BetterBNC

Place Name: First Place
Contestant Name: SFGate
Entry Title: Emotions run high as sea turtles take over popular Hawaii beaches
Entry Credit: Ashley Harrell
Judge Comment: With conservation and education measures, turtles have rebounded to become unlikely tourist attractions on some Hawaii beaches. Now the problem becomes cohabitation: How can basking turtles and tourists get along? The lead puts readers into the scene with the arrival of the turtles and the efforts to keep them safe.

Place Name: Second Place
Contestant Name: Virtuoso, The Magazine
Entry Title: "Once More, With Feeling"
Entry Credit: Joel Centano
Judge Comment: Is Maui ready for tourists? This is a delicate look at replanting seeds in the historic town of Lahaina, destroyed by wildfire in 2023. Joel Centano, who took great effort to respect the locals’ culture and be mindful of their requests amid rebuilding, provides a sensitive balance: a reverence for the past and a smile for a restored future.

Place Name: Third Place
Contestant Name: BBC Travel
Entry Title: The hike making Australia a better place
Entry Credit: Ellie Cobb
Judge Comment: This four-day hike weaves Tasmania’s stunning scenery with its overlooked history. Led by indigenous guides, the hike introduces another side of Tasmania — the site of brutal conflicts between the native population and British colonizers. This is an important story to know, and it’s told with reverence for those who resisted and survived.

Place Name: Honorable Mention
Contestant Name: Outside
Entry Title: My Rancher Parents Hate Wolves. I Took Them on a Wolf-Watching Tour in Yellowstone to Change Their Minds.
Entry Credit: Katie Jackson
Judge Comment: Set against the backdrop of Yellowstone, this story explores the complicated relationship between wolves and farmers — in this case, the author’s parents. The young woman who has been obsessed with wolves since she was a child wanted her folks to face the big bad wolf narrative they’ve adopted. The writer brings readers into the day tour that entails education and experience of the creatures. How do they feel now? The answer is complicated.

113 Environmental and Sustainable Tourism ( All) Back