Geotourism MapGuide for the Crown of the Continent:
National Geographic Society joins with NPCA on collaborative project
In July, NPCA and the National Geographic Society initiated a collaborative effort to highlight the world-class environmental and cultural heritage of North America in the region known as the Crown of the Continent. This region includes more than 10 million acres of plunging valleys, sparkling waters, dramatic mountains, native prairie, and distinctive small towns in southeastern British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, and northern Montana.
The project is intended to foster stronger cross-border communications between residents in both countries, introducing them to special places and activities close to home, and exploring ways to sustain the region’s conservation and cultural values. It will also create valuable resources for visitors to the region who seek to experience and maintain the distinctive sense of place and environmental integrity of their destinations.
The two groups will spearhead a community-based process to create a Geotourism MapGuide and associated web site that will serve as a portal, or clearinghouse, for all matters of interest in the transboundary region. The groups will work with local partners to establish a Crown of the Continent Stewardship Council that will oversee a public process for creating the MapGuide. Local residents will be invited to participate and nominate the sites, events, businesses, or experiences that help define the region’s special character for inclusion in the MapGuide.
The MapGuide functions as a participatory tool to implement geotourism, defi ned as “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place— its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.” Geotourism celebrates and seeks to sustain all of the natural and human attributes that create a distinctive sense of place and provide for authentic experiences. This includes wildlife and native habitats, historic structures, archaeological sites, businesses, scenic landscapes, and all of the things that contribute to human culture, such as local arts, festivals, pow-wows, and local foods.
Done well, tourism can help protect and enrich a place. Done poorly, it can ruin it. “Tourism is like fire,” goes a saying. “It can cook your food. It can burn your house down.” A major 2002 Geotourism Study by National Geographic Traveler magazine and the Travel Industry Association of America found that more than half the American traveling public thinks unspoiled places are now harder to find, while almost three quarters want their visits to do no harm to the environment, local culture, or sense of place. The study documented that at least 55 million American adults can be classified as“geotourists” who travel to enjoy distinctive character of place and who are willing to help sustain and enhance those qualities for future visitors.
The two groups have signed a letter of agreement to recruit local, state, provincial, and federal partners for the project. Once funding for the project is secured, the partnership expects to launch the community-based mapping project later this year. For more information, contact Steve Thompson, Senior Program Manager, Glacier Field Office (406) 862-6722.
