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Tallgrass Aspen Park
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The Worth of a Bird in the Hand
From the Redwoods to the Sea
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Body's Water Needs
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Leave the Wilderness Wild
Tubing Fun On Boulder Creek
Birdathon: Fun With a Purpose
Aegean Spring Flowers
Standing Wave
Are You the Tourist?
Garden Serenity Made Simple
First Tracks, a Bluebird Day
Caves of Puerto Rico
Trans-Canada Trail
Escape to Wild Long Island
Research on Vacation
Eco-Footing
Florida's Pinellas Rail-Trail
Walking on Windward Waves
Akha Hill Tribe
Banff Fund Raiser
Central Park Haven for Birds
Secret of Kartchner Caverns

Leave the Wilderness Wild

BOULDER, Colorado, June 21, 2002 (ENS) - Pondering a summer trip to the great outdoors? If you're planning to travel as part of an organized expedition, don't be surprised to run across the phrase "LNT" in the trip description. The initials stand for "Leave No Trace," a growing national movement aimed to avoid or minimize impacts to natural area resources and help ensure a positive recreational experience for all visitors.

An ethic as well as an organization based in Boulder, Colorado, Leave No Trace works to educate visitors about the nature of their recreational impacts on the environmnet as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts.

Whether you're traveling with a group or by yourself - climbing to the top of Mount Rainer or car camping near home - there are specific things you can do to help leave your outdoor area in the same condition you found it.

The Leave No Trace organization urges you to follow these basic principles and practices:

Plan Ahead and Prepare

campers Campers in the Maine woods (Photo courtesy Carleton Project)

Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.
Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of four to six.
Repackage food to minimize waste.
Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.
Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.
Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites in popular areas.
Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.
In pristine areas, disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.
Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

Dispose of Waste Properly

litter Hiker uses a hiking stick to spear litter. (Photo courtesy Adventures in Good Company)

Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.
Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.
Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.

Leave What You Find

Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

Minimize Campfire Impacts

Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.

Respect Wildlife

deer White-tailed buck deer (Photo by Randall McCune courtesy Michigan Travel Bureau)

Observe wild animals from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.
Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack animals.
Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.

The organization has no political position to maintain and says its effectiveness lies in its broad base of support from all outdoor enthusiasts. Supporters include federal land managers, individual citizens, nonprofits, scouting groups, sporting goods manufacturers, and retail shops.

The Leave No Trace message is offered as the minimum impact recreation message on public lands due to agreements with the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management, so if you're camping on public lands, you will almost certainly be reminded to leave no trace.

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