Seven Principles

Roaring River State Park, Missouri: This past weekend we spent time fishing and hiking at a trout stocked, spring fed river in Missouri. Missouri State Parks stocks the Roaring River with up to 1,400 rainbow and brown trout on busy weekends for the 600 plus anglers that visit and attempt to either catch their first fish or a lunker. There are over 50 million anglers in United States, making it one of the most popular and oldest sports. With such a large amount of people getting out to use the nation’s waterways, utilizing Leave No Trace skills and ideas can alleviate the impacts that anglers...

Carlsbad Caverns, Arizona: Caves are one of nature’s most amazing environments to explore and challenge oneself in. Unfortunately, visitors to caves can have an impact on the fragile features and wildlife that exists under our feet. If people use good judgment and travel through caves with knowledgeable people, then cave related impacts can be minimized. In order to find knowledgeable cavers, check your local chapter of the National Speleological Society (NSS). In order to plan ahead and prepare for your cave travels, educate yourself on a variety of topics. Ask for permission before entering...

This past Friday the e-tour wrapped up the Explore Your Parks 2011 series made possible by The North Face, Good Solutions Group and Angel Island State Park . A perfect setting to teach local school children, Angel Island easily illustrated the importance of learning to 'Trash Your Trash'. With the waves lapping nearby it became very apparent where any loose litter would end up. The groups were also treated to a ranger led interpretive tour of the immigration station, a defining piece of American history. Warm sun and calm seas made for a fair weather ferry ride where onlookers soaked in...

Earlier this year, we met Buckeye Flash, who was planning on hiking the Appalachian Trail. He completed his journey earlier this month and we asked him to explain how he used Leave No Trace while on the trail: On March 22, 2011, I began my attempt to thru-hike the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail (AT). I started at Springer Mountain, Georgia (southern terminus) and hoped to reach Mt. Katahdin (northern terminus) in Baxter State Park in Maine before it closed in mid-October. To say that I was inexperienced would be a huge understatement. My previous hiking was basically limited to a dozen or so...