Patty Loew:
We begin this week with a look at Wisconsin's Going Green initiative, as a way to keep the state green and attract tourists. Ecotourism is becoming big business. Andy Soth shows you how on a summer day near Bayfield.

Andy Soth:
You could spend a luxurious weekend at Bayfield's Pinehurst Inn and not even realize that your choice may be doing a little bit to help the environment.

Nancy Sandstrom:
The majority of people who come to this type of bed and breakfast don't want to give it up, give up the luxuries. They want the luxuries.

Andy Soth:
But you may notice the solar collector in the yard or happen by chance on the high-efficiency heater. Or see the Energy Star appliances. Or you can just talk to the owners.

Steve Sandstrom:
You don't have to be way out there on the edge as far as building design in order to be green. You can still have a building that looks very much normal and still conserve a significant amount of energy.

Andy Soth:
This normal-looking building is the inn’s garden house. Its insulated walls, solar water heater, energy-efficient windows, as well as its rain garden demonstrate the commitment to conservation that's made the Pinehurst Inn one of the state's premiere ecotourism destinations.

Julie Stuart:
I live an environmentally-friendly lifestyle at home. So when I travel, I like to spend my dollars in the same way that I make my decisions at home.

Andy Soth:
That makes Julie Stuart an ecotourist. It's growing segment of the tourist industry. Many see Wisconsin with its great natural resources as fertile ground for ecotourism.

Kelli Trumble:
To think Wisconsin it's really important that we look at our philosophies and we look at our brand and does our brand express ecotourism. At the department of tourism we're clearly looking at that right now and wanting to elevate the brand.

Andy Soth:
To elevate the brand and make ecotourism more visible, the tourism department created the Travel Green program, which has been piloted in Bayfield.   

John Thiel:
You want to do things to help the environment, you want to, you recycle and you do all these things. Travel Green was a little bit of an incentive to bring it all together.

Andy Soth:
Travel Green certification is based on a point system, where tourist businesses get credit for ecofriendly practices and then are allowed to market themselves as certified ecotourism businesses. A sailboat may have less environmental impact than a motorboat, but captain John Thiel found he could still do more.

John Thiel:
We used to do box lunches ‘cause that was a simple thing, that’s what a lot of people do on a full-day trip. That produces a lot of waste. So we took the sandwiches from a local organic deli and we cut up the sandwiches and they put them in a Tupperware food box. We have no waste because we don't have any packaging materials we have to throw away at the end.   

Andy Soth:
Other changes have been more profound.   

John Thiel:
I found out that if I improve my sailing skills, we can sail the boat almost as fast as we used to motor it when the wind is light. It was a good incentive to learn how to sail better.

John Thiel:
That's good right there.

Andy Soth:
Before Travel Green, it might have meant an hour of motoring to reach one of the far-out Apostle Islands. Now the trip involves more of what people want to do on a sailboat: sailing.  

John Thiel:
Overall, we're making more money and we're using less fuel. Part of that was the Travel Green, just an incentive to get us thinking again about the environment.   

Steve Sandstrom:
It's a win/win for the environment and economically.   

Andy Soth:
But it's not only sail adventurers and innkeepers thinking about the environment. More than two dozen businesses from orchards to souvenir shops to fishmongers have become Travel Green certified.

Mary Gardner:
I saw a study once that said shopping is the number one reason people travel. Now, that might not be the number one reason they come to Bayfield, but I believe it's an important part of their visit, seeing the local shops and the local culture. So I think it is a fit.

Andy Soth:
What they see at Water Music Jewelry are one of a kind pieces, sparkling in glass display cases.

Mary Gardner:
In the jewelry business you want your gems to sparkle. That drives sales.

Andy Soth:
But an energy audit revealed there was perhaps too much sparkling. Gardner kept the bright halogen lights in the display cases, but made changes elsewhere.

Mary Gardner:
We investigated compact florescent and we switched most of our lighting to compact fluorescent. Realized about a 13% energy savings last year, which affects your bottom line.

Andy Soth:
Because many environmentally friendly practices reduce resource use, Travel Green members find they save money. The question is, can they also increase profit by appealing to travelers who think of themselves as ecotourists?

Kelli Trumble:
Consumers are consciously making decisions that they themselves want to make a difference in limiting the impact on the environment, so they join in partnership with those businesses that do.

Nancy Sandstrom:
We've seen about 20% of the guests coming in mentioning that they were very attracted to our sustainability focus.   

Andy Soth:
But these ecotourist business owners say increased profit is not their only motivating factor.

Mary Gardner:
Why not step it up. If you came to live in this kind of pristine environment, it's important to support it and sustain it, I think.   

John Thiel:
At least within my little world I want to do everything I can to lessen that impact.

Nancy Sandstrom:
One feel that we feel very strongly about here is the ability to make these decisions with a sense of honor for the history of this place.   

Patty Loew:
Nancy Sandstrom tells us the website Independent Traveler recently named the Pinehurst Inn to its top ten list of environmentally friendly accommodations. That list includes a Kenyan safari camp and a Bolivian eco-lodge, along with the Bayfield bed and breakfast.