Small sight—Big might: Economic impact of bird tourism shows opportunities for rural communities and biodiversity conservation

Native regional corporations and over 200 local village corporations owning approximately 10% of Alaska’s land mass. Alaska is also home to 229 federally recognized tribes primarily inhabiting Alaska’s remote rural areas. Since much of these areas are without protection, the support of private landowners for conservation will largely depend on the received financial benefits [64]. Effective conservation action to reduce biodiversity loss must retain the most-intact habitats and work more closely with rural communities [65]. Synergistic projects that tie conservation targets with nature- based tourism projects provide alternative income sources for rural communities and can be conservation-friendly alternatives without degrading natural capital compared to resource extraction, for example [66]. Indigenous place-based knowledge will be critical for co-design- ing projects where conservation outcomes are effective but also financially sustainable for communities [58,67]. Conclusions Birding tourism illustrates the growing and significant economic opportunities for nature- based tourism in rural and remote regions of Alaska. Most of Alaska’s tourism is focused on cruise ship destination tourism. Even though Alaska is home to more national park land than any other state, few national parks and other protected areas are visited because of their remoteness. Birding tourism illustrates one of many nature-based tourism activities that can inspire independent travellers to seek out new destinations in Alaska, expanding the economic footprint of tourism across the state.

Rural and remote regions of Alaska are predominately inhabited by indigenous peoples who have had limited economic opportunities but are surrounded by vast tracks of increas- ingly rare wildlife habitat of global significance. Our results showed that bird tourism provides critical cash flow and rare employment and income opportunities for local communities, pre- senting viable alternatives to resource extraction. The study discussed the need for partner- ships with indigenous land holders centered around nature-based tourism opportunities tied to conservation for reducing global biodiversity loss. Alaska’s largely intact wilderness areas and indigenous land holders and federally recognized tribes play a critical role for global biodi- versity conservation and improved stewardship of the globe’s wilderness areas. Supporting information S1 Table. Ebird data by census area and NABCI region. (DOCX) S2 Table. IMPLAN regions used in the input-output model corresponding to NABCI regions and census areas. (DOCX) S3 Table. Proportions allocating AVSP spending categories to IMPLAN sectors by regional model. (DOCX) S4 Table. Detailed input-output modelling results by region and impact type. (DOCX) S5 Table. Survey instrument. (PDF) S1 Dataset. (CSV) PLOS ONE Economic impact of bird tourism in Alaska PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268594 July 6, 2022 14 / 18