The Need For Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace for the Boy Scouts of America The Need for Leave No Trace A National Education Program Designed to Teach Stewardship, Land Ethics, and Outdoor Skills

The Need for Leave No Trace Outdoor Skills & Ethics Let’s begin this session by stopping for just a minute to think about what kind of resource and social conditions we want to experience on our next Scout outing. Do we want to see noisy crowds of people engaged in high impact behaviors? Do we want to see enormous campsites whose vegetation is worn away, eroding soils and exposed tree roots, damaged and felled trees, and huge fire pits filled with trash? How about improperly disposed human waste just uphill from the spring?

Presentation Objectives Review the resource impacts that can result from outdoor recreational activities. Describe the level of BSA outdoor use and our reputation among land managers. Describe WHY a national Leave No Trace educational program is needed. The following slides will illustrate some of the impacts associated with our outdoor activities and are intended to provide a compelling reason for us to learn and apply Leave No Trace practices and ethics. Describe the objectives.

Overview of Visitor Impacts So, pull up a log at our virtual campfire and let’s take a quick look at some of the impacts that our outdoor activities can cause. Leave No Trace “Virtual” Campfire

Vegetation Impacts Vegetation loss Spread of non-native species Tree damage Think about the impacts to plants and soils that occur if you chose to create a new campsite or set up your tent just off the edge of an existing campsite. The vegetation would be quickly flattened and trampled down and the plants around your cooking area and tent would be killed. With additional traffic from others who find and reuse your campsite or tent site, the rest of the vegetation would be removed. A similar progression of impact occurs with concentrated off-trail hiking.

Soil Impacts Loss of organic litter Soil compaction Soil erosion Intensive trampling pulverizes and removes all organic litter, exposing the underlying soils to compaction and erosion. Within about 15 nights of use the area would look just like any other well-used campsite. Off-trail hiking can also lead to concentrated traffic and the proliferation of user-created informal trails with the same vegetation loss and soil exposure, compaction, and erosion.

Water Resource Impacts Turbidity, sedimentation Soap & fecal wastes Soils eroded from campsites and trails often find their way into springs, creeks, and lakes, where they cause turbidity and sedimentation that harm aquatic life. Campers who wash dishes with soap, including “biodegradable” soap, introduce harmful chemicals to the water that also harm aquatic life. And what do you think happens to the fecal material from campers who don’t bury their wastes when toilets aren’t available?

Wildlife Impacts Disturbance of wildlife Altered behavior Reduced health & reproduction Our activities can also harm wildlife. If we observe them too closely they will flee areas that may be important for their survival. If don’t store our food safely, wildlife will find it and chew holes in unattended gear, often ingesting harmful packaging. Fed wildlife often become aggressive campsite beggars that may bite campers. Some carry harmful diseases like rabies or the hanta virus.

Social Impacts Crowding Conflicts The way we behave in the out of doors can also degrade the experience of other visitors. Many outdoor visitors are seeking solitude and natural quiet – how will they react to a large group of Scouts? Does our presence create crowding or conflicts with other visitors?

Cultural Resource Impacts Theft of artifacts Damage to historic structures Damage to cultural features Visitor impacts to cultural and historic resources are particularly dire because these resources are irreplaceable – once degraded or lost they are gone forever.

Are recreation impacts really a problem? The impacts of heavy or intensive outdoor visitation really do impact the environment in ways that are both visually obvious and ecologically harmful. For most public land managers, their mandate to protect natural environments and processes is primary, recreational visitation is secondary. If outdoor visitors continue to increase in number and don’t adopt the best available low impact practices, land managers will limit our use or impose regulations such as banning campfires or restricting where we can camp.

Improving the Reputation of Scouts Troop 375 The Boy Scouts have had a very poor reputation among public land managers. Many land managers associate us with a variety of camping impacts, particularly those related to campfires and the improper use of hand tools. Do your scouts cut switchbacks on trails, do they widen trails by walking two or three abreast? Do they wash dishes in the creek? Do they leave behind uneaten food, trash, or unburied waste? Managers also hear complaints from other visitors about how loud we are or that we tend to dominate popular attraction features or camping areas. The good news is that our reputation is beginning to improve because of the BSA’s expanding adoption of Leave No Trace practices.

Loving Our Public Lands To Death? BSA: > 4 million members, 275 Councils, 138,000 units 50k Troops & 17k Crews = 300,000 weekend trips 10k weekend multi-group trips 5k week-long trips 1k week-long multi-group trips Estimated annual outdoor BSA use on public/private recreation lands: Over 10 million user days! However, many consider the BSA to be the “elephant in the woods” because of our large group sizes and numbers. BSA outings put more people in the out-of-doors than any other organization in the world. Statistics / Estimates as of 12/31/2016 Increasing visitation = Increasing impacts?

Why Leave No Trace ? Leave No Trace might seem unimportant until you consider the combined effects of millions of outdoor visitors. One poorly located campsite or campfire may have little significance, but thousands of such instances seriously degrade our natural resources. To protect our resources we must assume the responsibility to educate ourselves and practice the skills and ethics necessary to Leave No Trace. The actions of any single scout or troop may seem inconsequential, but it’s useful to always ask yourself and those who are with you, “What if everyone did that?” What if everyone enlarged a campsite, built a new fire ring, cut down a dead tree, or washed their dishes in the spring or creek? We all need to recognize the aggregate impacts of our camping and hiking practices and learn to reduce them by learning and adopting Leave No Trace practices.

The Leave No Trace Challenge Prevent avoidable resource and social impacts Minimize unavoidable impacts Preserve the quality of resources and recreation experiences The Leave No Trace Challenge is to: … Can anyone give me an example of an avoidable impact? How about a few more? (using a hand tool to cut limbs or dead trees for firewood, washing dishes in the creek, cooking with a fire instead of a stove, feeding wildlife or not storing food safely, ….) How about some examples of impacts that are mostly unavoidable but that can be minimized? (trampling on a trail – walk single file and don’t widen it, setting up a tent – find the most durable surface available, like rock or bare soil)

The Leave No Trace Seven Principles 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 This course is designed to teach you how to avoid or minimize your impacts by learning low impact practices organized around the seven Leave No Trace Principles.

Benefits of Applying Leave No Trace Better planning leads to safer trips and lighter packs Prevents avoidable impacts, minimizes unavoidable impacts Protects the quality of natural environments and recreation experiences Avoids or minimizes the need for restrictive management regulations or use limitations There are many benefits to learning and use low impact practices… Lighten your packs and gear by leaving behind heavy hand tools. Protect the environment and the quality of outdoor experiences for others by avoiding or minimizing impacts. Don’t give land managers more reasons for restricting our access to the public lands or for imposing restrictions or regulations. Work with them to help protect the quality of our outdoor environments and recreational experiences.

The End Leave No Trace ! Happy trails and remember to . . . Developed by Jeff Marion, jmarion@vt.edu Revision History Jeff Marion: Original and updates used for many years. ? - October 25, 2017: BSA Slide Template, Updated Usage Statistics MH – Feb 22, 2018: Updated logos and other graphics, added Revision History Happy trails and remember to . . . Leave No Trace !

Have Fun! Be sure to remember... Whatever you do... OUTDOOR ETHICS BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA ®

Instructional Session: Need for Leave No Trace Session Length: 30 minutes Materials Needed: “Need for Leave No Trace” (PowerPoint file) “Leave No Trace” National Park Service DVD Goals: As a result of this session, each participant should be able to: Describe different types of recreation impacts Discuss BSA’s current outdoor reputation Discuss usage levels of our recreation lands Discuss how much the BSA uses the outdoors Discuss how increased use leads to increased damage Discuss ethical and practical reasons for not causing this damage Understand that the Leave No Trace guidelines help in this effort Lesson Plan: Review the “Need for Leave No Trace” PowerPoint presentation. Explanations for the slides are given in the associated notes page view. The slide show can be printed out and used to ensure coverage of the content through other presentation mediums. Reason for session - This session is designed to introduce participants to the diverse array of recreation-related resource and experiential impacts that are associated with outdoor activities. The impacts are a concern regardless of the environmental setting, including Wilderness, backcountry, frontcountry, and Scout properties. A genuine understanding of the Leave No Trace Principles is built on the foundation of understanding these impacts and why Leave No Trace practices and ethics are needed to avoid or minimize them. The BSA has a special obligation to address these impacts because of its large membership, its substantial use of public lands, and its unique role in teaching outdoor practices to millions of youth. This presentation is not designed to be a “plug and play” – the instructor needs to become familiar with each slide and use his/her own experience to bring each point alive. Leave No Trace video - The video/DVD “Leave No Trace” produced by the National Park Service makes an excellent 9 1/2 minute wrap up to this session.