Park Superintendent Mike Tollefson began “Experience Your Yosemite” when he first arrived at the national park in 2003, and today, Halloween, is his last program before retiring at the end of January 2009.

“This is our largest group in the six years,” he tells the sixty participants who hail from the park’s neighboring gateway communities. “We thought some of you would be discouraged by the rain, but it looks like everyone is here.”

Tollefson counts “Experience Your Yosemite” as one of his many accomplishments during his 36 years with the National Park Service. His longest tenure was his last assignment, here where it all began in 1864. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant, creating the park, 52 years before Congress established the park service itself.

“Over 1,200 people have participated in the program,” which Tollefson uses to “help dispel the myths” about the park service’s plans for Yosemite. “It can be frustrating, the misinformation out there. Too often people are debating important topics without being fully informed.”

This group of Yosemite’s neighbors, mostly retirees who have settled in the surrounding communities, have squeezed into the Winter Room at the historic Ahwahnee Lodge in Yosemite Valley. Each person stands to offer a brief introduction. Almost half the group lives in Groveland, the gateway community on Yosemite’s northern border. “Is anyone left in Groveland?” a Mariposa resident inquires.

After the introductions, the superintendent opens the floor to questions.

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The California Air Resources Board presented its plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020 at a workshop in San Jose on August 8, 2008. The audience of about 100 came to offer comments on the AB 32 draft scoping plan, designed to implement the California Global Warming Solution Act, as much as to hear what the board proposes.

The State of California’s climate plan establishes an ambitious goal. It seeks to engage individuals, communities and businesses in strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and

“. . . make our cities healthier, our natural areas safer and our working landscapes more productive; that make our economy more resilient as we reduce our reliance on imported petroleum; and that pave the way for technologies that can make our state both more prosperous and more sustainable.”

The state’s $100 billion travel and hospitality industry, and the 900,000 travel-related jobs, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. During the 2008 fire season, over 2,000 wildfires scorched California, and uncontrolled blazes forced mass evacuations at some of the state’s cherished destinations–Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Yosemite, Shasta-Trinity, and the Northern Sierras.

Spring 2008, preceding the fires of summer, was the driest in a generation. The governor declared a water emergency and water districts across the state instituted mandatory water rationing, measures that affect California residents and tourists alike.

The shrinking Sierra snowpack could devastate the state’s ski resorts and affect outdoor recreation activities year-round. The state’s wineries are threatened by rising temperatures and changing weather patterns. California’s coastal communities face rising sea levels and warming waters, which could adversely affect these tourist destinations.

The Air Resources Board will consider comments on the plan, submitted in writing and at public hearings, when it writes its “Proposed Scoping Plan,” which will be released on October 3, 2008. The board will vote on the proposed plan at its November 20 meeting.

Keep reading for more about the Draft Scoping Plan; or

Read Climate Change Plan Gets Public Airing.

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It was standing-room only at the Santa Clara County auditorium on August 8, 2008, when representatives from the California Air Resources Board opened the public hearing on the state’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. The parking lot outside the auditorium was also full, since the board chose a locale for the hearing that was a good five miles from downtown San Jose, and away from the city’s street car lines.

Kevin Kennedy from the Air Resources Board spent the first hour describing the state’s plan to reduce GHG emissions by:

• Improving energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy production;
• Changing land use policy to encourage smart growth and mixed-use development, thus reducing sprawl and vehicle miles traveled;
• Enhancing public transportation and developing high-speed rail;
• Improving vehicle fuel efficiency and developing alternative, low-carbon fuels;
• Adopting green building standards; and
• Developing a carbon “Cap-and-Trade” program.

Then it was the public’s turn to address the critical issue of climate change.

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The UN World Tourism Organization is leading a major initiative, dubbed, “Tourism: Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change.” The year-long campaign, which will kick off on September 27, 2008, World Tourism Day, will encourage travel-related businesses, non-governmental organizations, NGOs, and governmental agencies to take measures to reduce the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions and adapt sustainable businesses practices.

The issue of climate change is particularly critical for the tourism industry. Few business sectors are more dependent on weather and climate, and destinations in California–and worldwide–already feel the affects of global warming–from a shrinking snow pack at California ski resorts to catastrophic wildfire across the state.

Tourism also contributes to climate change, primarily related to transporting and accommodating tourists. With the projected growth in tourism, it becomes increasingly important for businesses to mitigate their impacts on climate and the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, instituting water and energy conservation, and shifting to renewable energy.

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The National Geographic Society–publisher of National Geographic Magazine, National Geographic Traveler and National Geographic Adventure–formed the Center for Sustainable Destinations with the mission “to protecting all the world’s distinctive places through wisely managed tourism and enlightened destination stewardship.”

The center coined the term “geotourism” to describe this market niche, and defines it 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 incorporates the concept of sustainable tourism—that destinations should remain unspoiled for future generations—while allowing for enhancement that protects the character of the locale.

“Geotourism also adopts a principle from its cousin, ecotourism—that tourism revenue can promote conservation—and extends that principle beyond nature travel to encompass culture and history as well: all distinctive assets of a place.”

The Center for Sustainable Destinations offers resources for destination communities and travel industry professionals designed to promote the goals of geotourism.

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There are dozens of conservancies and land trusts in California that work to preserve sensitive natural areas, farmlands and ranchlands, water sheds, and notable landmarks. Trusts use a number of strategies to provide this protection–from outright acquisition of property to the purchase of a conservation easement, which prevents development on the land.

Land trusts play an important, if unheralded, role in the state’s tourism industry by protecting sensitive lands that draw visitors to California. Land trusts manage watersheds for birding and wildlife viewing, ridge lands for hiking and biking, and heritage sites that draw cultural tourists.

The California Council of Land Trusts defines the work of these organizations as:

Ensuring Californians’ Quality of Life. Californians need clean water and air, places to play and rejuvenate, healthy and affordable food, scenic beauty, and natural areas to experience and learn. These lands are critical to the well being of Californians — to our quality of life, our children’s future and our love of California.

Working in Local Communities. Land trusts are rooted in local communities, and work to protect local places of value and importance. Land trust board members, staff and volunteers reside in the areas they work. They join with fellow community members to respond to local needs and protect local places.

What follows is a list of land trusts and conservancies in Northern California.

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The International Finance Corporation’s 2004 report, “Ecolodges: Exploring Opportunities for Sustainable Business, summarized its findings, identifying the business essentials for ecolodge operators.

“Although there is no single magic formula for a profitable ecolodge, the most successful share a number of key characteristics. Ideally, an ecolodge should:

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The International Finance Corporation study, “Ecolodges: Exploring Opportunities for Sustainable Business,” provides a comprehensive framework for developing and operating an ecolodge, based on the triple bottom line–ecological, economic and socio-cultural sustainability. The framework considers three phases of ecolodge development–pre-construction, construction, and operation–in its analysis. The framework published below is based on the IFC study, but modified to better reflect conditions in the U.S.
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There is no hard and fast definition of an “ecolodge.” Like the term eco tourism, there are some generally accepted principles that ecolodges incorporate into their design and operation.

• Ecolodges are designed to be in harmony with their surrounding environment; and they incorporate “ecologically-friendly” management practices, adhering to the triple bottom line–economic, social and environmental sustainability;
• They are located in close proximity to wild, scenic or protected areas, and they strive to conserve the natural environment;
• They enhance the economic vitality of the local communities in which they operate through local sourcing of needed materials and supplies; hiring and training of local residents; contracting with local businesses; and direct contributions to the community;
• Ecolodges seek to preserve region’s culture and heritage through interpretive and cultural programs, and the promotion and protection of local heritage sites; and
• In industry parlance, a lodge has less than 150 rooms. If the property with more than 150 rooms is “ecologically managed,” it could be considered an “eco-resort.”

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The Sierra Nevada Conservancy will distribute another $17 million in fiscal year 2009, to projects designed to protect or restore “rivers, lakes and streams, their watersheds and associated land, water and other natural resources.” The money was authorized by California voters in 2006 when they passed Proposition 84, the Clean Water, Parks and Coastal Protection Act.

The conservancy established two categories of grants for fiscal year 2009–

• Competitive grants: $7 million for land acquisition, conservation easements, and site restoration; individual grants can range from $250,000 to $1 million;
  Deadline: Sept. 15, 2008.

• Strategic opportunity grants: $10 million, including $1 million for each of the six subregions; individual grants can range from $5,000 to $500,000;
  Deadlines: Sept. 2, 2008 and Feb. 27, 2009.

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