The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska
Ecotourism as an industry has seen a sharp rise in the last few decades, with an increasing number of accessible travel destinations and activities to partake in. One location that many people travel to is Alaska, with its beautiful sprawling landscapes, productive fishing, and suite of interesting...
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ftunivmiamiir:oai:scholarlyrepository.miami.edu:rsmas_intern_reports-1299 2023-05-15T14:18:02+02:00 The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska Magnier, Brian 2017-10-01T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/rsmas_intern_reports/301 https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1299&context=rsmas_intern_reports unknown Scholarly Repository Internship Reports (Restricted) ecotourism KRIRL Alaska Environmental Sciences internship_report 2017 ftunivmiamiir 2018-12-30T18:20:34Z Ecotourism as an industry has seen a sharp rise in the last few decades, with an increasing number of accessible travel destinations and activities to partake in. One location that many people travel to is Alaska, with its beautiful sprawling landscapes, productive fishing, and suite of interesting wildlife. Located in the Kodiak Archipelago, the Kodiak Raspberry Island Remote Lodge (KRIRL) supports guests coming to fish for salmon and halibut, while some journey here to see bears and go hiking. How important are opportunities to see wildlife to guest motivations and satisfaction? To address these questions, I worked at KRIRL for two months during the summer of 2017, keeping detailed eBird checklists and notes on all wildlife seen, and also talking with guests to get a sense of their motivations for coming to the lodge. Most people (80%) who visit KRIRL spend one or fewer days on activities other than fishing, and only 2% of guests chose to completely forgo fishing and just look for wildlife. All guests, regardless of chosen itinerary and activities, seemed excited to see charismatic megafauna such as whales and bears, and everyone talked to was very satisfied with their time at KRIRL. A minority of guests were interested in or even were aware of many of the smaller creatures to be enjoyed around the island, such as nudibranchs and auklets. After talking with many guests, and keeping track of where notable species were likely to be found, a hypothetical tour package was devised that could be modified and used by the lodge to offer a slightly different experience to their guests than is currently available. Additionally, a field guide to the wildlife of Raspberry Island and surrounding waters was compiled, with the intent that it be used by the lodge in future seasons for guests interested in learning more about the wildlife to be found nearby. This guide is not meant to be an exhaustive treatise of all species possible, but a targeted tool to help the average guest find and identify the creatures they are most likely to want to see around Kodiak. Overall, this report will be useful to KRIRL for getting a different perspective on their own guest motivations and enjoyment, and also in general as a model for other ecotourism companies that wish to better understand what sort of options to offer their clients. Other/Unknown Material Archipelago Kodiak Alaska University of Miami: Scholarly Repository Raspberry Island ENVELOPE(-120.220,-120.220,56.100,56.100) The Lodge ENVELOPE(-55.731,-55.731,52.250,52.250) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Miami: Scholarly Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivmiamiir |
language |
unknown |
topic |
ecotourism KRIRL Alaska Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
ecotourism KRIRL Alaska Environmental Sciences Magnier, Brian The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska |
topic_facet |
ecotourism KRIRL Alaska Environmental Sciences |
description |
Ecotourism as an industry has seen a sharp rise in the last few decades, with an increasing number of accessible travel destinations and activities to partake in. One location that many people travel to is Alaska, with its beautiful sprawling landscapes, productive fishing, and suite of interesting wildlife. Located in the Kodiak Archipelago, the Kodiak Raspberry Island Remote Lodge (KRIRL) supports guests coming to fish for salmon and halibut, while some journey here to see bears and go hiking. How important are opportunities to see wildlife to guest motivations and satisfaction? To address these questions, I worked at KRIRL for two months during the summer of 2017, keeping detailed eBird checklists and notes on all wildlife seen, and also talking with guests to get a sense of their motivations for coming to the lodge. Most people (80%) who visit KRIRL spend one or fewer days on activities other than fishing, and only 2% of guests chose to completely forgo fishing and just look for wildlife. All guests, regardless of chosen itinerary and activities, seemed excited to see charismatic megafauna such as whales and bears, and everyone talked to was very satisfied with their time at KRIRL. A minority of guests were interested in or even were aware of many of the smaller creatures to be enjoyed around the island, such as nudibranchs and auklets. After talking with many guests, and keeping track of where notable species were likely to be found, a hypothetical tour package was devised that could be modified and used by the lodge to offer a slightly different experience to their guests than is currently available. Additionally, a field guide to the wildlife of Raspberry Island and surrounding waters was compiled, with the intent that it be used by the lodge in future seasons for guests interested in learning more about the wildlife to be found nearby. This guide is not meant to be an exhaustive treatise of all species possible, but a targeted tool to help the average guest find and identify the creatures they are most likely to want to see around Kodiak. Overall, this report will be useful to KRIRL for getting a different perspective on their own guest motivations and enjoyment, and also in general as a model for other ecotourism companies that wish to better understand what sort of options to offer their clients. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Magnier, Brian |
author_facet |
Magnier, Brian |
author_sort |
Magnier, Brian |
title |
The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska |
title_short |
The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska |
title_full |
The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
The role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska |
title_sort |
role of birding and wildlife viewing at a fishing lodge in the kodiak archipelago, alaska |
publisher |
Scholarly Repository |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/rsmas_intern_reports/301 https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1299&context=rsmas_intern_reports |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-120.220,-120.220,56.100,56.100) ENVELOPE(-55.731,-55.731,52.250,52.250) |
geographic |
Raspberry Island The Lodge |
geographic_facet |
Raspberry Island The Lodge |
genre |
Archipelago Kodiak Alaska |
genre_facet |
Archipelago Kodiak Alaska |
op_source |
Internship Reports (Restricted) |
_version_ |
1766289789731995648 |