The Bois Blanc Island Site

[BIRDMAN]

Would like all interested parties to meet me, hopefully at Christa's Insel Haus (ok Christa?) possibly, TBD, to discuss what makes Bois Blanc so special for a new tourism business catering to small specialty groups for nature study, photography, birding, financial planning, Great Lakes conservation groups, the possibilities are nearly endless. would like to meet all local experts on topics relevant to above subjects meet me at a sort of mini conference to get to know you personally and obtain your experience and knowledge on life at Bois Blanc. I will be there for about a week at first, going around the island by boat but never landing, imagine that! Though I have been on many Great Lakes islands, both large and small and remote and busy, yours is going to be my home base to show much of the Great Lakes natural beauty for both business and pleasure. So come help me out please!

I am thinking a time somewhere between June 1-6 for this meeting, are evenings best for you, what time or hrs work best for you? I need all to fix on one time best for all involved or most all, I am flexible. Meeting should last 2 hrs with refreshments? Hopefully! You can call or text me direct: 734-772-2826. I thank you in advance.

BIRDMAN
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DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE BIRDS

[mikewhite]

Tom, I replied to your direct email to me. After reading this, you may not want to see me. Here is what I wrote. -

Tom, the word tourism turns people off here on BBI. This place also has been called the poor man's Mackinac. I once was driving by the Insel Haus, and suggested to a biologist that it would be a great place to gather and discuss botany, plus go out and look at the flora. The answer was, no, the cost was too great.

In running a business you have income and expenses. Expenses would be high, and the people you want to serve are cheap. If you want a business, you must pay the employees. A guide would cost you.

At present people are going on nature hikes without the expense of being proclaimed a tourist and being catered for a fee. It is done just for the pleasure of doing it, and it's a lot more pleasurable when it costs almost nothing to do. You need to find 'dependent' people. The class of people that go scouring the woods are 'independent'. I do not think your venture will fly, but I have been found wrong before.

Good luck.
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mwhite@wildblue.net
"The more nature you keep, the more nature you'll enjoy." and "It's not who is right, but what is right."

[rab49735]

I do not live on the island so did not reply when Birdmans letter first appeared. As I see and understand it, The few folks that live on BBI year around already supply the services in question when needed.
Anyway, I have been waiting for your responce since the first posting.
Hope all on the Island are busy and enjoying life..............rab

[BIRDMAN]

Thanks for your reply, but I am not meaning the usual form of tourism as travel employees do. I know from conducting many workshops and tours over many years, that people like to be shown a shared form of artistic endeavor, like my own branch of environmental photography, and also be taken to the places to explore the subject matter that they do NOT know how to find on their own, or independently as you say. I am thinking mainly here of professional people from city environments or other settings where nature exploration and study is not any real part of their daily routine as it has been mine for so long. I have found that children and adults really do enjoy viewing the natural world if they have someone to show it to them or if in those often pristine environments they can learn some technique to better their craft or artistic endeavor,and they are willing to pay for it. Yes, it can be free or it can be fee paid. And though I would agree, we are in more of a 'free" state of mind, there are still plenty of participants with enough "free" time and cash to pay out for services they really want to participate in. Artistically. I am not out in the environment with others just to show them where this and that is in it as a botanist or biologist would and then lecture them about it. I did enough of that for years as a DNR naturalist myself in a lower MI state park. But if advertised in right places, there are people however few who will pay for both instruction and guide service where similar interests are communicated. Of course, I'm not talking about a ferry boatload of people. My artistic endeavors wouldn't allow for that kind of tourism anyway. And yes, it generally takes a lot of workshops and tours to make it financially worthwhile. But its still a worthy enterprise I think.

BIRDMAN :
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DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE BIRDS

[mikewhite]

On this island, if there was a choice of things to do, sharing nature with others, is the best type of endeavor that could be chosen. It makes those who live here realize better what they have around them. Therefore, they would think twice about changing the environment that they live in.

As a hobby, it might work. As a business, I still have doubts. Proof is in the pudding.
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mwhite@wildblue.net
"The more nature you keep, the more nature you'll enjoy." and "It's not who is right, but what is right."

[BIRDMAN]

A big thank you to Mike White for his time and generous sharing with my wife and I as we explored Bois Blanc from Insel Haus for the very first time on this island, though I have explored many Great Lakes islands by boat from Wisconsin to Georgian Bay, Ontario while studying birds.

Mike took us over to Round Island for some hours of fine inland study. A lot of fine things there and a keepsake or two. Traversing the cliff side where the vegetation started below the top was a winner though our feet were certainly sore that next day!

Mike, thanks for all your help in making our first time visit such a memorable one, and we are looking forward to returning soon.

Thomas and Nancy Schneider
_________________
DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE BIRDS

[Bruce Lord]

How does financial planning figure into all of this?

[pilotkid]

thats a good question, and a quest I think suited much better for places elsewhere.

[pilotkid]

also, I thought the 'haus was closed ?