A balanced view

Not only is conservation good for the environment, but living a more sustainable and eco-friendly existence can alter lifestyles in positive and unexpected ways, said a speaker at the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce’s first-ever Eco-nomics Expo earlier this week. At the chamber’s exhibition at The Coeur d’Alene Resort, called “ECO-nomics: Going Green as an Economic Development Tool,” Matt Miller, director of communications for the Idaho chapter of The Nature Conservancy, started the half-day-long event by highlighting the benefits of conservation using examples from his travels to South America. His presentation, “From Idaho to Columbia: Conservation and Hope,” offered a peek into the life of an environmental activist at work in the field. He began his presentation by profiling the negative label typically associated with environmentalists: pushy, contentious and eco-alert individuals, often brandishing high-and-mighty bumper stickers, who are quick to judge others’ actions if they are deemed not earth-friendly. That’s a brand Miller is working to overturn by putting the focus on the irrefutable objectives of helping those in need, whether human, animal or habitat. “I’d like to focus on environmentalism not in a way that’s contentious, but in a way that benefits not only wildlife and the environment but also to communities and businesses,” he offered. In Miller’s travels to the South American country of Colombia, he visited urban areas clogged by man-made waste, and went to several far-reaching locales where ranchers and farmers had remained cut off from more urban environments. Despite their distance from cities, though, they still had felt the impact of habitat encroachment and destruction, and loss of species. But through conservation efforts, the locals in both situations were working to turn things around. In a small community at the foothills of a tropical dry forest, which is home to the world’s only population of endangered Cotton-Top Tamarin monkeys, locals began collecting trash bags that had littered the streets and nearby woods and threatened the lives of several species, including the monkeys. By crocheting them together into works of art, the end product — a finely-woven handbag — has been selling in droves in the Americas as well as Europe. The product has fostered a communal industry in an area that had previously had record unemployment among women, and the residents have worked to protect the Tamarins as a sort-of company mascot. “More importantly, it’s completely transformed the community,” Miller said. “For the first time ever, this community has a sewage system, an education system…This is a way of reducing waste and providing income.” Other examples Miller offered included some isolated ranches in the middle of the 40-million-acre Orinoco Grasslands, where residents were struggling to maintain their traditional way of life. With natural gas reserves and bio-fuel stations springing up throughout the area, the locals were trying to preserve the habitat for their cattle and livestock. “It’s a big challenge,” he said. That situation is mirrored around the U.S., Miller added. For example, in the Bull Creek area of Idaho, ranchers had provided easements along riverbanks to the Nature Conservancy to protect the habitat and native fish species. With several successful projects on display in Idaho, where environmentalists, ranchers and local residents had worked together to find a solution, he said preserving lifestyles and livelihoods while conserving the environment go hand-in-hand. “I think that the big thing is that conservation has to start with communities, with businesses, and with people like you,” Miller told the crowd. “By working together, conservation can benefit communities.” In addition, he added, everyone should agree that nature provides for all walks of life, from the ranchers in Columbia to the people in North Idaho. “It provides; it doesn’t have to be contentious,” he explained. “It can bring together places like here in North Idaho and around the world.” In addition to guest speakers, the expo, which was hosted by the chamber’s Natural Resource Committee, featured a trade show, vendors and an open house at the Chamber of Commerce. The event was the official unveiling of the committee’s work to promote the variety of green initiatives available in the area. Meant to “get the snowball rolling,” according to project chairwoman K.J. Torgerson, the goal is to provide an eco-network of green practices and practitioners within the different sectors of the community, which the committee has broken down into eight groups including education, construction and health care. By changing the practices of the various community segments and implementing green practices as an economic development tool, ultimately those endeavors can save money while improving the environment and lifestyles, Torgerson said. “I strongly feel that by protecting natural resources, you are improving human rights,” she said. “It’s not just about saving the environment, it’s about saving yourself.”