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Boy Scouts of America OUTDOOR ETHICS. Leave No Trace Camping. Boy Scouts of America OUTDOOR ETHICS. Delivering the BSA Leave No Trace Program. Presentation Objectives. Provide the rationale for an outdoor ethics program in the BSA. Review the seven Principles of Leave No Trace.
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Boy Scouts of AmericaOUTDOOR ETHICS Leave No Trace Camping
Boy Scouts of AmericaOUTDOOR ETHICS Delivering the BSA Leave No Trace Program
Presentation Objectives • Provide the rationale for an outdoor ethics program in the BSA. • Review the seven Principles of Leave No Trace. • Review the BSA Outdoor Ethics programs. • Explain how you can bring these programs to your home council
Woodcraft The Consumptive Ethic
Wilderness Act of 1964 Exponential Increases in Outdoor Recreational Visits to Public Lands
Wilderness Recreation Visitation Days 1975 7 Million 1985 15 Million 2000 20 Million National Park Visitations 1950 33 Million 1970 172 Million 2000 287 Million Outdoor Recreational Visitations • Combined Visitations to Public Lands • 2000 Over700 Million
Elephant in the woods? BSA Estimated Use: 30,000,000 DAYS! BSA should be part of the solution. Are we?
Common perceptions by Federal land management agencies about BSA units on federal land: • Kids out of control • Too much noise • Group sizes too big • Camping skills badly out of date • Inappropriate play damages the backcountry • Don't keep appointments to do service work • Completely soak up popular campsites or shelters • Unskilled campers using areas that call for expert skills • Using inappropriate areas (hi-use, fragile) to train new campers • and on and on and on...
Vegetation Impacts • Vegetation loss • Spread of non-native species • Tree damage
Soil Impacts • Soil compaction • Soil erosion • Loss of organic litter
Wildlife Impacts • Disturbance of wildlife • Altered behavior • Reduced health & reproduction
Water Resource Impacts • Turbidity, sedimentation • Food scraps, soap, & fecal wastes • Animal access points blocked
Social Impacts • Crowding • Conflicts • Noise
Cultural Resource Impacts • Theft of artifacts • Damage to historic structures • Damage to cultural features
Loving our public lands to death! Increased Visitation = • Increased • Impacts
Regulate Usage? • Regulations antagonize the public • Enforcement of regulations is difficult and expensive • Most impacts are not due to malicious acts
Education Not Legislation U.S. Forest Service National Park Service Boy Scouts of America Bureau of Land Management U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
What Is Leave No Trace?(and why BSA chose it) • The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics says: • Leave No Trace is an national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations. • Program is organized around the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace. Like Scouting, Leave No Trace aims at character development.
Scouting and Leave No Trace • Scouting and Leave No Trace have a long partnership Literature: Boy Scout Handbook, Fieldbook Awards: Cub Scout & Boy Scout Leave No Trace Award Venturing Ranger Award
Scouting Is Moving to the Next Level of Outdoor Ethics Emphasis: • Boy Scouts • New chapter 7 in Handbook • New advancement requirements: • Second Class: Know principles • First Class: Demonstrate principles • New Troop position of responsibility: Leave No Trace Trainer (note: patch is concept draft only) • Cub Scouts & Venturing • Revised Awareness Awards
What This Partnership Means for the Local Council • Leaders will want to learn about Leave No Trace to facilitate youth advancement • Youth will want to learn Leave No Trace principles and skills to advance. • Youth will want to qualify for Leave No Trace Instructor and Trainer positions
How Leave No Trace Training Is Delivered • Leave No Trace Trainersdeliver the Leave No Trace Principles and skills to units and individuals. • Leave No Trace Master Educators train Leave No Trace Trainers. • The Challenge: • Training a Trainer requires a minimum 16 hour course • Training a Master Educator requires a five day, five night course
How Leave No TraceWill Come to Scouting • The Leave No Trace roll out plan • National Task Force established • National goal established • BSA Master Educator courses across the United States during 2007-2010. • BSA specific Leave No Trace training programs (training continuum) • New council-level volunteer position created
National Goal • BSA Leave No Trace Task Force established the following goals: • One or more Leave No Trace Master Educators in every local council • One or more Leave No Trace Trainers in every district. • Master Educators will train Trainers. Trainers will provide training to youth and adult who desire to learn more about Leave No Trace.
Master Educator Development • The BSA Leave No Trace Task Force has sponsored a series of Master Educator courses across United States (2007-2010). • 162 Master Educators trained so far, approximately 185 total • Courses remaining in 2009 include: • Philmont, NM (May, Sept) Golden Spread, TX (October) • Northern Tier, MN (August) Midnight Sun, AK (June) • Clinton Valley, MI (Oct.) Western LA County, CA (Oct.) • Mid-Iowa, IA (July) Chief Seattle, WA (August) • Puerto Rico (August) Caddo Area, TX (Sept./Oct.) • Okeefenokee Area, GA (March) • Course schedule available in Scouting magazine
Progress Toward National Goal, May 2009 Color = Master Educator
BSA Leave No TraceTraining Continuum • Awareness Workshop • In-Unit Training by Youth or Adults • Leave No Trace 101 • Leave No Trace Trainer Course • Leave No Trace Master Educator Course
BSA Leave No TraceTraining Continuum • Awareness Workshops • Goal: Awareness about Leave No Trace • Instructor: May be taught by anyone with knowledge, trained individuals preferred • Course: Can be any length of time period, with content varying on time and desired coverage • Great for Roundtables, Camporees and tailored presentations to units getting ready to go out to field
BSA Leave No TraceTraining Continuum • In-Unit Training by Youth and Adults • Goal: Unit program specific training • Instructor: • Cub Scouts—unit adult, Boy Scout or Venturer having at least BSA LNT 101, if possible • Boy Scouts/Varsity Scouts—youth Instructor (if BSA LNT 101) or Trainer (if LNT Trainer Course) • Venturing—typically a youth Trainer (if LNT Trainer Course) • Course: Varies by unit needs
BSA Leave No Trace Training Continuum • BSA Leave No Trace 101 • Goal: General introduction to Leave No Trace • Instructor: Leave No Trace Trainer • Syllabus: BSA Leave No Trace 101 Course Guide, minimum of 3 hours • Earn: BSA Leave No Trace Awareness Card • Recommended training course for Troop Leave No Trace Instructors, Venturers, and adults responsible for Leave No Trace Awareness Awards and advancement
BSA Leave No Trace Training Continuum • BSA Leave No Trace Trainer • Goal: Strong knowledge of Leave No Trace principles, ethic and skills; ability to teach others • Instructor: Master Educator • Syllabus: BSA Leave No Trace Trainer Course Manual, minimum 16 hours course. • Earn: Leave No Trace Trainer status • Required training for Troop Leave No Trace Trainer position of responsibility or others seeking Trainer status. • BSA will accept Trainers taught by other Leave No Trace recognized Master Educators.
BSA Leave No Trace Training Continuum • BSA Leave No Trace Master Educator • Goal: Comprehensive knowledge of Leave No Trace principles, skills and ethic and ability to teach and motivate others • Instructor: Instructors appointed by National Council • Syllabus: Leave No Trace Master Educator Handbook and BSA Supplement, minimum of five days/nights. • Earn: Master Educator status, membership with Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics • BSA will accept Master Educators trained by other providers recognized by Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (NOLS, AMC, WEA, Nine-Mile, etc.)
Future Goals • Integration of BSA Leave No Trace 101 with Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills • All BSA outdoor trained leaders will learn basics of Leave No Trace during basic training • Revised Leave No Trace Awareness Award program • Development of additional Scouting-specific Leave No Trace skills
Successful Implementation • New “Council Outdoor Ethics Advocate” position will help council succeed with challenges of Leave No Trace implementation • Recruit Leave No Trace Trainers and Master Educators • Promote and coordinate Leave No Trace training efforts at local council level • Coordinate with, and serve as a member of (at local council discretion) Training, Camping, Program and Conservation committee(s) • Report progress to the National Task Force
Councils with Outdoor Ethics Advocates Green = Ethics Advocate
Local Council Roll Out Plan • Identify Outdoor Ethics Advocate to coordinate plan • Recruit Trainers and Master Educators • Contact Task Force –leavenotracecamping@netbsa.org • Promote Leave No Trace Awareness • Workshops at roundtables, camporees, etc. • Offer BSA LNT 101 courses to get adult volunteers up to speed on basics • Offer BSA Trainer courses to interested youth and adults • Report progress in annual Outdoor Ethics Advocate report
Additional Resources • Official: • Frank Reigelman, Director of Outdoor Programs • Eric Hiser, Chair, BSA Leave No Trace Task Force • leavenotracecamping@netbsa.org • www.scouting.org • Boy Scout Handbook, Fieldbook and Teaching Leave No Trace, No. 21-117 • www.lnt.org – website of Leave No Trace Center • Semi-Official • BSALNTME Yahoo group (contact Eric Hiser) • Outdoorethics-bsa.org (BSA Leave No Trace task force website)
Boy Scouts of AmericaOUTDOOR ETHICS Implementing Leave No Trace in the Local Council Philmont Training Center September 20-25, 2009