Preface and Acknowledgements
The purpose of this manual is to further Leave No Trace skills and awareness
of outdoor ethics. The Boy Scouts of America has adopted the principles of Leave
No Trace, which are easy to learn and apply. As each principle is learned, it
should be applied. Every outing and activity should be conducted with Leave No
Trace in mind. As young people mature, we will enjoy an increasingly beautiful
environment because of the impact of their training in Leave No Trace.
As
members of the Boy Scouts of America, we should be good stewards of our
environment through knowledgeable use of resources. This manual can serve as a
major tool in our efforts to teach others the importance of our relationship
with the environment. We all must take responsibility for our decisions when we
use the outdoors, and we should treat the environment with respect so future
generations can enjoy the outdoors as we do today.
Contact federal and state
land management agencies for additional information. (Check the blue pages of
your local telephone directory.) Additional resources are available on the
Internet at http://www.blm.gov/education/lnt or from the Leave No Trace Web
site, http://www.lnt.org; by telephoning 800-332-4100; through local land
managers; and through the BSA Supply catalog.
This manual contains a variety of
activities designed to teach the skills necessary to earn the Leave No Trace
Awareness Award. As you review the manual you will realize how easy these
lessons are to prepare. You can focus many months of weekly activities on
teaching and learning Leave No Trace skills and ethics.
Use a single concept
from the section called Background on the Principles of Leave No Trace one week,
and the next week work on the corresponding concept from the Quick Concepts
section. The Background on the Principles of Leave No Trace provides essential
information required to understand Leave No Trace principles. The Quick Concepts
section presents activities that require little preparation. Each activity takes
only about 15 to 30 minutes. Weekly meetings can also be used to work on the
merit badges needed to qualify for the award.
The Activity Plans section
provides in-depth Leave No Trace activities for your monthly campout. These
activities will require more preparation and will take 45 to 75 minutes to
complete. Campouts may be used as Leave No Trace- related service projects.
It
is also recommended that adults and youths take the opportunity to participate
in other activities such as Conservation Good Turn and the William T. Hornaday
Awards, and earn other awards related to conservation and our environment. Any
part of this manual may be reproduced and used in any manner that will help
further knowledge of Leave No Trace principles, skills, and ethics.
Acknowledgments
We thank the following people for their time and efforts in
making this handbook possible: Scott Reid, Leave No Trace Inc.; Jeff Marion,
U.S. Geological Survey; Kelly Hartsell, National Park Service; Aaron Gale, Anne
Robinson, Doug Robinson, Kay Russon, and Dave Witt, Utah National Parks Council;
Fred Jepsen and David Munford, Great Salt Lake Council; Kim Hardcastle, Trapper
Trails Council; Bill Wagner and Stew Jacobson, Bureau of Land Management; Sarah
Flinders and Randy Welsh, U.S. Forest Service; Bruce Powell, National Park
Service; and Martin Ott, State of Utah Department of Natural Resources.
Special
thanks go to Donald M. Gale, chairman of Leave No Trace for the Utah National
Parks Council and advisor for the Tu-Cubin-Noonie Lodge of Order of the Arrow,
for developing the prototype of this handbook.
Information for this handbook was extracted from Teaching Leave No Trace, a
booklet published by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service
that contains activities to teach responsible backcountry skills.