Keep the Environment in Mind During an Alaskan Fishing Trip

Alaska’s majestic natural beauty is a big part of what will make your Alaskan fishing trip so memorable. But unfortunately, many different factors are putting Alaska’s environment at risk. If you want later generations to be able to enjoy Alaska the way we’re able to, there are a few easy ways to do your part. Here are some tips on how to care for the environment during your Alaskan fishing trip:

• Plan ahead: One of the easiest ways to avoid negative environmental impact is to plan ahead, so that you’re only taking what you need and won’t end up leaving a bunch of trash or dead weight behind. Also, planning your trails and campsites carefully ensures that you won’t be treading on sensitive ground. To make sure you’re planning sustainably, consult a guide or tour company that puts an emphasis on protecting the environment.
• Energy efficient dwellings: If you choose to stay at a lodge or campsite with cabins, consider selecting a yurt village. Yurts are energy efficient dwellings that are much more sustainable than cabins, even when being heated. Many yurt villages even have a limited number of yurts in any one place so as to minimize environmental impact.
• Sleep on sturdy surfaces: If you’re camping, a patch of grass will probably seem a lot more enticing than a gravelly surface. But the impact your body can have on nature is dangerous if repeated too many times, the same way your own mattress grows lumpier and weaker the more years you sleep on it. Opt for a more durable surface when sleeping on the ground.
• Dispose of waste appropriately: This is Camping 101 for Alaska and just about everywhere else: dispose of your cooking and personal waste in the proper way. That means burning toilet paper, putting garbage in tightly sealed bins and generally leaving a campsite or trail just how you found it, if not better. This approach will not only protect the environment—it will also protect you from any wandering wild animals.
• Don’t take anything: It might be tempting to take a cool-looking rock or animal skeleton you find on the trail home with you, and while this isn’t necessarily the worst thing you could do for the environment, it does go against the general code of “leave no trace” that environmentalists in Alaska try to live by. And besides, leaving that little piece of natural beauty for the next person to see and appreciate does a small part to keep Alaska the way it is.
• Don’t engage wildlife: Usually, animals in Alaska and elsewhere tend not to bother you if you don’t bother them. Strive not to do anything that would provoke, attract or disrupt the wildlife around you during your Alaskan fishing trip. If you come across a wild animal, enjoy the sight from a distance and then move along.
• Be careful with campfires: A good rule to follow when it comes to campfires is that you shouldn’t start them anywhere they’d leave a mark. On gravel or along the riverbank are both good options.

If you have questions about what you can do to help keep Alaska a pristine natural environment for future generations of travelers, contact a local organization today.

Categorised in: Alaskan Fishing Trip