Boy Scouts of America

The Practice: Making Responsible Outdoor Decisions

What is outdoor ethics? Outdoor ethics is the Scout’s guide to making recreational choices that reduce impact to the land and preserve outdoor experiences for others.

Scouting’s statement of outdoor ethics is the Outdoor Code. The Outdoor Code is augmented by the land ethic, supported by principles and ethical decision-making skills of the Leave No Trace Seven Principles, and supplemented by the principles and skills of Tread Lightly!.

The land ethic is a change in how we relate to the land. It helps us to move from a position of conqueror and user of the land to a member and citizen of the land. It implies that the land has a right to be respected and continue to exist. “The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.”1

Ethical decision making as related to the outdoors considers a desired action and what impact it has on the land, identifies alternatives, and chooses the one of least impact. This is demonstrated by Aldo Leopold in his writing: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”2

The first step to embracing outdoor ethics is to recognize that outdoor activities cause an impact to the land, water, natural resources, animals, and people. Once one accepts this, one can then realize choices exist that increase, neutralize, or remove that impact. Practicing outdoor ethics is the art of recognizing these choices and selecting the action that reduces impacts when possible.

 

You can download the Outdoor Ethics Guide Handbook, here.

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.