Statement of Stewardship (SOS)
Water. That is what Nimmo Bay is all about. We live on the water, we drink the sweet mountain water, we fish in the fresh water, and we use water to create power for our electrical needs. Water nourishes us.
W.A.T.E.R. (We Attend To Environmental Responsibility)
How fortunate we are to be blessed with this renewable resource. The snow pack on Mount Stevens supplies us with water for drinking, power, and domestic requirements. It also gives us the beauty of a mountain waterfall, surrounded by the verdant foliage of this coastal forest.
LOCATION
Nimmo Bay Resort lies in a small salt-water bay at the head of McKenzie Sound. Cedar, spruce, balsam and hemlock trees surround the resort and keep our air pure, sweet, and pollution free. We have no people within ten miles. Our closest neighbour is a small and isolated community that is uninhabited for most of the year. Access to Nimmo Bay is restricted to water and air..
LOW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The resort’s guest accommodations, operational quarters and staff buildings are built on the water, along the forest edge, on a rocky promontory. Our presence has not impacted the surrounding forest or disturbed any of the wildlife habitat. This eco-friendly approach has been our aim from the beginning. Visitors are happy to see that we operate in sync with the natural environment.
S. O. S. “Stewards of Sustainability”
Nimmo Bay is a wonderful marriage between the business world and the conservation ethic. Sustainable tourism is our future and Nimmo Bay is proud to be a member of the first sustainable tourism collective in Canada. This collection of resort, adventure and hotel properties focuses on developing the best sustainable environmental practices for improved tourism business growth in B.C. Fairmont Hotels, Whistler/Blackcomb, The Armstrong Group, Canadian Mountain Holidays, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, Nimmo Bay Resort and Tartan PR all share best practices, collectively market their products and services and look at ways to make BC a substainable tourism destination into the future.
CLIMATE FRIENDLY
We accept the necessity of becoming Climate Friendly. we can achieve this status though the Carbon Responsible actions of ourselves and our guests. We have as accurately as possible defined out carbon omissions. We have aggressively reduced our GHG omissions and our footprint on our environment with the installation of our water powered hydro system in 1982, our recycling and refuge elimination programs, our Hydroxyl waste management system, our catch and release fishing policy, the adoption of the Ecosystem Based Management strategy, and our use of eco-friendly products and suppliers. We are taking accountability for our footprints that can’t be further reduced, by being Carbon Responsible and purchasing BC Beneficial Carbon Offsets. We are beginning to advertise what we are doing to provide for a more healthy mother earth, under our new banner of "Travel Smart". We educate our guests and our staff about what we are doing and letting future Nimmo Bay Patrons play a role in helping us achieve our goal of becoming "Climate Friendly" and to keep our tourism industry sustainable. Remember, don’t throw anything AWAY, because, where is AWAY?? All we can do is manage AWAY by reducing our footprint and being mindful of what we do, with what we no longer want. Our guests are proud to be able to assist us in keeping our environment clean, healthy and natural, and for the most part they are willing participants in our environmental efforts in and around Nimmo Bay, through their personal contributions, which come from our Futures Forever Fund.
TRAVEL SMART
Guests that come to British Columbia and Nimmo Bay receive the best this world has to offer. Today, travelers look for value, both in product and service. Our economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. Without a healthy environment, complete with nature’s inhabitants, we have nothing to offer today’s tourist, therefore we have no business, no economy and no hope for a future. People realize this and are now willing to Give Back to nature, what it takes to sustain our wilderness adventure tourism industry for themselves and their children’s children. Travel choices are made, based on how a business treats its own environment, as guests don’t want to be a part of harming an already sensitive environment, by their presence there. If our operators take care of their environment, they will take care of their guests.
FUTURES FOREVER FUND
Giving Back is what our "Futures Forever Fund" is set up to do. Having Started in 2007, guest environmental donations will be put towards three important environmental initiatives. The offsetting of GHG emissions emanting from the Nimmo Bay Experience (including air travel from Vancouver to Port Hardy), contributions to Raincoast Research and the work of Alexandra Morton to save our BC wild salmon from the sea lice and chemicals caused from the current fish farming practices, and to keep up the necessary advocacy work of our BC Wilderness Tourism and Council of Tourism Associations, to better represent the members of our Industry. After all is said and done, our economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of our environment.
PARTNERSHIPS
The B.C. Provincial government recognized Nimmo Bay Resort in 2005 as the Province’s first official stewardship partner of the 50,000 square miles of land and water we operate in. Environmental assistance programs such as water sampling, forest programs, wildlife and fish reporting have since been established. Recently, other remote wilderness resorts have become actively involved in monitoring and reporting their surrounding areas and have become Stewardship Partners as well.
ENVIRONMENTAL INVOLVEMENTS
For six years Nimmo Bay Resort participated in the Central Coast Land Resource Management Plan as the tourism representative. Nimmo Bay is also a founding member of the Quality Waters Strategy committee, helping revise our Provincial freshwater river and lake fishery.
COTA
Craig Murray, owner and founder of Nimmo Bay Resort, is currently (2008/2010) on the Council Of Tourism Association board as a director. COTA represents all of the tourism businesses and associations in British Columbia and advocates for the members.
ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY
Craig Murray has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the RRU Tourism Advisory Board. The University recognizes the importance of Wilderness high end tourism in todays global mix of travellers to British Columbia. After 28 years of doing business at Nimmo Bay, Mr. Murray brings a unique prospective to the diverse tourism board.
FIRST NATIONS
The Wi’la’mola Accord is again a first of its kind environmental / tourism program with First Nations. This recognition of environmental and tourism initiatives highlights this incredible territory from sea level to 7,000 feet, its cultures, traditions and the necessity for us all to work together for a sustainable future. In 2004 many of the local First Nation Chiefs and five tourism business people signed this agreement in Alert Bay and Nimmo Bay. This is a living document and is open for new members who practice environmental sustainability.
ADVENTURE TRAVEL
Nimmo Bay has redefined adventure travel and has opened up new horizons to our global guests. The coast of B.C. has magnificent opportunities for visitors to experience our wilderness and understand our desire to keep it green. From the white sand beaches of Northern Vancouver Island to the lofty heights of Mt. Waddington, our magic carpets give new eyes and new commitment to those who venture here. Viewers of this majesty will never forget the beauty and magnitude of our planet.
FISHING
Nimmo Bay’s fishery is catch & release using single barbless hooks. Guests are invited to fly or spin fish. Currently, we are working hard to protect wild juvenile Pacific Salmon from sea lice, which thrive on farmed salmon. In its current configuration, salmon farming by international corporations is a threat to our wild juvenile salmon, as the farms are located on the migratory routes of the baby salmon. We are working with both Federal and Provincial governments, the tourism industry, environmental coalitions and first nations to help change how salmon are farmed on this coast and to preserve our existing wild salmon stocks. We need everyone’s assistance to achieve this goal. Public opinion and our new environmental initiatives will hopefully help keep our Wild Pacific Salmon alive and healthy.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste management is a very important part of our lives. We employ several interesting initiatives to achieve and remain above present day environmental compliance. A Hydroxyl waste management system has been in place for many years, to take care of the black and grey water at Nimmo Bay. Nothing but clear, clean water returns to the surrounding environment. We recycle all applicable materials and transport all other wastes to the main recycling stations on Vancouver Island every four days. There is nothing remaining at Nimmo Bay to expose local wildlife to unnatural food sources, or to soil our surroundings.
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES – ECOSYSTEM BASED MANAGEMENT
We make every effort to support local suppliers who provide us with sustainable products and foods. Our staff are all very aware of the many concerns around living in a remote wilderness area and do everything they can to be aware of their impact. We hire locally, buy locally and provide local artists with a venue for global tourists to view their work. We have a preference for indigenous, organic foods and our seafood comes from a very local supplier, the commercial fisherman. Environmentally sound cleaning products are used for all our cleaning needs. Special soaps and shampoos are provided for our guests.
AWARDS
In 1999, the Government of British Columbia presented Nimmo Bay with the Environmental Award for Industry, Business and Labour, from a field of 187 other possible candidates. We continue to explore the endless possibilities of how to keep our tourism industry sustainable. We are highly aware of the continuous necessity to keep tourism as a central focus of local and provincial governments, as extraction industries (e.g. logging, mining) keep knocking at our door. We believe that industry must begin to think about the "triple bottom line" approach, and realize that this way of thinking will lead to a profitable business, community employment and environmental sustainability.
FOOTPRINTS IN TIME
We leave nothing behind when we visit the many pristine areas of this coast. Our footprints, alongside those of our abundant wildlife, are the only record that someone else has appreciated our natural wilderness. Our modes of transportation support guests with limited mobility or a disability, making sure that everyone can experience our pristine natural environment. No longer is anyone "retired" from fishing or adventuring.
FRAGILE FRAGRANCES
All are welcome to see, touch, breathe and drink in the beauties of nature. All of our guests will take away a greater understanding of what must be done, and what is being done, to preserve what we still have. People soon realize what we mean when we say: To Fly is Human … To Hover, Divine
from Nimmo Bay Resort
A “Temporal Nexus” right here on Earth.
A proud member of the BCSTC www.sustainablebc.ca
