With the help of Wildsight BC, I came across this gem of a report by the Sonoran Institute called "You've Come A Long Way, Cowboy: Ten Truths & Trends in the New American West." The Institute is based across the United States mid-west and carries out environmental research in an effort to influence public policy and conservation. 

In particular, trend #4 caught my attention. According to the Sonaran Institute, personal income (adjusted for inflation, of course) grows faster where more than 60 percent of the land is in federal ownership compared to areas with less than 10 percent of the land base in public ownership.   It gets even better – research shows that areas where more than 60 percent of the federal public lands are in protected status (ie. National Parks and Wildlife reserves) have grown 66 percent faster from 1970 to 2000 than areas where the same percentage of public land had no permanent protective status.

What does this mean for Canadian conservation? 

Encouraging people to see, value, and protect our wild spaces is in our best interest, especially with world-class eco-tourism destinations sitting at our doorstep. The CPAWS chapter in Newfoundland knows all about this and they’ve got the research to prove it, as outlined in their article “Money Does Grow on Trees:” 

“Protected areas contribute to the province’s image as a pristine tourist destination, while generating economic opportunity and creating jobs, and preserve the natural beauty and integrity of the natural population.”

As for those “world-class, eco-tourism destinations” I mentioned earlier, we recommend checking out the Nahanni watershed or the Peel watershed, two stellar paddle destinations and hotspots for us, “eco-cow-people.”

Yee haw!