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.