Leisure, nature and environmental movements in the mass media: comparing Jumbo Pass and the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, Canada

Abstract

Media coverage from major provincial and national newspapers is used to examine two Canadian sites where leisure and tourism become objects of environmental movement mobilisation: the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort ski development (British Columbia), and the Tobeatic Wilderness Area (Nova Scotia). In both cases, environmentalists and government appear as central news sources. A dominant discourse defines both of these places as wilderness landscapes that need protection from ecologically inappropriate modes of outdoor recreation (downhill skiing and off-highway vehicle use). There are also key differences between the two cases. First, while motorised recreation is defined as inherently incompatible with the wilderness values of the Tobeatic, environmentalists ally with heli-ski operators at Jumbo Pass in their opposition to resort development. Second, news coverage of Jumbo Pass offers more space to environmentalist opponents to question the ‘wilderness’ status of the region. Finally, in the Jumbo case, tourism is linked to economic development in opposition to ecological protection. By contrast, tourism in the Tobeatic is interpreted as a pro-environmental alternative to extractive development. Despite differences between these conflicts, both demonstrate that the relationship between outdoor recreation and environmentalism may be conflictual, rather than mutually supportive.

Keywords:

• environmentalism
• recreation
• tourism
• mass media
• Canada

Notes

1. The political economy of wilderness use is not the main focus of this paper. This topic is taken up in greater depth, with specific reference to skiing, in Stoddart (forthcoming).

2. The intersection of celebrity and environmentalism is illustrated by the involvement of movie stars, such as Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney, in promoting awareness of climate change (Brockington, 2009).

3. Circulation figures provided here refer to paid circulation and do not account for readership of online editions of these newspapers.

4. The Vancouver Sun is a widely distributed broadsheet newspaper in British Columbia, and should not be confused with the populist, conservative Sun Media tabloid newspapers, such as the Toronto Sun.

5. A copy of the coding scheme is available from the author on request.

6. While a few British Columbia ski resorts, including Whistler Blackcomb, are signatories to the Sustainable Slopes Environmental Charter for Ski Areas, Jumbo Glacier Resort has not signed onto this program (National Ski Areas Association, 2011). On the occasions where pro-environmental discourse is used by resort developers in opposition to environmentalists, reference is made to the provincial Environmental Assessment approval granted to the project.