CONSERVATION
Long Beach Nature Conservation Fund
Starting in 2025, a $12.50 Conservation Fund contribution will be added to all pre-tax tour fees, ensuring that every adventure with Long Beach Nature Tours actively supports the protection and preservation of our west coast ecosystems. This initiative reflects our commitment to making a positive impact on the communities and wildlife areas in which we explore. By participating, you’re not just embarking on a tour; you’re joining a movement to safeguard our oceans and lands for future generations. Together, through the Long Beach Nature Conservation Fund, each journey becomes a step toward a more sustainable and vibrant environment.
Conservation
We strive to help non profits secure, protect, and restore landscapes and ecologically functioning ecosystems, enabling wildlife to recover and flourish.
Long Beach Nature Tours is a proud member of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association (CBVA), a province-wide association aimed at the protection of wild bears and their ecosystems. We joined the CBVA because of their work and commitment to conservation, as seen through their Conservation Licence Fee Initiative. After the battle to end the grizzly bear hunt in BC, the CBVA operators came together to show their responsibility and commitment to bear conservation by establishing this unique fund specifically aimed at the conservation of all bears in British Columbia. Three years after its launch, the CBVA has raised over $300,000 for conservation and distributes the money each year to projects through the Small Grant Program for Conservation. To learn more visit: https://www.bearviewing.ca/ The Clayoquot Sound Wild Salmon Fund supports salmon enhancement, stock rebuilding and recovery initiatives as prioritized within the Clayoquot Sound Salmon Recovery Plan. Each year funds are directed towards local habitat restoration, stewardship, education, research and monitoring led by local organizations and researchers within the watershed of Clayoquot Sound (Fisheries Management Area 24). To learn more visit: https://clayoquotbiosphere.org/
Community
We support rural indigenous communities living close to our tours by providing better education, alternative livelihood opportunities, and celebrating their cultural heritage.
Long Beach Nature Tours is unwaveringly committed to truth and reconciliation. We are dedicated to fostering an environment of openness, understanding, and inclusivity, where diverse voices are heard, respected, and valued. Tribal Park Allies FeeAs Tribal Parks Allies we are committed to supporting the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation’s vision of achieving a socially and ecologically just conservation economy, where every dollar spent supports the ecological protection and restoration of the Tribal Parks ancestral gardens and the resurgence of Tla-o-qui-aht culture and governance. To learn more visit: https://tribalparks.com/ Ahousaht Stewardship FeeWe are committed to supporting the Ahousaht First Nation’s vision to exercise and invest in stewardship and the sustainable management of the resources of ʕaḥuusʔatḥ haḥuułii in such a manner so as to balance Ahousaht cultural values, ecological integrity, and the social and economic wellbeing of the ʕaḥuusʔatḥ people. To learn more visit: https://mhssahousaht.ca/
Tribal Parks
The Tribal Parks Allies are a community of businesses committed to supporting the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation’s vision of achieving a socially and ecologically just conservation economy, where every dollar spent supports the ecological protection and restoration of the Tribal Parks ancestral gardens and the resurgence of Tla-o-qui-aht culture and governance. To Learn More about Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks visit: https://tribalparks.com/
Fund Structure Breakdown
When joining a tour with us; you as a visitor to this region will be contributing to the wellbeing of the ecosystem that we are adventuring through. Your $12.50 CAD Conservation Fund Contribution will go directly toward to the stewardship of the lands, which are managed by the local First Nations, and local non-profits. We donate these funds annually.
Bear Conservation Fee (CBVA) - $5.00 CAD per person
Clayoquot Wild Salmon Fund (CBT) - $2.50 CAD per person
Tribal Parks Stewardship Fee (TFN) - $2.50 CAD per person
Ahousaht Stewardship Fee (AFN) - $2.50 CAD per person
Other Initiatives
Ocean Friendly Business
Long Beach Nature Tours is a certified Ocean Friendly Business. We eliminate unnecessary plastics, divert waste from landfill, and adopt regenerative practices with the assistance and guidance from the Surfrider Foundation. Resources, innovative ideas, and best practices developed through this campaign are shared with the entire business community in the Pacific Rim.
Commercial Bear Viewing
We are proud members of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of British Columbia (CVBA). The CVBA is dedicated to conservation, supporting research, and guide training. As a member company we adhere to the CBVA Best Management Practices and Code of Conduct. We ensure that as a commercial operator, we do not disturb bears from daily activities. Our small boats are designed with a low impact visual profile and to view bears quietly with minimal engine noise. To learn more about the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC and which companies are certified, visit their website.
Marine Debris Removal Initiative
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most tour companies lost their entire 2020 and 2021 operating seasons, resulting in severe financial challenges and realities. In response, the SSTOA and the Wilderness Tourism Association of BC pivoted to collaboratively seek alternative options for generating revenue, mitigating massive financial losses, employment of crew, and contributing to the social, cultural, ecological, and economic well-being of the BC coast. Long Beach Nature being closed for the entirely of 2020 and 2021, was fortunate to be apart of the crew with this initiative and removed approximately 127 tonnes of marine debris from the coastline.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Sustainable Tourism refers to sustainable practices in and by the tourism industry. It is an aspiration to acknowledge all impacts of tourism, both positive and negative. It aims to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive ones. Negative impacts to a destination include economic leakage, damage to the natural environment and overcrowding to name a few. Positive impacts to a destination include job creation, cultural heritage preservation and interpretation, wildlife preservation landscape restoration, and more. Sustainable tourism is defined by the UN Environment Program and UN World Tourism Organization as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.” Additionally, they say that sustainable tourism “refers to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability” (UNEP & UNWTO, 2005: 11-12. Making Tourism More Sustainable – A Guide for Policy Makers).
Ecotourism is a niche segment of tourism in natural areas. The term emerged in the late 1980s. Fennell described it as such: “Ecotourism is a sustainable form of natural resource-based tourism that focuses primarily on experiencing and learning about nature, and which is ethically managed to be low-impact, non-consumptive, and locally-oriented. It typically occurs in natural areas, and should contribute to the conservation or preservation of such areas” (Fennell, 1999: 43. Ecotourism: An Introduction). The Mohonk Agreement (2000), a proposal for international certification of Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism, saw ecotourism as “sustainable tourism with a natural area focus, which benefits the environment and communities visited, and fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation, and awareness.” The ecotourism definition by the Global Ecotourism Network (GEN): “Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and creates knowledge and understanding through interpretation and education of all involved (visitors, staff and the visited).”
CONTACT US
+1.250.725.3320
Box 1132 Tofino, BC V0R2Z0
OFFICE
Storm Light Outfitters
390 Main Street, Tofino BC