Boy Scouts of America

Outdoor Ethics

Active Scouts

From a Cub Scout’s first hike in a local park to the thrill of our High Adventure bases, from our backyard to the backcountry, our outdoor ethics guide us to be responsible outdoor citizens — protecting our natural world for generations to come and being considerate of other visitors.  Scouting has a long, proud tradition of conservation service to the nation. How do we maintain our outdoor ethics and preserve that tradition? By heeding the challenge in the Outdoor Code:

As an American, I will do my best to—

  • Be clean in my outdoor manners.
  • Be careful with fire.
  • Be considerate in the outdoors.
  • Be conservation-minded.

Building upon this foundation, the Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Venturing, and Sea Scout programs all include outdoor stewardship, care for the environment, and Leave No Trace as part of their programs. At the Scouts BSA level, youth are encouraged to take leadership positions in encouraging proper outdoor ethics using the principles of Leave No Trace. Many Venturing crews have similarly adapted Leave No Trace principles to guide their outdoor recreation activities.  Through the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace, we can take responsibility for our own impacts. We can provide leadership to those around us to reduce their impacts by making good choices. Together, we can preserve and conserve our rich environmental heritage.

Scouts and Venturers who embrace the Outdoor Code and the principles of Leave No Trace often find that they wish to give back and help protect the environment that has given them so much. Some may find that they are “wild with love for the green outdoors—the trees, the tree-top singers, the wood-herbs, and the nightly things that left their tracks in the mud,” in the words of Ernest Thompson Seton, the first Chief Scout. These Scouts and Venturers have begun to feel what Aldo Leopold called the “Land Ethic.” The Land Ethic extends our concern beyond our fellow Scouts and Venturers, our families and friends, and even humanity itself to the entire environmental community of which we are a part—the deserts, forests, fish, wildlife, plants, rocks, oceans, and web of life encompassing them—what Leopold called “the Land.”

 The BSA has partnered with Tread Lightly! to provide specific practical outdoor ethics guidance for motorized activities.


Promoting Outdoor Ethics in the BSA Outdoor Program

Scouting has incorporated outdoor ethics at all program levels.   To learn even more about outdoor ethics, many Scouts, Venturers and adults earn the BSA Outdoor Ethics Awareness and Action Awards.   

The troop Outdoor Ethics Guide is a youth who supports learning the skills, practices and ethics needed for responsible outdoor recreation.   The guide is coached by an adult advisor.

Both youth and adult members, especially those who are teaching outdoor skills to others, are encouraged to take specialized courses to learn Leave No Trace skills.

Many councils have an Outdoor Ethics Advocate and Leave No Trace Level 1 & 2 Instructors who provide leadership to their local units, districts and council in learning and practicing good outdoor ethics.    Council Outdoor Ethics Advocates and Conservation Chairs are supported by Outdoor Ethics & Conservation Coordinators and Outdoor Ethics & Conservation Managers.

The BSA Outdoor Ethics and Conservation Subcommittee organizes monthly roundtables, hosts a national conference, and provides resources for everyone teaching and promoting outdoor ethics in Scouting:

Do you have questions about Scouting’s outdoor ethics? Email us at outdoorethics@scouting.org 

Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.