What is the best way for my family to reduce our impact when visiting a natural woods?

Question

Oh, Mr Jello, your revving 4 x 4 Jeep is ruining the environment and .... my romantic daydream. I saw us sauntering barefoot through the trees, hand in hand, pausing to gaze at the wildlife, then spreading out a blanket under an old oak tree for a lovely relaxed late afternoon picnic, oh well ...... *sigh*

Answer 1

Practice the "leave no trace" philosophy, which includes packing out waste. This could be extended to include abstaining from building fires, even where permitted, as the burning of materials produces smoke and removes materials that would have provided food and shelter for many species.

Stay on the trail, and don't step off when puddles or other obstacles are encountered, just go right through or over them if possible. Many well-used trails widen with heavy use, removing habitat in an almost invisible way. The problem with this advise is that some parks close trails after heavy rains, others don't, and if you go through the puddle, eventually you've got a rut, and you've impacted the trail.

Don't take shortcuts. I've talked to people cutting the corners on switchbacks, and they usually get nasty or defensive. But the shortcuts usually result in unnecessary erosion.

Keep your voices down. Guaranteed the wildlife knows you're there, for the most part. Loud voices or activity can cause animals to alter their natural behavior, and could inadvertently make their search for food more difficult, for example.

Don't collect souvenirs. I work at a nature center, and the other day a young girl and her mom came in off the trail with a bag full of pine cones. We had a talk about the squirrels using them for food and she put them back, but I felt bad and will probably go back and clarify our posted rules so people can understand why they are in place.

If you want to satisfy your curiousity by lifting a rock to see what's underneath, put the rock back just as you found it. That way your curiousity is satisfied, and the rock can continue to provide shade, trap seed material, or provide whatever function it was serving before your passage.

When you encounter wildlife, don't try to get closer to get that great photograph, as the animal may then expend energy to avoid you that it could use in some other pursuit. How close it too close? It depends. Let the animal come towards you, or just enjoy the view you have and carry a camera with a good zoom so you can get your shot.

I'm sure others will add more. Great question, people don't think about this enough. On a recent trip to Kings Canyon I packed to a site that the trail maintenance crews use during their projects. The site was far more heavily impacted than on my last visit. I didn't complain to the NPS, but documented it with my camera. Hard to tell how much those impacts are affecting the site, but it was certainly disappointing to see that people that are otherwise doing good work are also creating potential problems by not treading lightly.

Answer 2

Don`t wear shoes ,that way you will make sure where to put your feet.

Carry any trash you end up with from the picnic,out with you

Don`t make any noise and you will see much more

If you make a fire ,dig a hole first with the sand spread around the hole ,And make the fire in the hole ,drink some beer so that you can put it out when you leave ,but take the cans out with you.

And do not kill anything unless you are on the brink of starvation of course

Don`t touch any eggs.
Stay on the paths if there are any.

Basically leave the place as you find it
.
Happy hiking

Answer 3

I think that is a great idea!!!! However you can also put a filtration system on your sink faucet too... it may be cheaper and you wouldn't have to waste resources - such as gas for delivery. It would be better for the government to offer a small cash back incentive for those that put the filtration systems in their home and this way more people would do it - apartment complexes could get money back for updating their faucets to code etc. It could be a movement, just like the eco friendly light bulbs. Also, I think that the idea of selling more things in concentrate is awesome too. :) Bravo!

Answer 4

Stay on the trail, don't take down spider webs (they worked hard on those) don't yell or talk loud (you will see more and get the feeling of mother nature's bueaty) also, pick up any trash you may have left behind... don't kill anything. Try not to squash bugs, and have fun!!!

Answer 5

By putting the Jeep in 4x4 mode when going up the hills.

I love getting out into the national parks in the Jeep.

Answer 6

Take only pictures, leave only footprints.