“No Trace” Travel
By: Tom Mercer on 10 05, 2007
I’m an avid hiker, and one of my favorite organizations is Leave No Trace. It’s not so much what they do as an organization as who they are and the ethics they promote. For those of you who don’t know, Leave No Trace is a non-profit dedicated to low-impact outdoor recreation (see their blog here). In particular, they work very closely with the National Parks and National Forests to promote low-impact camping techniques. If you’ve done much hiking, chances are that you’ve probably heard one of the slogans associated with Leave No Trace, such as “Pack it in, pack it out”or “Take only photos, leave only footprints.”
The great thing about the idea of “Leave No Trace” is that the specific practices of low impact camping and hiking flow so obviously from their basic principles. The idea is to leave the wilderness the way you found it, and the ways you can do so are myriad, including packing out all of your trash, not feeding wild animals, etc.
(And just a sidenote on Leave No Trace: after reading LNT’s basic principles, you might think these are all no-brainers, but when I was up in the Sierra Nevada wilderness this summer, I witnessed some appalling behavior by fellow campers, including an unwelcome fireworks show - literally, fireworks! - at 10pm on the shores of Garnet Lake during a period of very high fire danger.)
I’ve been thinking about Leave No Trace a lot recently, because what we’re trying to do here at Simple Green Choices is quite closely related, actually. We’re taking this idea of minimum impact and applying it to ALL types of travel… all over the world. With that in mind, let me suggest the following six principles as the core of low-impact travel:
- Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- Minimize Waste and Recycle
- Help Protect and Preserve in Natural Areas
- Be Culturally Sensitive
- Respect Wildlife and Biodiversity
- Support Local and Environmentally Responsible Businesses
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