Meet Lester Lightfoot, a red fox whose job is to
convince all trail users to be respectful of wild animals and the
wild places he and his relatives inhabit.
As Smokey Bear has shown, animals can communicate some messages
more effectively than humans, says Stacy Studebaker, the Kodiak
artist and retired science teacher who created Lester. And like
Smokey, Lester has a motto that always accompanies him; "We
are known by the tracks we leave."
A red fox that appeared on Stacyıs cabin doorstep one winter and
left his little footprints on a nearby beach inspired the development
of Lester. A friend took several photos of the fox that Stacy named
"Lester Lightfoot". The photos developed into the cartoon fox that
Stacy now uses for trail use education.
"I went for a walk on the beach one morning after kids had been
4 wheeling there and was intrigued by the pattern created by the
combination of tracks in the sand which included human foot prints,
fox and bird tracks, and 4-wheeler tracks. I thought about some
dinosaur tracks Iıd seen in sandstone in Arizona and the motto "We
are known by the tracks we leave" popped into my head."
The fox seemed like the perfect animal to convey educational messages
about Alaskan trails. "Most people regard foxes as smart and handsome,"
Studebaker says. "They are beautiful creatures with their fluffy
tails and contrasting colors. They are fun to draw too. People also
encounter them or their tracks often so they are familiar critters
that have been a subject of folklore forever. When foxes pass through
the land, they donıt leave much impact behind."
Lester is a handsome-looking fellow who wears knee-high rubber
boots, a red bandana, and a custom baseball hat with holes for his
ears to poke out. "I gave him the red, white and blue look because
I wanted him to be subtly all-American." She paid great attention
to detail, even drawing Lester with a round tummy so as not to appeal
to only athletic types.
The foxy Lester first appeared in a Kodiak Borough-funded brochure
that explains why riding in streams can damage salmon habitat and
shows the locations of legal stream crossings. He also has been
adopted as the mascot for Alaska Trails, a nonprofit group dedicated
to statewide trail protection and enhancement.
This summer, Lester showed up on a new Hiking and Birding Guide
for Kodiak Island saying, "Please respect the land."
The following was adapted from a similar article written by
the artist Stacy Studebaker, and used with her permission.
