For a small country, Belize has long carried an outsized reputation among people who care about water. Its flats and mangroves, its reef and river systems, have drawn anglers and naturalists who come for beauty but stay, if they are paying attention, for the fragile bargain that keeps such places alive. Tourism can finance protection. It can also erode the very ecosystems it depends on. Few industries have to argue so often that their future rests on restraint. That tension became sharper as Belize’s economy modernized and the pressures on its marine life grew more visible. The debate was never only about fish. It was about livelihoods, access, and who gets to decide what “development” means in a place where nature is not a backdrop but a working asset. The people who shaped that conversation were not always politicians or scientists. Some were business owners who spent enough time on the water to see what was changing, and who learned to speak in the language of policy when it mattered. Michael J. “Mike” Heusner, who died on January 10th at 86, was one of them. For decades he was a leading figure in Belize’s tourism and sportfishing sectors and a steady advocate for conservation. He helped build Belize River Lodge into a premier destination for anglers, while pushing the idea that the country’s natural environment was not separate from its economy, but the condition of its survival. Heusner’s authority came from lived experience and long committee meetings. He served with…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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