Mastering "Leave No Trace"

Because LNT techniques are based on experience and research and are always evolving, it is not uncommon for a recommended practice to change as more information is discovered. LNT has been open to change from the beginning. Peggy, our Jedi, assures us there is no dogma. "People break rules just for fun. If you want something done, make a law against it," she tells us. "What we try to teach is an extension of people's love of the outdoors. It's a system of ethics. People need to be allowed to use their own judgment, and we give them the tools to make good decisions."

Like many of today's progressive groups, Leave No Trace grew out of a burgeoning 1960s sensibility—in this case, a return to nature. According to LNT, recreation visits to National Park Service areas grew five-fold over a 20-year period, from 33 million people in 1950 to 172 million in 1970 (and on up to 278 million in 1999). As the number of people hiking, camping, and backpacking increased, so did the damage to the wildlands these people were visiting. Campfire scars, soil erosion, litter, injury to root systems, and trampling of vegetation are just some of the injuries we were unintentionally visiting upon the world's most beautiful places.

At first, wilderness managers applied regulations in an attempt to curb the impact. Laws helped a bit, but they weren't the perfect solution, because the culprits were not malicious vandals, but rather folks whose newfound interest in the outdoors was not matched by an understanding of appropriate low-impact practices. Leave No Trace evolved out of the idea that education and awareness would be a lot more effective than hammering home a bunch of hard-and-fast rules.

In 1991, NOLS and the U.S. Forest Service worked together to offer a training course on minimum-impact ethics. This was the precursor to today's Master Educator courses, the chief method by which Leave No Trace ethics are disseminated. After certification, masters are expected to go out into the world and lead courses ranging from 16-hour trainings for professionals to informal information sessions at trailheads.