Hello everyone and welcome to St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitor Center. I'm Ranger Dave
and I'm Ranger Liz, and today were gonna talk about the 7 principles of "Leave No Trace".
Principle #1 "Plan Ahead and Prepare"
Use common sense 101, what are you gonna do before you go out?
Is check the different regulations of the site that your going to be at.
Tell someone where your going to be and how long your going to be out, and check the weather before you go as well.
Principle #2 "Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces"
When hiking, make sure you stick at the trail in front of you. Do not wander off and do not create any social trails.
While camping, try to do so in a pre-designated campsite like this one, which is hard packed durable surface.
The poison ivy behind me is not a good place to set up your tent, it would make for a very unenjoyable camping experience.
Principle #3 "Dispose of Your Waste Properly"
Don't just throw it into your campfire, bring a bag with you and throw your garbage away.
Also for your human waste, there are disposable toilets that you can buy at any store.
Principle #4 "Leave what you Find"
If your hiking around and find a pine bough that smells so good or some pine cones and you want to bring them home, you have to leave them there.
If your down by the river and you see rocks and you move them to make a cairn, you cannot do that, leave it there.
Or if you come upon a structure or a sign, don't mark it like this person did with some paints.
All the stuff we have here, like the pine bough, the pine cones and rocks are actually homes and food sources for animals that are in the area.
Principle #5 "Minimize Your Campfire Effects
What that basically means, when your camping and you have a fire ring, use it, do not create a new one just like they've done here.
Also if your allowed to collect dead and down, do so by collecting the smaller twigs. Do not collect anything live and do not cut anything live down.
As well, do not bury or burn any of your plastic garbage, leave that out , take it out with you.
If your allowed to bring wood from outside sources, please do so locally as to minimize the effect of introducing an invasive species into the ecosystem.
Principle #6 "Respect Wildlife"
Don't approach or follow them, that's harassment, and please don't feed them either!
The 7th and last principle of Leave No Trace is "Be Considerate of other Visitors"
When your camping, keep in mind that not everybody is pet friendly. So keep your pets on a leash at all times.
Also if your playing music (Woman Yelling) keep it down, people come to the forest and camping to enjoy nature and all its beauty.
These 7 principles were developed to help minimize the impact we have on the environment.
By following the "Leave No Trace" guidelines, you'll be doing your part where it matters most; the great outdoors.
We would also like to give a special thank you to Sean of Troop 347 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota for his donation of this amazing "Leave No Trace" exhibit.
For more information on "Leave No Trace", please visit lnt.org
Be like Bigfoot, "Leave No Trace"