Leave No Trace When Traveling Outdoors

The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is an educational, nonprofit organization is an organization working on educating people about how to enjoy the outdoors while leaving zero trace. How you travel into the wild (or even a less secluded campsite) not only affects you but other people who love to travel outdoors, the land integrity, the animals, and so much more.

If you think leaving no trace sounds complicated, it’s really not. While the goal is yes, to leave zero trace, the organization notes…

“Leave No Trace is not intended to be taken literally. Rather, it is a philosophy that guides us while we enjoy any outdoor pursuit. If all who enjoy the outdoors were to do what they could to minimize the unavoidable impacts (trampling, erosion, etc.) and prevent the avoidable impacts (properly dealing with human waste, properly storing food and trash from animals, sticking to durable ground, keeping human and other waste out of water sources, etc.) it would go a long way towards protecting the places we enjoy from recreational impacts.“

You need to do all you can, within reason to leave less behind when you travel outside, hike, camp, play in the water, and so on. The guiding principals of Leave No Trace include…

• 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

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be looking at some more information from Leave No Trace, including what defines each principal, and how you can help to keep our outdoor areas clean and healthy. If you want to jump in right away, visit the Leave No Trace training center, which is packed with various courses about Leaving No Trace. You can also check out an excellent National Park Service’s (NPS) Leave No Trace video which will teach you how to choose where to pitch a tent, how to safely cook in the wilderness, and more in just 10 mins.

Copies of this video are now available for individuals, colleges, universities, summer camps, and groups through the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics in Boulder, Colorado. To obtain a free copy of the DVD, you can visit Leave No Trace or call (800) 332-4100.

[image via ImageBase]