
of Game and Inland Fisheries.
New Article - Worth the Download
WATCHING
VS. TAKING
Humans have always pursued other species, whether for food, fur,
horn, or just sport. But recent
trends suggest that the human relationship with wildlife may be
changing. by Howard Youth
Why
do we pursue other species? Is it for the fur, meat, or sport
... or perhaps, now, for something else? We are seeing a shift
in human relationships with wildlife, as millions turn from taking
other species for furs, food, or sport to just watching. In a
way, it's a new kind of hunt.
Download
this article for free in PDF format
