Leave No Trace - An Outdoor Ethic

If you look back over all the other posts we have made in this blog you'll see that Recreate Responsibly must be about going outdoors and being smart about it.

Correct!

As more and more people head outdoors (National Park numbers) and the same amount of rangers are out in the field, it gets harder and harder for land management to keep an eye on things. Less babysitters!

But without those rangers out and about to help educate (and stop people) about destructive behaviors, most of which visitors don't realize they are doing, then bad things happens. Think about the names carved in rocks, the stolen artifacts, the Goblin Topplers, the illegal activities, and so on and so forth.

People need to realize that, yes this land is your land, but it is also the land of the other 313.9 million people who live in the U.S. And since it is literally a piece of earth, then it is to be enjoyed by everyone on the Earth. One individual's actions can destroy it for the other 7 billion people on this Earth.

So, in the outdoor industry we talk about creating an outdoor ethic.

Luckily for the world there is an organization to help teach and educate: Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. And as a major part of the Recreate Responsibly Day at SUU we will emphasize this organization and its 7 Principles of an outdoor ethic.

The principles are:

• Plan Ahead and Prepare
• Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
• Dispose of Waste Properly
• Leave What You Find
• Minimize Campfire Impact
• Respect Wildlife
• Be Considerate of Others

We'll teach about each one individually in the next seven posts. So, in the mean time lets look at a brief history of the organization.

The mission of LNT is to teach people how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. 

Wow, that's like the perfect mission statement for Recreate Responsibly too.

Back in the 1960's the Forest Service realized that land use was increasing and something had to be done. So the concepts of Leave No Trace were created. The idea spread and the concepts grew and changed into the principles of today.

It wasn't until 1994 that the organization made a full leap to be a non-profit organization. Once that happened the organization mobilized -- literally when it partnered with Subaru.

The organization today reaches millions of Americans and many international crowds to educate on the reason behind an outdoor ethic.

Everyone should learn develop an outdoor ethic.

Lets jump back to the beginning of this post about how land management officials haven't increased, but visitors have skyrocketed! Well if everyone developed a good outdoor ethic then there wouldn't be a need for law enforcement or babysitters when you're outside.

Think about it?

The member-driven Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics teaches people how to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. This copyrighted information has been reprinted with permission from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org


Bears vs. Campsite - Who Wins?

The Billings Gazette uploaded this video of ZooMontana's grizzly bears Ozzy and Bruno demonstrate the damage bears can do to a campsite when campers do not take precautions against bears




Do you know how to properly bear-proof your campsite? We may not have too many grizzly bears roaming around southern Utah, but there are bears. Worse than the bears is the chipmunks, squirrels and other rodents who eat through gear to get to food.

Here's a great list of 5 ways to bear-proof your campsite (many apply to animal-proofing your campsite).

1- Put food away in a suitable shelter or container.

2- Create a bear hang.

3- Handle food with care.

4- Avoid cooking strong smelling foods (except bacon is delicious).

5- Dispose of all food scraps, food particles, leftovers and containers properly.

Poor General Sherman

I came across this in the book Stewards of Access Custodians of Choice and thought it described perfectly the need for education on responsible outdoor recreation. I'm basically just typing it right out of the book:

On the western slop of California's Sierra Nevada stands the largest liing thing on Earth. The General Sherman Tree, known formall as Sequia gigantic, ismonumental both in its size and in its effect on those who visit it. The great tree has a diameter of more than 30 feet at the base. Rising skyward to a height of 120 feet, its truck is still 17 feet thick. Nearly 130 feet from the ground, the first large limb is almost seven feet in diameter. Finally, 272 feet abou the forest floor, is the top of its crown.

Standing beneath this giant sequoia, one is struck by its seemingly impregnable nature. Other trees are taller than the General Sherman, but none matches its volume. Moreover, its 1,385 tons bear down heavily on the observer. it is, in the words of Freeman Tilden, a "prodigious club." Having withstood the test of time )more than 2,500 years), the General Sherman Tree is a symbol of strength and security, a living fortress unto the ages.

How puzzling, the, that a young National Park Service naturalist should be toting bag after bag of ground cover to the base of this monarch. She explains that the root system of a giant sequoia penetrates only six feet into the earth, and that almost two feet of that soil have been worn away by the footsteps of admiring recreationists. Wanting to be photographed by the General Sherman Tree, to touch it, perhaps for a moment even to be fused with its greatness, well-meaning people inadvertently have removed one third of the big tree's foundation.

Millions of people, each year, flock to outdoor destinations in hopes of enjoying their splendor. As an individual, your footprint around the giant sequoia won't do much to threaten it. Times your footprint by the near million people that visit General Sherman and you get the sad tale above.

This tree, this giant tree that has withstood fires and storms since the ancient Greek philosophers were just starting to put out theories that would shape the Western world, is in threat of people loving it to death. And General Sherman isn't the only nature landmark in this predicament, many of our southern Utah areas are being loved to death.

So, that is where the Recreate Responsibly Day at SUU comes in. These great treasures all around us are meant to be enjoyed, but we have to be smart about what we are doing. We are planning on having many land management agencies (BLM, Forest Service, NPS, State Parks, etc.) and organizations or businesses who guide, outfit, or promote outdoor recreation on the Multipurpose Quad to help the southern Utah and SUU community learn what there is to do here and how to ... Recreate Responsibly.

The times to come are from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm on April 18th. We'll have a major giveaway of some SWEET outdoor gear and hourly giveaways of some smaller (but equally as AWESOME) gear. Most importantly you'll learn some great information on how to be smart while in the outdoors. You'll learn to not love our public lands to death.

 

 

   
   

Public Land: Vandalism and Theft

Check out this recent article by the Salt Lake Tribune.

Dinosaur footprint stolen from trail near Moab

That's pretty messed up huh?

Now, because of the actions of one person, the millions of visitors to Moab will only get to see a hole in the ground.

Here's another famous Utah public land story:



Stealing artifacts or blatant destruction like these are a far cry from what most people do when they are in the outdoors, but there are still a lot of things that we all do that affect other peoples experiences, and a lot of times we don't realize we're doing them.

Our careless actions (dropping food crumbs, using the bathroom where we shouldn't, going off trail, etc.) do more than just affect other people too. Wildlife are harmed through many of these actions. The land and resource itself is damaged. And these things lead land managers, both private and public, to have to regulate use.

That's the pits for everyone!

The purpose of Recreate Responsibly is so these sort of things don't happen; to educate the southern Utah community (specifically at Southern Utah University) on safe and sustainable outdoor recreation.

We are emphasizing the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace at the Recreate Responsibly Day, April 18 on SUU's campus.

The Seven Principles of LNT are:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

At the event we plan on teaching these principles to hopefully instill in the SUU community an outdoor ethic that will help stop stupid things from happening on public lands.

So come out to Recreate Responsibly Day at SUU on April 18, 2014 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Of course we'll have some giveaways and some entertainment, but most importantly there will be creation of safe and sustainable outdoor recreation.

Why You Should Come

Spending time outside is both beneficial and fun!

That being said, there are a lot more people out visiting parks and public lands. We want to help you understand and know how to safely get outdoors, but also how you can help keep lands open to the public by being responsible.

Lets look at some of the increasing numbers of visitors to THE BIG FIVE -- Utah's national parks:

Zion National Park

Data - irma.nps.gov

Arches National Park

Photo by NPS photo services / Data from irma.nps.gov

Bryce Canyon National Park

Photo by NPS photo services / Data from irma.nps.gov

Capitol Reef National Park

Photo by NPS photo services / Data from irma.nps.gov

Canyonlands National Park

Photo by NPS photo services / Data from irma.nps.gov

And what the heck, lets look at Grand Canyon National Park as well.

Photo by NPS photo services / Data from irma.nps.gov

As these areas -- and many, many more -- continue to see increasing numbers stop by and visit, land managers are facing some major issues.

• Trash and litter
• Human waste (the bathroom kind)
• Social trails
• Vandalism
• and more...

So, we want to educate you and everyone else on how to RECREATE RESPONSIBLY in these areas. If visitors are using safe and sustainable practices these areas won't only be available to future generations, but they will remain open for the public to access.

So come to Recreate Responsibly Day on April 18, 2014 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to learn more. There will be a grand prize giveaway and smaller giveaways every hour!