Leave No Trace

Remember the slogan, "Pack it in, pack it out"?  Although that principle applies, there is more to be learned about using and respecting the outdoors.  Here is some information about "Leave No Trace" to get you started.       

Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an educational organization whose mission is to teach people how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly and reduce their impacts on the environment.

A little history of LNT from their website:   

"Leave No Trace was incorporated as a 501-c-3, nonprofit organization in 1994, though the Leave No Trace concept is over 40 years old. Leave No Trace was formally conceived of by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service in the 1960’s. However, as public land use expanded and land managers witnessed the biophysical effects of this use, the Forest Service along with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management developed early wilderness ethics practices.

By the mid-1980’s, the Forest Service had a formal “No-Trace” program emphasizing the cultivation of new wilderness ethics and sustainable no-trace travel and camping practices. The success of this program lead to cooperation among the Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management’s authorship of a pamphlet entitled “Leave No Trace Land Ethics.”

In the early 1990s, the Forest Service worked with the National Outdoor Leadership School to develop hands-on, science-based minimum impact education training for non-motorized recreational activities.

An outdoor recreation summit was convened in 1993 including the various outdoor industry and sporting trade associations, NOLS, nonprofit organizations, outdoor manufacturer and federal land management agencies to create an independent 501-c-3, nonprofit organization called Leave No Trace, Inc. The organization, now known as the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (the Center), was incorporated to develop and expand Leave No Trace training and educational resources, spread the general program components, and engage a diverse range of partners from the federal land management agencies and outdoor industry corporations to nonprofit environmental and outdoor organizations and youth-serving groups..."   
  
Are you familiar with "Leave No Trace" principles?  These principles are both guidelines and techniques recommended to minimize overuse of both backcountry and frontcountry natural areas. 
    

**Plan Ahead and Prepare

**Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

**Dispose of Waste Properly

**Leave What You Find

**Minimize Campfire Impacts

**Respect Wildlife

**Be Considerate of Other Visitors


Check out the LNT principles page for an in-depth discussion of the list above and then take the Online Awareness Course to see how much you learned!

For both the outdoors and for ringing in the new year: Enjoy Responsibly!