Have you heard about the bag of Cheetos that literally threatened the balance of nature at Carlsbad Caverns? Greg and I witness a similar issue everyday as campground hosts and in our nomadic travels. (Sigh)

Great or small we all leave an impact wherever we go.

Erich B. Koenig, NPS

What Does Leave No Trace Even Mean?

If the public is willing to trash national treasures, why should we be surprised at what we often find left behind by campers?

Most of the over 50 campgrounds we have stayed at over the last year have had a sign that references “Leave No Trace” at the entrance. Not only are people notorious for not reading signs and instructions, but the phrase on its own doesn’t FEEL very important. You have to know exactly what it means and how your participation matters in order to drive the positive behaviors behind the important words on the sign.

In a nutshell, “leave no trace” means that after enjoying the great outdoors, there should be nothing left behind that shows a human was ever there. Not even footprints! (Yes, some people even carry a collapsible rake or broom to remove their own footprints.) Leave no trace of YOURSELF! And, really, if you only leave footprints, you are a saint.

What “Traces” Do We Find as Volunteers?

As we approach each campsite we play the “what doesn’t belong here” game. Things in nature are never perfectly symmetrical with straight lines. Nature is also not typically made up of shiny, neon-colored items. If we see glimmering items we expect to find broken glass, glitter and pieces of plastic bags at the very least.

In so many cases campers really do try to pick up everything. They go home feeling good about how they left things. The problem isn’t always leaving big trash. It’s easy to lose track of tiny trash. Special care needs to be taken with these tiny bits of micro trash. It longs to be with its larger friends in the dumpster!

Foodstuffs

Speaking of nutshells…they are trash. So are sunflower seed shells, banana peels, bread, buns, garlic skin, eggshells, coffee grounds, shrimp tails, pizza slices, clam shells, corn husks, chips, watermelon rinds, leftover dog food, cereal, crackers…the list is endless.

Despite popular belief, the squirrels, raccoons and birds are not going to descend and eat all of the scraps upon your departure! Most human foods are not healthy for them and are certainly not native to them.

Also, if you have a 1:00 pm checkout time, your scraps might still be there in all their glory for the next camper to enjoy when they arrive shortly thereafter. Yuck. And throwing your scraps into the woods doesn’t make it any better. If it wasn’t there when you arrived, why on earth should it be there when you depart?

Grooming Items

Each and everyday we find the following grooming items left behind on campsites: tooth flossers, floss, used bandages along with every, single part of the adhesive tabs, toothpicks, ponytail holders, bobby pins, dried toothpaste on the ferns from where it was spit out and piles and piles of dog fur from the dog brushing party.

Party Items

It’s the weekend! Let’s go into the woods and have a glittery party with lots of balloons and beer! On Sundays we clean up many balloon pieces, a ton of shiny things, broken glass, corks, bottle caps dug into the dirt, confetti, ribbon, cigarette butts, cigar halves and so much more!

Food Packaging and Miscellaneous Trash

Bright and shiny, just waiting for a little critter to investigate and choke on. Perfectly normal to find chip bags, juice pouches and their clear straw wrappers, mini candy bar wrappers, CORNERS of any torn off package, wire bread ties, square plastic bread fasteners, batteries, paper clips (old school office work in the woods, I guess?), Hershey’s Kiss and other candy foils, couch cushions and a Big Wheel thrown into the woods, dog toys, at least five footballs so far, bottles (glass and plastic), cans, cellophane from a fresh package of cigarettes (I’ll just toss it in the ferns, makes sense)….

I wish that tent manufacturers would STOP with the rubber bands and small, clear plastic tubes. It is so far against Leave No Trace that they should take notice! The very industry they cater to and they add to the trash problem.

Does no one value coins anymore? We collect all denominations from the dirt on campsites. As a result we are now Gates-Buffett status. We’ll be ordering our Pottery Barn Airstream in a few days.

Dog Poop

No words…

Who Cleans Up the Mess?

Public Lands Camping

Ahh, the beautiful sunsets in the desert with the Saguaro Cacti and, wait, what’s that smell?

On public camping lands it might make sense to leave something behind that will break down over time. But it takes literally years for most things. And many of those food scraps are dangerous for native animals and the environment. And for the most part on public lands there is no one who comes behind you to clean up your mess.

When we boondocked across Arizona last year on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land we were greeted by hundreds of piles of dog poop and gallon containers full of urine…where people had been camping for free…just using up the land like it doesn’t matter. What makes some people act feral when they are in wide open spaces?

Imagine what thousands of irresponsible or uninformed campers can do to the beautiful areas that are supposed to be for everyone’s enjoyment for years to come!

Campgrounds

Ahh, the weekend. Let’s party!

Official campgrounds are more likely to have paid or volunteer campground hosts and/or park staff who maintain the campground, but not always!

And if you arrive before the official check-in time, you risk ending up on a dirty campsite which is never fun. Our current campground allows 1.5 hours between check-out and check-in times. If all 50 campsites wait until 1:00 to leave, that would give us 1.5 hours to clean the messes we discussed above 50 times. Yikes! Micro trash is bound to be missed. 😦

The Gifts We All Need to Protect

Every part of the world has special, small, living things along with large natural wonders that rely on us to think before we act and Leave No Trace.