Does mass involvement everywhere help or destroy nature?

[jasonhernandez74]

You bring up an important issue. And I noticed that the occasional similar comments in the “Why do you think birds are so popular” thread didn’t get much engagement.

@jasonhernandez74

A rare or vagrant bird shows up in an area, and the birding online social network quickly spreads the word. Next thing you know, the area is swarmed by life listers and others who are more concerned with getting their photo than with the stress the bird experiences from so many people seeking it out. I cringe a little when I see someone here on the Forums say “It doesn’t count if I didn’t get a photograph,” or words to that effect.

Mostly, people are keeping that thread positive. That was likely @AdamWargon 's intent as the thread starter; but now that we have this thread, there is no need to keep this one positive.

There is such a thing as “nature being loved to death.” I heard about that many years before the word overtourism became a thing; but it is the same thing. Overtourism is simply cities suffering the same effect that popular nature places have been suffering for a long time. Even cities that have been economically reliant on tourism are waking up to the adverse effects of overtourism. I do not think it is wrong to draw a parallel with people engaging with nature: you can have too much of a good thing.