I am currently on Orcas Island, a small island on the Northwest corner of Washington State. This place is truly paradise, whales, clear skies, and a color palate that is unique. The waters surrounding Orcas (pronounced Orcus) as well as the rest of the San Juan Islands is known as the Salish Sea partially as homage to the indigenous Salish people who have made their home on the coast for nearly 14,000 years and in part to better articulate the disconnectedness of a number of bodies of water that can otherwise seem disparate. The Salish Sea encompasses The Northern waters surrounding the Canadian Gulf Islands, the Strait of George, heads South through the San Juan Islands, through the Strait of Juan De Fuca, and finally the Puget Sound.
The Salish Sea is a diverse ecosystem where fish, eagles, seals, whales, and people abound. The popularity of this area for both wildlife and people has put us at the forefront of many human animal conflicts. The prevalence of ecotourism, primarily whale watching and kayak tours acts as both a blessing and a curse for this wildlife. A good tour will allow one to experience a feeling of closeness, respect, and attachment with these animals, tie the animal we so easily bond with back to the less obvious parts of the ecosystem in which they live, and affect ones thought process but here in the Salish Sea and at home. The curse lies in the increased human traffic through the area. It is likely the large numbers of killer whales inhabiting the area are what draws a significant percentage of visitors to this are, its certainly true of me. With people comes myriad detrimental effects including boat traffic, litter, and noise pollution.
If you think the sum of these is positive or negative is a personal decision but as I see it the only way to make decisions that benefit an ecosystem is to have an attachment to that ecosystem.