Being ecologically responsible and conservation minded is something that is very important to us. We chose to make our living outdoors in Alaska’s stunning landscapes because it’s what we’re passionate about. Around the lodge we make an effort to conserve energy where we can. For us this means doing the little things, like using LED lights and high efficiency washing machines up to larger impact tasks like switching to a smaller generator at night. Although generators are necessary for our operation, doing these things allows us to minimize the amount of fuel consumption and exhaust output. In addition, we also use some solar power to reduce the time spent running generators.
The remoteness of the lodge’s location requires that we dispose of our own trash. We have a system for burning and then bury our garbage to ensure it’s not an attractant to the wildlife around us. We take the extra step of flying trash that is a non-burnable (glass, tin, toxic materials) out for proper disposal.
In 2016 we started making an effort to reduce the number of plastic water bottles we consume. We started providing guests with a reusable water bottle to take with them during the day and use around the lodge. Although we will likely always need to have some number of water bottles around for emergencies, we were able to cut our usage in half in 2016!
Catch and Release
On the bigger picture, our largest contribution to conservation is probably our avocation to the practice of catch and release. Our float planes allow us access to a large region. We are fortunate to fly fish for ten species of fish in five major drainages. In an attempt to minimize our impact on these fish and their habitat we have a strong commitment to catch and release and ethical fishing practices. We see it as part of our job to educate those around us about proper techniques for handling and releasing fish for maximum survival. We also exercise and educate about ethical practices that have positive effects on the fish and habitat such as carrying out our trash, using existing trails and following all state and federal regulations.
