Since Earth Day was a few days ago, I thought it would be appropriate to remind everyone of the Leave No Trace principles. And with peak hiking season upon us, let's make sure we....well..leave no trace when hiking or camping in the outdoors.

Many of us have taken a pine cone or rock, veered off the trail to dodge mud puddles, gotten too close to wildlife or tossed an apple core into the woods. While these actions may seem harmless at the time, until we learn to reduce our impact, the quality of our outdoor experiences and the recreational resources we enjoy are at critical risk. Also at risk is our continued access to wildlands as land management agencies sometimes take restrictive action to protect the resources they manage. Unless, of course, education catches up with behavior, and we all learn to leave the outdoors as unchanged as possible by our presence.

To curve environmental damage created by hikers and campers, seven principles were drafted as a form of outdoor ethics.

Leave No Trace is not a set of rules or regulations. Nor is it simply about remembering exactly what minimum impact skill you can practice in every outdoor situation-how far you should camp from water sources, where to pitch your tent, how to build a minimum impact fire or if you should build one in the first place. Rather, it is first and foremost and attitude and an ethic. Leave No Trace is about respecting and caring for wildlands, doing your part to protect our limited resources and future recreation opportunities. Once this attitude is adopted and the outdoor ethic is sound, the specific skills and techniques become second nature.

This summer, before you hit the trails, here are the seven principles to keep in mind:

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

For a detailed overview of the principles, check out the Leave No Trace website.

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