The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is sending its mobile team of educators to the San Juan Islands. Leave No Trace is a national non-profit organization that aims to protect the outdoors by teaching people how to enjoy it responsibly.
“Many outdoor areas across our nation are negatively impacted by recreational use,” said Danielle Rowland, a Leave No Trace educator. “In most cases, it’s simply a lack of understanding or know-how of the ‘Leave No Trace’ ethics.”
Leave No Trace identified the San Juan Islands as one of eight “endangered hotspots” in the nation, along with Little Talbot Islands State Park and St. Andrews State Park, Florida, New River Gorge National River, West Virginia, Shawnee National Forest, Illinois, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area and Lake Casa Blanca, Texas, and Hoosier National Forest, Indiana. These areas were designated “hotspots” based on the threat of irreversible environmental damage created by visitors.
With more than 800,000 annual visitors, the San Juan Islands experience visitor-created impact such as littering, damage to vegetation and trees, trail erosion from walking in undesignated areas, and wildlife feeding. Based on this criteria, Leave No Trace deemed the San Juan Islands a ‘hotspot’ and connected with the Bureau of Land Management to help the federal agency mitigate the impacts of recreational use.
The Subaru-sponsored Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers Team is hosting free educational workshops throughout the islands Sept. 25-28. The public is encouraged to participate and learn the organization’s principles to help better protect and preserve the islands’ environment.
The first half of each session will focus on integrating the organization’s outdoor skills and ethics into participant’s daily lives and businesses. The second half of the course provides participant’s with skills and strategies to impart the Leave No Trace methods to others, and promote change in visitor and employee behavior.
According to Leave No Trace, so-called “Hot Spot” sites like the San Juan Islands can recover in spite of environmental damage. By implementing the Leave No Trace principles and skills imparted in the upcoming countywide workshops, organizers maintain that island landscapes and wildlife can be preserved and protected for generations to come.
“We encourage as many people to come to this training as possible,” San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau Communications Manager Barbara Marrett said. “We’re not only inviting visitors to the islands, but educating them to be better stewards.”
To RSVP for workshops, contact the San Juan County Parks, parks@sanjuanco.com, or 360-378-8420.
Workshop schedule:
Thursday, Sept. 25: San Juan; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Key Bank downstairs meeting, 2nd Street.
Friday, Sept. 26: Lopez; 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Love Dog Café, Lopez Village.
Sunday, Sept. 28: Orcas; 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Moran State Park, Cascade Lake, day-use kitchen shelter
