WHY NATURE SHOULD REMAIN SECRET THE UNEXPECTED CONSQUENCES OF GEOTAGGING BY KAIT SPIELMAKER
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f you are someone who is tuned in to the 21st century and the role that social media plays in our everyday life, you probably notice the interactive Instagram feature that allows your photos to be tagged at a specific location. If you are not so technologically inclined, geotagging (or tagging) is an Instagram tool that allows you to tag a specific spot such as a restaurant, city, or hot springs. So, whether from the edge of a mountain halfway across the world or at your favorite neighborhood coffee shop, your followers can click on the location and see where you were. This feature helps engage local followers for growing a business and continuously expanding the reach for a perfectly curated Instagram following. This tool is beneficial, even profitable, for businesses and fun for documenting travels, but what happens when that tool causes destruction and leads to the over-tourism of geological sights and natural wonders? Nature is meant to be a getaway, but places that were once untouched, unknown and secluded are now overrun with tourists, and often left worse than found. Trash and human waste is left behind, visitors are starting fires when there are strict noburn policies, and vandalism, such as graffiti, is happening. Unfortunately, geotagging often leads to negative repercussions for the tagged locations.
TOO MANY VISITORS HERE Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is seeing the effects of what
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greenliving | February 2020
happens when locations within a beautiful natural area are tagged. The Visit Jackson Hole website launched a sustainability campaign that offers ways to tag responsibly while in the area, accompanied by mindful travel tips. One issue Jackson Hole has faced has resulted from people tagging locations in the backcountry, which caused a surge in visitors often ill-prepared for the rugged terrain. This put tourists at risk, which can be a huge liability for the local government. National Geographic, NPR and the New York Times have all written about the importance of leaving locations secret. A surge in foot traffic on trails can lead to erosion or disruption of local ecosystems. Here in Arizona, Horseshoe Bend has seen a spike in visitors in recent years thanks to geotagging. Once a reclusive spot along the Colorado River that had, on average, only 1,000 visitors per year, now sees 4,000 visitors per day. These types of cascading changes can have calamitous effects on nature. In Ontario, Bogle Seed Farms, a sunflower farm, temporarily shut down after visitors reached 7,000 in one day, leaving behind trash and trampled sunflowers. The city of Kanarraville, Utah, home to Kanarraville Falls, has seen such an influx of transients in the area that the city and the once secluded nature are suffering.
GETTING THAT PERFECT PHOTO Instagram influencers will bend the rules implemented by the local government and conservationists in order to get that greenlivingaz.com
