Travel is more logistically accessible than ever, allowing us to explore new horizons and
incredible landscapes all over the world. But as a result, our oceans and lakes face mounting
pressure from the very people who seek to experience their beauty. From coral reefs
damaged by irresponsible snorkelling to beaches littered with plastic, the impact of tourism
certainly takes its toll on our coastlines and marine environments.

The key to protecting our precious waterways is in connection. Travelers are more likely to
protect what they feel connected to – but how do you inspire this feeling? When a tourist
sees a sea turtle gliding idly by, or spots a deer drinking from the edge of an alpine lake, that
moment can spark something deeper than just appreciation.

As environmental advocates, it’s our job to turn these moments into motivation to help every
traveler take on a sense of responsibility for these rare and precious environments.

The power of storytelling
Our marine ecosystems and habitats aren’t merely scenery – they’re a story. Oceans, rivers,
and lakes are home to thousands of species and are a key player in the regulation of our
planet’s climate. Helping tourists learn about the history of the area and its irreplaceable
importance to the people and animals around it turns a simple visit into something far more
meaningful. You could name your frequently spotted animal families, create a fun nature
trail, or simply offer a guidebook to help engage visitors of all ages.

Sustainable tourism doesn’t mean sacrificing fun experiences, it’s just about infusing it with
purpose and a deeper meaning. Offer activities that directly support conservation, such as
snorkelling trips led by marine biologists, beach clean-ups that end with a sunset picnic, or
visits to local wildlife rehabilitation centers. Travellers crave authenticity, and this leaves
them with a lasting impression while helping them to do something positive and learn a little
about sustainable tourism.

The ‘guardian’ mindset
Every traveller has the power to be a guardian of the places they visit. Equip them with the
knowledge and tools to tread lightly as they explore by offering biodegradable sun-screen,
responsible boating tips, and zero-waste picnic hacks. If you’re running tours, celebrate
making mindful choices and speak about the impact of travel on blue spaces. When people
see sustainability as a part of their adventure – not a restriction – they’re more likely to
embrace it.
You could also encourage people to stay in touch after they leave. Be sure to offer plenty of
opportunities for them to support local marine conservation efforts, follow local
environmental organizations, or stay updated on the lives of wildlife in the area. When

travellers connect emotionally with the water, they become allies in its protection. By
fostering that connection, we don’t just inspire better tourists – we nurture a global
community of stewards ready to protect the beauty they’ve come to love.

Lead by example
It’s one thing to promote eco-friendly practices, but leading by example is the best way to
encourage visitors to adhere to them. Alongside appropriate signage, bins, information
centres and guidelines, be sure to also be proactive in engaging with travellers and making
personal connections with them.

Running regular litter picking campaigns, hosting demonstrations on how to safely light
campfires, and even offering water safety and conservation group activities is a great way to
demonstrate your passion for conservation and welcome others to learn more. Don’t miss
out on the opportunity to get children involved – fostering a sense of community and
responsibility for our environment begins at an early age, and families looking for fun day
trips will flock to your events.

People protect what they love
Protecting our marine and freshwater environments is all about building lasting relationships
between the people who visit them and the wonder of the unique areas themselves. People
protect what they love, after all. Rather than focusing strictly on the rules and regulations of
how to explore protected areas, creating space for emotional connection and a deeper
sense of responsibility is the best way to ensure lasting protection of our environment as a
whole. After their visit, if you’ve successfully educated and inspired your tourists, they will go
on to explore new areas and ecosystems with a heightened sense of care and appreciation,
too.
​Thank you Simon Harris @simonmedia for this insightful article!

Do we need a Miracle?
Some great intervention to crash through the noise of our times?
some divine disruption to set things right again?
Is a miracle what we are missing?

or... has it been here all along?
just outside the frame of our frantic attention, just beneath the static of division,
just beyond the scroll, the screen, the scream.

The miracle lives...
in the silence of the forest, where roots speak in frequencies we forgot how to hear.
In the rhythm of the ocean, where tides whisper truths the news will never carry.
A miracle is not the suspension of nature—it is nature revealed, in full awareness.

It is the sudden clarity that dawns when a bird’s call cuts through your worry,
​or when the wind places a leaf in your path as if to say: Yes. This too is part of it.
A miracle is what happens when we stop trying to dominate life and begin to participate in it.

In this way, miracles are not events.
They are openings.
Invitations.
Reminders.
To co-create.
To remember.
To root down and reach up—like trees do.
To sing again—like the water invites us to.
In the age of AI, war, climate, and confusion, the Earth is still singing.

And those who are listening are already building something new.
This is the EI AI O - Original Knowing.
The moment when consciousness returns to the field of all that lives, and says,
“I remember. I belong. Let’s begin.”

PS: My 'miracle' from just noticing the beauty of trees standing so proudly and quietly reaching for the sun with outstretched branches of beauty:

"It’s Your Relation" (Song Draft)
Feel that tree? It’s your relation
Lift for light in celebration
See that Wolf? It’s your relation
Howl and run in exhilaration
See that Bear? It’s your relation
Feed to full before hibernation
Feel that stream? It’s your relation
Flow in the play of co-creation
Hear that bird? It’s your relation
Sing your name in revelation
Taste that rain? It’s your relation
Fall to rise in transformation
Touch the wind? It’s your relation
Dance with breath and pollination
Know this Earth? It’s your relation
Born for love and restoration

Chorus
We are one / in all creation
We belong / in all relation
miracles happen with co-creation
When we sing the song of restoration


The enlightened silence of nature is a tuning fork for the sacred. The forest doesn’t argue. The ocean doesn’t divide. They just offer their song. And if we’re quiet enough, we hear it. That’s when a miracle happens—we notice the pattern, the pulse, the invitation.
A miracle is not something rare—it’s something real, simply revealed in a moment of presence.

​Can you feel that?

I notice more interest and attention on the importance of perserving nature, including a recent educational module from 'Tourism Cares' called "Nature Positive". Starting with how humans are a part of Nature, yet contributing to its demise. Then a pivot to the economic perspective, with data including the $44Trilion a year in critical life support nature provides. And how destination preservation is tied their economic survival.

I understand the module is targeting corporate clients who respond best to data driven motivators, the cost of doing nothing and the benefits of positve action. But this continues to objectify Nature as a resource to be managed, rather than a living system we are intrinsically part of. Providing mitigation and focused primarily on regulations, rules, and fees rather than addressing the root cause: disconnection.

1) Nature Is Not Separate From Us—It Is Us
Every chemical in our bodies exists in the Earth and atmosphere. Our ability to breathe depends on trees and oceans, and our survival is inextricably tied to water and food from the land. Yet, modern society has been conditioned to act in ways that harm these fundamental life-support systems, often under the illusion that it serves our interests. No intelligent species would knowingly destroy its own foundation for life unless it had been misled to do so.

2) Nature Defines Every Travel Experience
Travel is not just enhanced by Nature—it is entirely shaped by it. The defining features of any destination—its land, water, sky, plants, wildlife, community, culture, and heritage—are all rooted in Nature. These eight interconnected layers are what attract travelers in the first place. Sustainability in tourism must begin by recognizing that preserving and regenerating these elements is not an optional responsibility; it is the very essence of what makes travel meaningful and viable in the long term.

3) Carrying Capacity: The First Step in True Sustainability
Would you knowingly feed a friend with a life-threatening allergy the food that could kill them? Of course not. When we care about someone, we respect their limits and ensure they are not harmed. The same principle applies to destinations. Each ecosystem has a carrying capacity—the limit to how much human impact it can sustain before degradation occurs. True sustainability begins with assessing this capacity as Step One.
​Without this foundation, all other conservation efforts are mere surface-level fixes.

4) Indigenous Knowledge: A Missing Piece in Sustainability Efforts
Every inch of America was once inhabited by Indigenous communities who thrived for thousands of years without the need for ‘waste management’ or extractive industries. Their wisdom in maintaining reciprocal relationships with the land is invaluable to modern conservation efforts. Yet, Indigenous perspectives remain largely absent in mainstream sustainability discussions. If Indigenous knowledge is not integrated into sustainability programs, these programs will remain incomplete and ineffective.

5) The Power of Hosting: Inviting Visitors to Be Stewards
Sustainability in tourism is not just about setting rules—it’s about creating a culture of respect and reciprocity. Hosting is the key piece missing from most corporate sustainability models. Destinations must establish a visitor menu of activities and experiences that do not harm the environment but instead foster a deep connection with it. A well-designed welcome protocol sets clear expectations, while immersive, educational, and enjoyable guided experiences help visitors understand the fragility of the habitat. When people connect, they care—and when they care, they become partners in sustaining and enhancing the very beauty and diversity they came to explore.

Moving Beyond ‘Less Harm’ to Active Regeneration
​People do not set out to harm the places they visit. However, without mindful guidance and community-supported frameworks, unintended destruction is inevitable. Sustainable Tahoe's blueprint  guides destinations on how to enroll visitors in actively sustaining and enhancing the places they explore—creating rewarding experiences that inspire travelers to seek and support regenerative tourism. The goal is not just to minimize harm but to create a future where tourism contributes to the well-being of the land, waters, and communities that make each place unique.
​
It’s time to move beyond corporate checklists and financial incentives. The future of travel depends on our ability to re-establish a conscious, reciprocal relationship with Nature—one where tourism is a force for regeneration, not just mitigation.

Good morning green water...you used to be blue
Despite our best thinking…We didn’t come through
With so many people…..who just couldn’t see
The critical key for maintaining clarity
They took the slow way, and then they fought
Some were complacent, others so easily bought
You see clarity... is in the harmony… and that is the only thing few actually sought

Good morning, green water...we miss your deep blue
I am so truly sorry, how we failed to come through
There are no excuses, for what has been done
The priority was profit for unsustainable fun
But the new low was when environmental leaders agreed
Herbicides were Ok to kill invasive milfoil lake weeds

They called 'Destination Stewardship' the ultimate plan
But without execution, where does it all stand?
What do you call it, when the vision gets blurred?
​Abusive Tourism is now what gets heard

And for record, scroll down to Blog 5-21-2022
and a recipe based on what we have demonstrated and still do
Always working and ready to help our National Treasure Lake win
once the directive includes: wildlife, water and Washoe... I'm in! 

Thank you North Tahoe Visitors Authority and Center for hosting two incredible Drone / LASER 4th of July Celebration! One in Incline and one in Tahoe City.
​
What a wonderful 21st Century way to celebrate July 4th with:
1) NO explosive fireworks to traumatize wildlife, pets and people
2) NO After-smoke hovering over the Lake
3) NO Added expense, since the equipment (from last year) can be re-used (saving $$)
4) NO ‘Landfill level trash”. Yes, that’s right… Incline rogue trash, (not put in a can) was about a waste basket full:)

So…Imagine if this ’21st Century’ lead-by-example ‘light-show’ American celebration (showing respect for nature) received as much press as the ‘Tahoe Trash’ article that littered the world with yet another proof point of how we fail to inspire stewardship? Then maybe… just maybe…a more respectful 4th celebration that honors the land, water, wildlife and air – WE ALL SHARE…might one day become as ‘patriotic’ as ‘bombs bursting in air’.

And imagine if we brought back “America the Beautiful” as our National Anthem - celebrating what brings us together, vs the bombs/explosions that tear us apart.
what do you think? Is it possible?

Ever seen wild horses roaming the range? Peaceful, majestic beings, gracefully gliding through space doing their best to survive available habitat and constant human surveillance and violent disruption.

Yet the horse ‘origin story’ is contentious. The stronger weight is that horses originated in North America, migrated (during the ice age) to Asia and were re-introduced in the 1600’s. Creating division on if the current horses are ‘native’, ‘wild’ or ‘feral’. But these arguments are made about many species, including Euro-‘Americans’, - as the 'colonizing, invasive mutt’ species.  Right?, so who are we to judge, as we are all now here sharing the land, water and air by the grace of the earth's life support that sustains us all.

And, yes, our ‘best thinking’ got us here, as we continue to make even more human laws on how to best manage yet another being of nature who has a right to be here, unless more 'powerful' interests say otherwise.
While Wildlife Advocate groups do not always agree, they all want horses and burros healthy and free to roam the places they call home. And on the other end of the spectrum: ‘why can’t we hunt them?’ (yes…an actual request from a young Paiute).

The justification for the current, controversial, heated, and entrenched BLM/ Bureau of Land Management program is: 1) "Capture, contain and sterilize is the humane way to balance their existence" 2) "Horses are destroying habitat for other species" 3) "The are not native"  ...what?
So....
The National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board was to provide updated recommendations on 'Wild Horse and Burro' management to the BLM / Bureau of Land Management. This annual national meeting was held in Reno. The NWHBAB spent the week compiling recommendations for the BLM Bureau of Land Management, and since the meeting was public - the public, via zoom and in-person could provide their 3-minute 'comment'.

Joined by; Craig Downer, Reserve Design Project, Randal Massaro, Union Members for the Preservation of Wildlife, Roger Dobson, Wolf Sanctuary, Devine Green and Tom Parker, Animal Consciousness, all standing for the horses..., the following was my '3 minute' public comment:

"While I feel you all do care about wildlife, your legal limitations and outside pressures confine your options, and, after 50 years,  I’m just not seeing a success story here: 50 years of Capture, Contain, Sterilize, Transport, Sell or Kill.
Public Money, Public Lands... Public Confidence is LOW
Your justification: ‘Overcrowding’, yet news coverage couldn’t find a photo with over 3 horses in it?
ut you know what is overcrowded? BLM Capture Compounds, Documents, Laws and Thinking in BOXES!

After 50 years what do you need? More Public $$, more containers, more boxes…Ever see a Square or box in Nature? 50 years doing the same thing – is this insanity? or just rearranging deck chairs on a titanic of in-a-box-thinking?

And when is human Law appropriate for wildlife? Just because we now determine women’s birth rates, it's ok to control birth rates of any life form?
Earth runs on Natural Law and the Earth and Nature do not belong to us, (although that hasn’t stopped us from trying to put it in a Box).
BTW…What’s the Win Rate on Human Intervention or human law for improving Natures Forest, Oceans or Wildlife Habitat?
Maybe the Best Way Forward is to Look Around First...
You spoke of collaboration, (mostly to find more funding and with agencies closer to the ground) – but NOT with NGO’s or the hundreds of Advocacy Groups- WHY NOT?
You mentioned the opportunity to train 4H Clubs in hope they may uncover 'some better solutions for the future'…
OK, so if you’re serious about giving the future a chance to change why not have the 4H clubs do some Recon on Solutions that are actually working…WITH Nature

1.    Partner with NGO’s/Advocacy Groups – Bring them into this Circle or on the BOARD
2.    TRANSPARENCY: Bring the Public in through stewardship courses and demos in the field
3.    Bring Keystone Predators Back (like wolves)
4.    Stop killing Cougars (use Human Law to make killing cougars illegal)
5.    STOP public Subsidies for: Livestock, Mining, Hunting, and Development
6.    Subsidize Wildlife Preserves and you know who will sustain it? Wildlife Viewing Tourism!
7.    Support Fire Brigade Programs proven to work and create green jobs for riders, trainers and docents.
What you need to make a different decision to leave a 50yr trail of blood? Best way forward…is look around
8.   Hold meetings in Nature with Nature and Horses. Let Natural Law Lead us all Out of confinement, out of the BOX."  

References: Why Wolves Matter: https://www.livingwithwolves.org/about-wolves/why-wolves-matter/
                How We Saved Wild Horses: https://www.thedodo.com/how-1483878250.html
                Fight Wildfires with Wild Horses: https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2017/07/08/fighting-fires-wild-horses/
                Wild Horse Tours: https://corollawildhorsetours.com/
                Legends of the Valley: https://visitcarsonvalley.org/legends-of-the-valley-jt/

When I learned the native/indigenous  significance of songs, dances and blessings in honoring the land, water, wildlife and air, I felt the desire to have a song to share.

At first I tried learning a few Washoe songs. The one that stuck sounded like, " no-way-a-yen-na, no-way-a-yen-na, no-way-a-yen-na, no-way-a-yen". Years later I was told it's translation was, " I don't know how I know, I just know"

Perfect, right?
Especially since indigenous cultures depend on an active relationship to the natural world. They learn by doing to adopt and survive, caring for everything as if their life depended on it - because it does. These survival traditions then become heritage. Native Washoe Americans lived here for 10,000 years, leaving little if any trace, vs. the 'colonists' after 200 years keep paying to mitigate the 'trace' we leave, and then leave more 'traces' that require ongoing funding for more mitigation... It's almost a business model. 

But business economy is not nature's economy. So instead of being in conflict, what if we were in symbiosis by activating a larger caring economy wave? which, BTW is trending as customers seek to support business whose purpose aligns with caring values.

What can you do...today?

Start small. Try walking softly with the earth, thank the water and bring nature into your inner circle. You are in natures inner circle (if you're breathing). You have an abundance of 'caring currency', and extend it all the time to people, plants, places and things you care about. See yourself in nature as an expression of Nature, as your true nature.

Walk to feel the language of the land. Notice something that calls your attention and share some of your caring currency gratitude for its presence.

Lead by example until it becomes cool to care and the center of Tahoe Culture. And if you get lost, lonely or need a next step clarified,  ask the wind or the water. 

​ I don't know how I know I just know

During one of our Tahoe's Geotourism Expo prep meetings, I was standing at the water's edge with a Washoe elder, who had not seen the lake since childhood (relocated to a reservation). He looked for a long time at the water and then shared, "The water has lost its sparkle, I guess no one is singing to it anymore". I felt a confused grief in my heart, trying to understand his loss and how singing to the Lake would return its sparkle.

The Washoe people have a special 'water blessing' for the lake along with songs, round dances and ways to show gratitude for the wonders of this watershed. One elder had shared how they talked to the bears when they need them to leave an area they are gathering in and wondered why our cultural uses such force to move them out of their habitat vs learn their language. The ancient and sacred relationship to this watershed and wildlife habitat by the original people of this land, includes gratitude for the life support the land, water and wildlife provided.

So I made an conscious effort to learn the language of the land, what I call the "LANDGUAGE" of Tahoe. In thinking about it, doesn't all language come from our relationship to the land? We may learn it as words to enable common understanding, but even the 'root words' have roots in the land that informed early sounds... And what about recent insights on mycelia and fungi, in managing the underground 'world-wide-wood-web' in connections and exchange? Yes, relationship is the 'currency' of all living systems. (ok that's another blog).

We may have forgotten a responsibility the original people of this land hold sacred. A simple way to connect that honors earths gifts. Maybe a Gratitude Song could help Tahoe recover its sparkle as we remember, recover and re-story our sacred relationship to nature, as a part of nature. I hit another layer of the 'Landguage' of Tahoe which led me to how I might activate this 'currency'.

At first I attempted to learn a few WaSheShu songs shared with me, but being in another language it was not as easy to remember. I then wondered where they found these songs (clearly not online) and then realized the muse was in the water, on the wind, pulsing in the rhythm of the land. One only needs to meander, wonder and listen. I slowed down to feel my foot connect to the terrain, noticed the wind flowing in and out of my lungs, the songs in the stream, the dancing rhythm of fire and how... I am that.
A Julie Butterfly quote confirmed my resolve, " There can be no Peace ON Earth, until there is Peace WITH Earth." Yes, this is how we do it... walk the land to understand. Notice tree limbs waving at you, streams singing and fire flames dancing in rhythm. 
I saw myself reflected in nature and verses flowed:

Like Wind... I Breathe and I Blow
Like Water...I Nourish and I flow
Like Fire...I Consume and I Radiate
Like Earth...I Sustain and I Cultivate
As a Spirit in Rhythm with Creative force
I live in the Abundance... of Infinite Source

This activated a "re-membership" in Earths 'currency exchange'.
A Gratitude Song came next
Thank you Great Earth for grounding my Spirit
Thank you Great Water for the Wind and the Wave
Thank you great Sky for lifting my Spirit
Thank you Great Fire for lighting my way
(there's more verses, but you get the idea)

Even humming them as I wander increases my sense of place, connection and appreciation for waves of wonder not always heard inside the noisy 'cultural canopy'.

In order to feel the unique quality of a new place, try walking the land to understand... get curious on how this place came to be. Wander with wonder (hard from the seat of a speeding car). When you mindfully walk the land to understand, the personality of the place reveals it's face and then you can smile back, listen for its song and soon you will be singing in harmony.

May your gratitude song become a currency of your unique creative force..
living in the abundance of infinite source.

  It was 6am, running barefoot up Tunnel Creek trail (behind my Tahoe home) when I noticed another set of footprints in the sand and thought , 'cool, another 'barefoot runner''! Further up the trail I stepped out on a huge boulder to take in the panorama of Lake Tahoe's exquisite east shore from 1,500 ft, when my gaze dropped to the movement 30 ft in front of me. OMG...those prints were from a Bear! I backed up and ran down the mountain.

That night I realized how my urban upbringing had not prepared me for living in a 'Wildlife Habitat'. Imagine the challenge for visitors being startled by a bear (as with all wildlife, they walk so softly :).

The next morning I ran to 'Pride Rock' (a boulder I named as the goal post for my 1-2,000 ft elevation run). I climbed up the boulder to view into the valley created by towering mountains still above me, and the Lake to my right. On high sensory alert, the morning sun set a spotlight on a large black bear, across the valley, walking down the mountain. We were both out on a morning trek. I watched him move down the trail for about 30 seconds and then ran home, still not quite comfortable realizing I was in his home.

The next morning on Pride Rock with a strong wind at my back, I noticed a leap between bushes about 300? ft below me. ok...yellow like a lab, too yellow for deer, too large for coyote and it leaped...Cougar? I quietly exit my perch, grateful being upwind covered my scent. Yes, they all live here.

I had been gleefully running alone up this mountain between 5 and 6am for a year oblivious to the activity in the wildlife activity happening beyond my focused awareness. Shifting awareness, I noticed so much more, including...when I stop moving, wildlife moves.

Over the decades living here, it is still a bit startling when I see a bear, especially on the trail, but always inspiring. What surprises me is how graciously bears have adopted our presence and encroachment into their ancient habitat. We moved into their home, brought pizza, built homes along their corridors (creeks) and left food in our cars..then wondered?

Black Bears are doing their best to accommodate humans. As an 'Indicator Species' for a healthy forest, their survival is critical to the survival of the forest. i think about what we learned when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, as habitat and ecological balance was restored. We were willing to pivot toward a greater understanding for how we might live in balance with nature and all the other species that contribute to this web of wonder.

if we continue to chip away at the collective life support systems that compromise all other species in the process, we can't be surprised by all these new problems (pandemics to extreme weather disastrous) that come back at us. Actions do have consequences. Is it time to change this story?

Maybe we could start with expanding our love of taking photos vs taking a life and help stop the NV Bear Hunt
Bless you for caring

Fossil Fuels continue to undermine our planetary life support accelerating extreme weather and wildfires circling our Earth. It's painful watching people, wildlife and forests lose life, home and habitat.

While I am encouraged by the rise in cycling, walking, ride-share and transit use, each mile of burned gas emits on average about 404 grams of CO2. If your car gets 22mpg, and you drive around 11,000 miles a year, that's a personal contribution of 4.6 metric tons of Co2 a year!
Tic Tic tic....

Yet with few news stories continuing to connect our demand for fossil fuels to our ability to survive their impact... It's easy to believe there is no real problem here, even as we struggle to mitigate longer, hotter and then colder and more extreme seasons.

and You know how we got here...
1-The automobile industry did such an outstanding PR job connecting 'Freedom to Driving', we built our urban habitats around the automobile, making it very difficult to not drive.
2- Fossil fuel industry has a powerful lobby ensuring subsidies to keep our dependency on oil-powered cars, planes, jets and boats strong, easy and attractive, especially if you live or work in 'transit deserts' that also lack safe pedestrian routes, or easy ride-share options...so CO2 emissions keep rising.
Yet, the longer we allow coal, oil, and gas companies to dig and burn, more and worse impacts of our self-induced climate crisis will continue. With every fraction of a degree of warming, we’ll suffer more extreme heat, droughts, floods, wildfires, and hurricanes.
Tic, tic, tic..

That leaves our individual/collective/cultural choices at the forefront of accelerating extreme weather events, as the fossil fuel industry continues digging and burning with minimal accountability and maximum profit.

While the urgency requires huge cultural pivots, each of us can step up:
1) Vote with your $$! on what you purchase and how you transport and use energy, including a lifestyle assessment to determine more ways to reduce your fossil fuel use (every step helps)
2) Tell the Truth! extreme weather is not a "crisis" that just happens to us - it's a crime, and our dependence on fossil fuels supported by federal subsidies is ground 0.
3) Speak up! share what you do to reduce your consumption. Media includes everyone with a social media voice to inspire/influence healthy choices and keep this urgency top of mind.

Together we can make it Cool to Care and stop the countdown