By Joe Starinchak, Citizen Journalist 7-18-06
Read most any newspaper in the Inter-Mountain West on the subject of natural
resources and you probably come away feeling depressed. There is no shortage
of negative articles on water conservation, environment, natural resources,
and public lands. Whether focusing on the Forest Service selling off public
land, budget cuts for federal resource management agencies, the continued
expansion of resort communities gobbling up pristine habitat, various lawsuits
for and against the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding species listings and
de-listings, the common themes are negativity and government-bashing.
The reasons for the negativity are many; controversy and negativity sell copy,
people don’t like government, the government has a long history of
ineptitude, and public lands issues are polarizing. But a small, dedicated
group of natural resource professionals want to change this negativity and
connect local people with their local resources. To appreciate these efforts,
it is important to understand the complexity of our various environmental
issues and how our government is taking a new tact to address this complexity.
Our environment and particularly our public lands and waters are facing many
different, complex threats like expanding pollution impacts, invasive species,
urban sprawl and the consequences feeding off of our culture’s insatiable
demand for petroleum-based products. All of these issues threaten our natural
resources; however when they are combined with greater demands on our public
resources and a scarcity of public funding to support traditional resource
management, the sustainability of this resource base is being questioned. And
like it or not, our country is at war. With this as the reality inside
Washington D.C., natural resource issues rank low on the government’s
priority list of pressing issues. So, what does this mean for a region like
the Greater Yellowstone area and surrounding communities like Island Park,
Idaho; Cody and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Ennis, Bozeman, and Livingston,
Montana, all of which proudly identify themselves with the region and benefit
from the unmatched quality of these resources?
To answer this, we need to look at the question from a big-picture perspective
as well as from a practical point of view. Washington D.C. politics affect
local communities all around the country by reaffirming two constants in life:
change and choice. Traditionally, we have always looked to our government to
be the stewards of our natural resources, particularly in a location like the
Greater Yellowstone area. However, with our current budget climate and
different priorities, relying solely on the government to conserve these
resources is not working. It’s not as though the government is going to shed
these responsibilities, but because of the complexity of these threats, others
outside of the government need to assume a greater role, underscoring the need
for change. As for the second constant, choice, communities of the Greater
Yellowstone area can choose to proactively maintain the natural resources that
support their communities or they can focus on how Washington is out of touch
with the West and will not allocate the necessary funds to sustain those
natural resources.
Some forward-thinking fish and wildlife professionals from the US Fish &
Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and Forest Service, the states of
Montana, Wyoming and Idaho and other resource-oriented nonprofit organizations
have partnered with the Federation of Fly Fishers and the American Fly Fishing
Trade Association to make it very easy for local communities and businesses to
embrace change and make proactive choices regarding conservation. From a
tourism perspective, the Greater Yellowstone area is blessed with amazing
natural resources, particularly its rivers, streams and lakes. With
blue-ribbon trout waters like the Madison, the Firehole, the Gallatin, the
Snake, the Yellowstone, Lamar and Henry’s Fork, and Hebgen Lake, the whole
region has positioned itself as a global destination for fly fishermen.
Additionally, these waters attract whitewater paddlers and families seeking
outdoor adventure. The unparalleled quality of these resources has made the
Greater Yellowstone area a global attraction. However, the very thing that
drives a powerful economic engine, the trout fishing opportunities, has also
become the roadway for introducing and spreading one of our most complex
resource management threats, aquatic invasive species.
Aquatic invasive species represent complex threats to our fisheries, lakes and
rivers. As an unforeseen consequence that has been exacerbated by our global
economy, nonnative plants, animals, fish and diseases are introduced to new
ecosystems through numerous means and, if they can establish themselves, they
are free from predators and diseases that would otherwise keep their
populations in check in their native environments. As a result, they have the
potential to expand unnaturally and negatively impact the native species where
they have been introduced. Additionally, because they are aquatic organisms,
the damage they cause typically goes sight unseen, not discovered until it’s
too late and oftentimes, this damage can be quite costly and irreversible.
While the zebra mussel invasion of the Great Lakes has made much news, every
part of the country deals with its own aquatic invasive species -- and the
Intermountain West is no different. Multiple federal, state and local
governments have varying levels of jurisdiction over this issue, which can
complicate attempts to make the public aware of this issue.
Whirling disease, New Zealand mudsnails, and lake trout are three primary
aquatic invasive species of concern in the Greater Yellowstone area. Whirling
disease, caused by a parasite, causes fish like trout to swim in a whirling
motion. It has had a presence in western waters for a while and could truly
damage a cash cow like the Madison River. New Zealand mudsnails are
“relatively” new, but we are learning more about their impacts everyday
and they have the potential to be as bad as whirling disease. These nonnative
snails can reproduce asexually at prolific rates and out-compete native
aquatic insect larvae that comprise the majority of a trout’s diet. Their
asexuality is of great concern because that means it takes only one snail to
reproduce – and only one snail to damage the waters that make up the Greater
Yellowstone area. As for the third species, lake trout, you’re probably
saying to yourself, aren’t they a sport fish? The answer to this question is
yes – in their native habitat. This predatory fish, introduced to
Yellowstone Lake, has seriously impacted native cutthroat trout. So, what’s
the big deal with native cutthroat trout? In the case of the Yellowstone Lake
population, these fish are very important for the entire ecosystem. The
Greater Yellowstone area is the West’s stronghold for Yellowstone cutthroat
trout. Our national bird, the bald eagle, which has a strong presence in
Yellowstone and serves as a global tourist attraction that draws birders from
around the world and the controversial grizzly bear both rely heavily upon the
native cutthroats for food. Without these fish, two recognizable species that
make the Greater Yellowstone area so popular have the potential to disappear.
Another invasive species looms near, and the next serious biological invasion
may be as close as the nearest airport, in angler’s gear stowed in the hull
of an airliner. Didymo, an invasive alga can take over a stream bottom and
negatively affect the insects that trout feed upon. Didymo is currently
devastating trout waters of New Zealand. While Kiwi-land may seem a world
away, modern air travel makes it our next door neighbor; both New Zealand and
the Greater Yellowstone area are global fly-fishing destinations.
The four species mentioned above are highlighted because they all have been
introduced into the Greater Yellowstone area by humans, either accidentally or
on purpose. While each is an example of an aquatic invasive species that is
creating different impacts, their similarities are that each species was
introduced by humans. This is where the “beacon of hope” phrase referenced
in the title originates: the hope lies with you and your choices about how you
can help to conserve the waters of the Greater Yellowstone area.
Four years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the multiple
layers of complexity surrounding the aquatic invasive species issue and its
limitations as one agency acting alone. As a result, it made several key
decisions that produced a much different approach for making people aware of
this issue. By combining strategic communications, social marketing and
branding processes, the Service, working through the national Aquatic Nuisance
Species Task Force, now leads a national campaign known as Stop Aquatic
Hitchhikers!TM The multi-layered intent of the campaign is unify the entire
conservation community to speak with one voice about this complex issue so we
can empower all recreational users to adopt environmentally responsible
behaviors to prevent the spread of harmful species. By targeting aquatic
recreation users, Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!TM strives to make stewardship
inherent in all recreational experiences.
It’s been established that people introduce or spread invasive species, and
a major pathway responsible for these introductions are recreational users and
their equipment. Since most people that recreate around water have a grounded
interest in the resources and sustaining them, it made sense to elevate
stewardship as part of their enjoyment. To do this, we simplified the aquatic
invasive species issue and made it relevant to the target audience through the
creation of an identifiable symbol, which is the central focus of the
campaign. This symbol (see attached graphic) also references the campaign’s
primary resource, a dedicated web site (www.protectyourwaters.net) that
provides specific details about cleaning and prevention procedures for various
user groups and a whole host of other information related to the aquatic
invasive species issue. In addition to serving as the campaign’s primary
information resource, it is a gateway for public, private and nonprofit
partner organizations to join the campaign and promote the Stop Aquatic
Hitchhikers!TM conservation message. To target wading anglers, whose boots and
waders serve as pathways for transporting harmful nonnative species, an
alternate brand signature was developed (see attached graphic).
Currently, Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!TM has attracted unprecedented partner
organizations from all facets of society to promote the conservation message.
From the public sector, city recreation agencies, county weed boards and
public works departments have joined state fish and wildlife and pollution
control agencies, state departments of natural resources and invasive species
councils, regional fisheries organizations, federal resource management
agencies, tribal and foreign governments as partners of the campaign. This
public-sector momentum has attracted numerous nonprofit organizations like
local lake homeowner associations, Trout Unlimited and BASS chapters,
statewide marine trade associations, local, regional and national
environmental and conservation organizations. All of these organizations are
complemented by diverse private- sector interests including fishing tackle and
boat manufacturers, consumer travel product companies, recreational and
multi-media companies, regional internet publishers, hotel chains, chambers of
commerce, lodges and full-service resorts, fly and tackle shops, marinas, dive
shops and resource restoration businesses.
Forty-some businesses and nonprofits from Jackson Hole, Cody, Livingston,
Bozeman, Ennis, West Yellowstone, Island Park and other communities of the
Greater Yellowstone area have joined the campaign. These businesses recognized
that tourism fuels the region’s primary economic engine, and that legendary
waters have made the Greater Yellowstone area a global destination.
Additionally, visitors come to the area hoping to catch a glimpse of a grizzly
bear, a buffalo or an elk while also enjoying amazing geologic wonders like
Old Faithful, or experiencing the thrill of rafting the Snake River. Spending
by those visitors reverberates through the economy – one that is based on
natural resources of the region. People spend money on lodging, fishing
licenses, food, professional guide fees, and fuel for their rental cars. The
Greater Yellowstone area has a varied but thriving lodging and travel
community, including primitive camps, five-star lodges and a variety of
travel-related services. An ancillary service economy follows: multi-media and
website design companies, attorneys, residential and commercial real estate
agents and developers, grocery stores, electricity companies, and so on. In
the end, the entire economy rests on the health and sustainability of the
natural resources; virtually everyone in the economy has a vested stake in
conserving these resources. In the past, even though these businesses may have
had an interest in conservation and sustaining these resources, they weren’t
quite sure about the roles they could assume or how they could help.
Fortunately, the state-federal partnership in the Greater Yellowstone area has
created a mechanism that facilitates and supports a more prominent role by the
business community.
To make a difference right now in the conserving the important natural
resources, more businesses have to change the way they think by shedding their
short-term perspective and adopting a longer-term point of view. With the will
to make the conservation of the Greater Yellowstone area’s resources a
priority, businesses can easily elevate these behaviors as an important part
of the regional experience by integrating the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!TM
message into their marketing and communications. There are other roles the
business community can assume to conserve the area’s resources such as
auditing and mitigating the environmental impacts of their business processes;
however, these roles require more difficult choices. The bottom line is that
by joining the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!TM campaign and promoting the campaign
message, businesses can easily use the campaign’s tools to inform and
educate consumers and ultimately change their behaviors that will result in
sustained resources that support sustained business interests.
For many in the business community, preventing the spread of aquatic invasive
species may seem to be relatively narrow niche issue when compared to other
problems like urban sprawl, habitat degradation and pollution. However, the
exact opposite is true and seeking active involvement from the business
community is a key component of the solution. Aquatic invasive species have
the ability to cause significant economic and ecological harm to resources
that are real economic engines of the Greater Yellowstone area. The continued
spread of aquatic invasive species is directly linked to human behaviors.
Government communications have only limited effectiveness in changing
behaviors, and the business community has diverse marketing and communications
channels that can be maximized to help to reposition and elevate sustainable
recreational behaviors as an important part of the Greater Yellowstone
area’s experiences. With Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!TM designed as a
partnership that enables any organization to easily integrate the conservation
message into its marketing and communication efforts, business community
participation would significantly enhance the reach of the campaign and would
create a powerful public-private partnership that would contribute positively
toward conserving the Greater Yellowstone area’s natural resources. This
would complement the innovative approach to doing business sustainably that
the Yellowstone Business Partnership fosters with various businesses and
ultimately, all of these activities will continue to help position the entire
Greater Yellowstone area as the epicenter for sustainability and sustainable
business practices in the U.S.
Seeing and hearing the same conservation message from multiple sources will
strongly reinforce the campaign’s message, exposing more minds to
stewardship behaviors. This unified approach will stitch environmentally
responsible recreational behaviors into the social fabric of the Greater
Yellowstone Area, allowing conservation messages to compete with all of the
other commercial messages that dominate our stream of consciousness.
Another role that business and communities can assume with the campaign is to
use Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!TM as a rallying point to actively demonstrate
their desires to live sustainably. Businesses can reinforce the need for
environmentally responsible behaviors by sponsoring and promoting cleaning
demonstrations of recreational equipment, thereby publicly modeling the
foundation of the campaign, and accelerating the social acceptance of these
behaviors.
In the end, an actively participating business community will help demystify
complex environmental issues like aquatic invasive species, demonstrate how
the public and private sectors work together to conserve our natural
resources, and amplify the importance of each individual person’s actions in
conservation. With this meaningful way to involve the private sector in
natural resource conservation, the local businesses and communities that
depend on these resources can stand side by side with the government, working
for the benefit of conservation and the economies of these local communities.
Government agencies plan to work with the fly-fishing and tourism industry
sectors to make Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!TM the de facto conservation message
of the Greater Yellowstone Region. If you are a business owner or are heavily
involved with your community and you live in the Greater Yellowstone Region
and would like to become involved with this effort, please contact Joe
Starinchak via email at joe_starinchak@fws.gov or check out the Stop Aquatic
Hitchhikers!TM campaign website at
www.protectyourwaters.net
