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Why Leaving NO Trace Is So Important

July 23, 2019 3 min read 0 Comments

Why Leaving NO Trace Is So Important


At a recent Fourth of July celebration, I witnessed a tourist yanking on the low-hanging boughs of a beautiful 100-year-old oak tree in one of our local parks. My friends and I watched in angst, lambasting the man as a disrespectful out-of-towner. It was a frustrating sight for me, as an outdoorsman and nature enthusiast, mostly because there wasn’t much we could do about it, shy of picking a fight with a drunk vacationer. It reminded me why teaching the principles of “Leave No Trace” ideology is so important.



WHY LEAVING NO TRACE IS SO IMPORTANT


For the uninitiated, it might seem like a simple concept: “OK, so don’t litter, right?” Well, yes, obviously, but it’s much more than that. It’s about leaving natural environments in as close to their original state as possible. Many people who would never litter fail to think twice about messing with branches, digging around in the underbrush or pulling a colorful plant off the vine for an Instagram photo.

What many people — even those who care about the environment — don’t realize is that every piece of foliage and earth that you see on a hike through the woods is part of an ecosystem that every creature living there depends on. And even innocuous acts, like yanking a semi-dead branch off of an otherwise untamed tree, can have larger consequences than we are inclined to notice.


It's a Cumulative Impact

Now you’re probably thinking, “Don’t be so dramatic. How could I possibly damage the ecosystem?” And to some degree, that’s fair. One person can’t do much to incur the wrath of Mother Nature. But think about the hundreds, thousands or even millions of people traversing that same ground.


Small Acts Add up Quickly

If every camper makes a big, careless fire in a different location, soon your campsites will become pockmarked with ugly black patches that nature may never truly retake.

If every hiker continuously wanders off the designated path, clomping around through the fringes, soon the paths will widen and native creatures will start to avoid those areas.

If every modern explorer takes an “It’s just one piece of trash” approach, there will be many pieces of trash, impacting the environment and posing dangers to wildlife.

If every visitor takes a souvenir, there will be nothing left for future travelers.

And if every tourist takes a bear selfie, all the tourists will be eaten by bears.


Seven Principles of Leave No Trace

To become a more environmentally conscious adventurer, learn the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace — first established by the U.S. Forest Service, and now guided predominantly by the  Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics.

In short, the principles as listed by the LNT center are:

  • Plan Ahead & Prepare
  • Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
  • Dispose of Waste Properly
  • Leave What You Find
  • Minimize Campfire Impacts
  • Respect Wildlife

Next Time...

Next time you’re in the Great Outdoors, look closely. See how the hiking paths and campsites maintain a careful balance with the forest, and imagine what could happen if a few hundred people failed to treat it with respect. Paths will widen, garbage will pile, plants will die, and every scratch has the potential to become a scar. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a remote swath of woodland or even in your local park. Just remember, we are only visitors to these majestic outdoors, and we need to treat them as exactly what they are — a home to something else.





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