Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Let's breakdown how each Leave NO Trace Principle helps reduce our impact. 1. Plan and Prepare: By doing both of these things before your next adventure you can help minimize the damage to the land by being familiar with the route you will be taking. 2. Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces: Trails are very common in most areas, but there's not always a designated trail and then there are times when we may have to go off trail to 💩. Knowing what surfaces are safe to move on to reduce vegetation loss and reduce erosion impacts is vital. Travel on rocks, gravel, and sand to help minimize the impact. 3. Dispose of waste properly: There's trash and then there's YOUR BODY WASTE. Knowing how to dispose of your waste can be different from place to place. Properly knowing the disposal procedure is such an important factor to not contaminate water sources. 4. Leave what you find: "and leave it how you found it". The concept of this is for people to not pick flowers, rocks, and other cool nature finds, but it goes beyond that. The tree didn't have your name on it before you arrived so leave it how you found it, Refrain from carving your name into trees and rocks. 5. Minimize Campfire Impacts: Not all areas are suitable. Knowing the areas fire restrictions when visiting is key. Using existing fire rings can help reduce impacts. The most important factor of this is properly putting out your fire. Do not leave a fire unattended until it is COOL to TOUCH to avoid causing a wildfire. 6. Respect Wildlife: They're called wildlife for a reason they are WILD! Wildlife deserve/require the space that they live in, so enjoy them from a distance. Properly storing your food and refraining from feeding them Iis key. The saying is a fed bear is a dead bear, well that applies to most wildlife. Feeding animals does nothing, but harm them in their future hunt for food. 7. Be considerate of others: Many people enjoy the sounds of nature and choose to escape the city life for this reason. So leave your speakers and music at home and enjoy the sounds of nature. We hope this helps you better understand leave no trace!