Natural Holiday Ecotours Allow You Time To Smell The Flowers And Learn Their Names

I know I’ve been on an “ecotour” when I feel like I’ve discovered a sense-enhancement drug. It feels as though the on-button for my senses has been pushed. Butterflies I once noticed only as snippets of colors now have names like Pearl Crescent, Lorquin’s Admiral and Dotted Blue. Flowers that seemed like a nice backdrop now beckon me to my knees to examine their sexual organs, to count their leaves, to find out who is feeding on their nectar. Birds that were once fleeting flashes now lead me to their nests, show me their prey or captivate me with their song. Whereas I once viewed creation as a series of intriguing fragments, expert teachers have helped me understand them as a grand recipe that falls flat if one of the ingredients is missing or mis-measured.

More and more Alaska, British Columbia and Pacific Northwest outfitters offer ecotours, that is, a tour that offers insight into nature and ecology. But some are much better than others.

At its most basic, ecotourism is what all outfitted trips have been since the first vacationers paid a local outdoorsman to take them hunting or camping: It is a form of travel that focuses on the natural world. But these days, travelers can expect more than just getting to the wilderness and staying awhile. With a trend toward more informative, educational outdoor travel, a traveler’s expectations can soar.

Libby Mills, a naturalist and trip leader for groups like North Cascades Institute, gave some guidelines for what an ecotour should be:

“The group size should be small - eight is ideal - and the natural history instructors shouldn’t be just experts in their field, they should know how to communicate, they should be able to teach you how to learn…”

You’ll know you’ve been on a good ecotour if you’ve learned the name and the song of a handful of new birds.

You should get out of hearing distance of roads, especially freeways.

Interrelationships should be explained, such as how the health of one organism like a clark’s nutcracker affects the well-being of a seemingly unrelated big-name organism like the grizzly bear.

Ideally, you should feel as though you discovered this all by yourself.

On a recent North Cascades Institute trip with butterfly expert Dr. Robert Michael Pyle, participants combed the mountainsides near Leavenworth for unusual butterflies.

A dozen long-handled nets provided plenty of humor as novices performed wild dances trying to capture their first butterfly. Each butterfly was examined in the hand by Dr. Pyle and the finer points of identification explained. He then placed the butterfly on a trip member’s nose, where the insect would often remain for several minutes before flying free. By the end of the weekend, most class participants had an excellent base of information on Washington butterflies, if not a bit of butterfly burnout.

If you are looking for this kind of experience from your vacation, do some research before you decide on an outfitter. Ask around. Word of mouth may be your most reliable way to find a good ecotour.

Visit sport shop bulletin boards. Watch your newspaper outdoors section and ads in your favorite outdoor magazine and order brochures.

Before you sign up, safety qualifications are always your first concern. Find out how long a company has been in business. Check the safety record.

Read the brochures with a critical eye. Repeated use of the word “scenic” is not enough. Personally, I don’t want to merely “experience beauty of the forests.” I want to better understand it. I want to comprehend its complexity. I want to know not only the name of the Lorquin’s Admiral, but what plants their caterpillars feed on, why the butterflies emerge when they do, and how the species fits in the entire forest picture.

To get the most from an ecotour, make sure your guide is an experienced educator.

Look for a naturalist, or a biologist, geologist, ornithologist or botanist. These specialists can be self-taught. Academic experts aren’t always the best teachers.

Lori Wilson, a guide and owner of the sea kayaking company Inland Passages, suggests looking for a guide who knows the area you are visiting.

“Ask if the guides live in the area, or how many times they’ve led trips there. Ask if the guides have a specific background.

Marine biology is a common area of study for sea kayaking guides, for example.”

Along with choosing an outfitter, consider your destination. Regional tourist bureaus that promote growth and attempt to draw in tourists work hard to attract one thing: money.

“Ecotourism… constitutes a major new sales pitch,” said David Zurick in his book, “Errant Journeys.”

Zurick contends that the “eco” in ecotourism seems more often to refer to the “eco” of “economy” than to “ecology.”

For destinations in the Pacific Northwest, it’s hard to go wrong with the abundance of wilderness at our doorstep, but be careful when venturing to more exotic locations, especially to popular vacation destinations like Mexico or the Florida Keys.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: PROVEN ECOTOURS Some of the best ecotours are offered by educational institutes in national parks. Although the following examples are not technically outfitted trips, since participants usually provide their own gear and food, these “field seminars” are ecotours in the finest sense of the word. * GLACIER INSTITUTE Sample offering: Geology of Grinnell Glacier - Witness a billion years of earth’s history that have resulted in the rocks, mountains, glaciers and magnificent scenery of Glacier National Park. Lively evening lecture and discussion, followed the next day by 12-mile hike to Grinnell Glacier. Aug. 2-3, $60. Info: (406) 755-1211. * OLYMPIC PARK INSTITUTE: Sample offering: Sol Duc Natural History Backpack - Travel with naturalist and former park ranger through Sol Duc old growth forest to sweeping alpine vistas of Little Divide. Learn about the diverse forest, riparian and alpine habitats, and wildlife patterns of area lakes. July 25-28, $125. Info: (360) 928-3720. * NORTH CASCADES INSTITUTE: Sample offering: Life Before Flowers - Learn to identify and understand major groups of ferns, mosses, lichens, fungi and other bryophytes in Northwest old-growth forests. Aug. 3-4, $90. Info: (360) 856-5700 ext. 209.