Boy Scouts of America
OUTDOOR ETHICS
Leave No Trace
Camping
Presentation Objectives
• Knowledge of Leave No Trace and its seven
principles.
• Understanding the importance of Leave No
Trace in outdoor activities.
• Where to locate additional Leave No Trace
resources and opportunities for further
Leave No Trace training.
Wilderness Act of 1964
Exponential Increases in Outdoor
Recreational Visits to Public Lands
Outdoor Recreational Visitations
Wilderness Recreation
Visitation Days
• 1975
7 Million
• 1985
15 Million
• 2000
20 Million
• National Park
Visitations
• 1950
33 Million
• 1970
172 Million
• 2000
287 Million
Combined Visitations to Public Lands
• 2000
Over 900 Million
Elephant in the woods?
BSA Estimated Use:
30,000,000 DAYS!
BSA should be part of
the solution.
Are we?
• Common perceptions by Federal land
management agencies about BSA units on
federal land:
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Kids out of control
Too much noise
Group sizes too big
Camping skills badly out of date
Inappropriate play damages the backcountry
Don't keep appointments to do service work
Completely soak up popular campsites or shelters
Unskilled campers using areas that call for expert
skills
• Using inappropriate areas (hi-use, fragile) to train
new campers
• and on and on and on...
IMPACTS
IMPACTS
IMPACTS
IMPACTS
IMPACTS
Vegetation Impacts
• Vegetation loss
• Spread of
non-native species
• Tree damage
Soil Impacts
• Soil compaction
• Soil erosion
• Loss of organic
litter
Wildlife Impacts
• Disturbance of
wildlife
• Altered behavior
• Reduced health &
reproduction
Water Resource Impacts
• Turbidity,
sedimentation
• Food scraps, soap,
& fecal wastes
• Animal access
points blocked
Social Impacts
• Crowding
• Conflicts
• Noise
Cultural Resource Impacts
• Theft of artifacts
• Damage to
historic structures
• Damage to
cultural features
Loving our public lands to death!
Increased
Visitation =
Increased
Impacts
Regulate Usage?
 Regulations
antagonize the
public
 Enforcement of
regulations is
difficult and
expensive
 Most impacts are not
due to malicious acts
Preservation Ethic
U.S. Forest
Service
National Park
Service
Education Not Legislation
Boy Scouts of
America
Bureau of Land
Management
U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service
What Is Leave No Trace?
(and why BSA chose it)
• The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics says:
– Leave No Trace is an national and international program designed
to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to
reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run,
bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program
strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature
of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and
minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an
educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and
regulations.
• Program is organized around the Seven Principles of
Leave No Trace. Like Scouting, Leave No Trace aims at
character development.
Leave No Trace Video
Principles of Leave No Trace
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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.
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Campers who plan ahead:
• Can avoid unexpected situations
• Minimize their impact by
– complying with area regulations such as
observing limitations on group size.
Travel & Camp on Durable
Surfaces
Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
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Rock
Gravel
Sand
Compacted soil,
Dry grasses
Snow
Travel & Camp on Durable Surface
Concentrate Activity
• In high-use areas
• Where vegetation is already absent
• Use existing trails
• Use designated or
existing campsites
• Keep campsites small
Travel & Camp on Durable Surface
cont’d
Spread Out
• In more remote, less-traveled areas
• When hiking, different paths to avoid
creating new trails
• Disperse tents & cooking activites
• Move camp daily
• Always use durable surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
• Sanitation
– Proper disposal prevent spread of disease and
exposure to others.
Dispose of Waste Properly
(Pack It In, Pack It Out)
• Wastewater
– Strain food particles from dishwater
– Dispose of dishwater at least 200 feet from
water source.
• Human Waste
– Catholes 6 to 8 inches deep
– 200 feet from water, trails, & campsites.
Leave What you Find
• Allow others a sense of discovery, and
preserve the past.
– Leave rocks, plants, animals, archaeological
artifacts, and other objects.
Leave What you Find
• Minimize Site Alterations
– Do not dig tent trenches or build lean-tos, tables
or chairs.
– Never hammer nails into trees or use hatchets
or saws
– Replace surface rocks or twigs that you clear
from campsite
Minimize Campfire Impacts
• Chose not to have fire if
• Wood is scarce
• High elevation
• Desert setting
• Lightweight camp stoves
make low-impact camping
Minimize Campfire Impacts
• If you build a fire:
– Use existing campfire ring
– Keep fire small
– Burn all wood to ash
Respect Wildlife
• Quick movements and loud noises are
stressful to animals.
Respect Wildlife
• Observe wildlife from afar
• Give animals a wide berth,
especially during breeding,
nesting, & birthing season.
• Store food securely
• Keep garbage and food scraps away from
animals
Be Considerate of Other Visitors.
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Travel & camp in small groups
Keep noise down (leave electronics home)
Select campsites away from other groups
Travel & camp quietly
Colors of clothing & gear blend in
Respect private property
Leave gates as found (open or closed)
Scouting and Leave No Trace
• Scouting and Leave No Trace have a long
partnership
Literature: Boy Scout Handbook, Fieldbook
Awards: Cub Scout & Boy Scout Leave No Trace Award
Venturing Ranger Award
Scouting Is Moving to the Next
Level of Outdoor Ethics Emphasis:
• Boy Scouts
– New chapter 7 in Handbook
– New advancement
requirements:
• Second Class: Know
principles
• First Class: Demonstrate
principles
– New Troop position of
responsibility: Leave No
Trace Trainer (note: patch
is concept draft only)
• Cub Scouts & Venturing
– Revised Awareness Awards
What This Partnership Means for the
Local Council
• Leaders will want to learn about Leave No
Trace to facilitate youth advancement
• Youth will want to learn Leave No Trace
principles and skills to advance.
• Youth will want to qualify for Leave No
Trace Instructor and Trainer positions
How Leave No Trace
Training Is Delivered
• Leave No Trace Trainers deliver the Leave No
Trace Principles and skills to units and
individuals.
• Leave No Trace Master Educators train Leave
No Trace Trainers.
• The Challenge:
– Training a Trainer requires a minimum 16 hour course
– Training a Master Educator requires a five day, five
night course
BSA Leave No Trace
Training Continuum
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Awareness Workshop
In-Unit Training by Youth or Adults
Leave No Trace 101
Leave No Trace Trainer Course
Leave No Trace Master Educator Course
BSA Leave No Trace
Training Continuum
• Awareness Workshops
– Goal: Awareness about Leave No Trace
– Instructor: May be taught by anyone with knowledge,
trained individuals preferred
– Course: Can be any length of time period, with content
varying on time and desired coverage
– Great for Roundtables, Camporees and tailored
presentations to units getting ready to go out to field
BSA Leave No Trace
Training Continuum
• In-Unit Training by Youth and Adults
– Goal: Unit program specific training
– Instructor:
• Cub Scouts—unit adult, Boy Scout or Venturer having at least
BSA LNT 101, if possible
• Boy Scouts/Varsity Scouts—youth Instructor (if BSA LNT
101) or Trainer (if LNT Trainer Course)
• Venturing—typically a youth Trainer (if LNT Trainer Course)
– Course: Varies by unit needs
BSA Leave No Trace
Training Continuum
• BSA Leave No Trace 101
– Goal: General introduction to Leave No Trace
– Instructor: Leave No Trace Trainer
– Syllabus: BSA Leave No Trace 101 Course Guide,
minimum of 3 hours
– Earn: BSA Leave No Trace Awareness Card
– Recommended training course for Troop Leave No
Trace Instructors, Venturers, and adults responsible for
Leave No Trace Awareness Awards and advancement
BSA Leave No Trace
Training Continuum
• BSA Leave No Trace Trainer
– Goal: Strong knowledge of Leave No Trace principles,
ethic and skills; ability to teach others
– Instructor: Master Educator
– Syllabus: BSA Leave No Trace Trainer Course
Manual, minimum 16 hours course.
– Earn: Leave No Trace Trainer status
– Required training for Troop Leave No Trace Trainer
position of responsibility or others seeking Trainer
status.
– BSA will accept Trainers taught by other Leave No
Trace recognized Master Educators.
BSA Leave No Trace
Training Continuum
• BSA Leave No Trace Master Educator
– Goal: Comprehensive knowledge of Leave No Trace
principles, skills and ethic and ability to teach and
motivate others
– Instructor: Instructors appointed by National Council
– Syllabus: Leave No Trace Master Educator Handbook
and BSA Supplement, minimum of five days/nights.
– Earn: Master Educator status, membership with Leave
No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics
– BSA will accept Master Educators trained by other
providers recognized by Leave No Trace Center for
Outdoor Ethics (NOLS, AMC, WEA, Nine-Mile, etc.)
Additional Resources
• Official:
– Frank Reigelman, Director of Outdoor Programs
– Eric Hiser, Chair, BSA Leave No Trace Task Force
– www.outdooretnics-bsa.org (BSA Leave No Trace task force
website)
– www.scouting.org
– Boy Scout Handbook, Fieldbook and Teaching Leave No Trace,
No. 21-117
– www.lnt.org – website of Leave No Trace Center
• Semi-Official
– BSALNTME Yahoo group (contact Eric Hiser)