 When Bill Wright was a child, he knew that he wanted to work with animals for a living. Wright has a long and distinguished career history as an environmental activist and ecotourism pioneer. He maintains a fierce belief in his ethic of a "non-consumptive" approach to wildlife. Wright runs San Juan Safaris, a whale watching tourism business. He does more than just direct people on whale tours, though. Wright is on the Board of People for Puget Sound, which is a non-profit group that works to protect and restore Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits. He works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the San Juan Island Whale Museum and the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor. In an effort to reduce the likelihood of oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Wright spent years successfully lobbying the State of Washington to fund a full-time rescue tugboat in Neah Bay.
Wright's philosophy, when it comes to whale watching, is "to observe but not to interfere with orca behavior". He was the first guide to provide eco-tours in Alaska's Prince William Sound in the years before the famous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. He firmly believes that people have to give back to the environment and try to make a difference. Indeed, Wright has given back. He worked as Park Superintendent in the 1970's at the Kenai/Kodiak Park District at Chugach State Park. In that role, Wright oversaw 750,000 acres of parklands. While in that position, Wright traveled to Africa where he saw working models of eco-tourism through wildlife safaris, where people could view the land and its inhabitants without consuming it.
In 1995, Wright moved to San Juan Island, near Seattle, Washington, where he established San Juan Safaris. San Juan Safaris reflects Wright's passion for non-consumptive, non-obtrusive wildlife observation.
So, if you're headed for the Seattle area, book a tour with San Juan Safaris. Wright and his team uphold the highest standards and ethics. They offer kayak tours, as well as whale watching tours. Wright goes beyond the norm when it comes to eco-tourism. He offers eco-tourism consulting to help others to develop eco-tourism projects. He will proudly help you, the eager entrepreneur, to develop a successful business strategy. He has worked with whale watching operations, sea kayaking adventures, white water rafting operations, wilderness fly-fishing lodges and bear viewing lodges.
Wright is a self-professed active problem solver. He also runs one of the best eco-tourism outfits around. EnviroCitizen.org believes that he understands what it takes to run a good business; one that offers a great service to customers and that leaves the planet better than they found it.
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