Sharing The Outdoors

The Outdoors Are For Everyone

Leave No Trace is for all people and our organization recognizes that every person’s relationship with the outdoors and the natural world is unique and personal. We believe in and are committed to working towards a world in which everyone is safe and welcome in the outdoors, in which all are equally included, represented, and have equal access to cultivate the personal connection that can inspire people to enjoy the outdoors responsibly.

"We strive to continually evolve as individuals, an organization, and as an ethic as we commit to working towards an outdoors scene that welcomes everyone."

Dana Watts

Leave No Trace Executive Director

We Pledged Our Support

Visit the "In Solidarity Project."

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Current Initiatives & Ongoing Work

Leave No Trace staff and Board have developed in-depth goals to move the organization and the Leave No Trace Community forward in our commitment to more welcoming outdoors. In the spirit of this being a movement, not a moment, we acknowledge that these programs, initiatives, and goals will continue to evolve and grow over time.

Leave No Trace information and curriculum updates

We have updated Leave No Trace curriculum materials to eliminate problematic/outdated terminology that was used in our previous publications.
Our Social Media Guidelines have been updated to make it explicit that Leave No Trace does not condone using Leave No Trace materials or teachings to shame anyone in the outdoors, as everyone who recreates outdoors should feel respected and welcome.
We have added translation options for multiple languages other than English to our web pages.
We honor Indigenous Peoples and cultural ways of stewarding the land, practiced from time immemorial to this day.

Staff development and participation

An extensive information center is available for all staff members to learn from and add to.
The staff takes part in related reading-group discussions once a month at an all-staff meeting to encourage internal discussion, awareness, and knowledge around the intersection of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion with outdoor recreation.
Staff participation in trainings are tracked on a yearly basis, and continuing education and participation in such trainings is greatly encouraged and financially supported by the organization.
A staff working group was created to address and develop values and core frameworks within the organization, which continue to be integrated and addressed in the organization’s ongoing Strategic Plan.

Partnering with outside organizations centered around this work in order to amplify and support under-represented voices and experiences within the outdoor community

We engage with tribal partners to develop targeted education campaigns that increase traveler awareness of how to minimize recreation and cultural impacts when visiting Tribal Lands.
We have partnered with Region 9 of the United States Forest Service to build our Urban Connections course to provide education on how Leave No Trace applies in city centers.
We have partnered with The Outdoorist Oath to create our Share the Lands course.

Working to make outdoor spaces accessible is fundamental to the core mission of Leave No Trace – to ensure a sustainable future for the outdoors and the planet for all people, present and future.

Leave No Trace acknowledges that the lands we enjoy through our outdoor activities are the traditional and ancestral lands of Indigenous Peoples and First Nations.