Mt. Adams Institute Mt. Adams Institute
  • About Us
    • Programs
      • Overview
      • VetsWork
      • VetsWork FireCorps
      • Education Programs
      • Land Stewards
    • About
      • Our Mission
      • Our Impact
      • Our Staff
      • The Board
      • DEI Commitment
      • Lodging
      • Program Partners
    • Our Interns
      • VetsWork Interns
      • VetsWork FireCorps Interns
      • Land Stewards Interns
    • Contact Us
      • Reach HQ
      • Live & Social
      • Staff Employment
  • Internships
    • VetsWork
    • VetsWork FireCorps
    • Land Stewards
  • Summer Camps
  • Sense of Place
    • Lecture Series
    • Hear in the Gorge
    • Community Workshops
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Gift A Scholarship
    • Sense of Place Lecture Series Sponsorship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer
Close
  • About Us
    • Programs
      • Overview
      • VetsWork
      • VetsWork FireCorps
      • Education Programs
      • Land Stewards
    • About
      • Our Mission
      • Our Impact
      • Our Staff
      • The Board
      • DEI Commitment
      • Lodging
      • Program Partners
    • Our Interns
      • VetsWork Interns
      • VetsWork FireCorps Interns
      • Land Stewards Interns
    • Contact Us
      • Reach HQ
      • Live & Social
      • Staff Employment
  • Internships
    • VetsWork
    • VetsWork FireCorps
    • Land Stewards
  • Summer Camps
  • Sense of Place
    • Lecture Series
    • Hear in the Gorge
    • Community Workshops
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Gift A Scholarship
    • Sense of Place Lecture Series Sponsorship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer

Growing up, the seven Leave No Trace principles, accompanied with mnemonic gestures, were instilled in me as a set of reminders to guide my behavior both in and out-of-doors.

As I got older, I learned the ecological and ethical basis for upholding Leave No Trace (LNT) practices. Now, as a trail and recreation steward with the Umatilla National Forest through the Mt. Adams Institute’s Public Lands Stewards AmeriCorps Program, I am gaining a new perspective and understanding not only of the LNT principles themselves but also of what it takes to make practicing LNT possible.

On my first day at my service site with the Walla Walla Ranger District, I jumped right into trail work. I was cutting back brush, rolling logs, hacking away at small trees and roots, swinging pulaskis at root wads, and pulling cross-cut saws taller than myself through fallen trees. Trail maintenance is not dainty work. At their worst, some trails look like a friendly, or perhaps not-so-friendly, large-footed, forest-dwelling cryptid had passed through both before and after we cleared it. Except, in the latter circumstance, a trail had been incidentally blasted through the side of the mountain. While it is exciting to emulate our heavy-footed friend, heaving several hundred-pound trees, logs, and limbs off of the trail and watching them tumble down the mountain, I was shocked at how destructive, impactful, and yet necessary our work is.

 

Of the seven LNT principles, I want to focus on the second principle: travel and camp on durable surfaces. So what does that mean? Travel in the outdoors inevitably impacts natural areas. Land management agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service, are concerned with how our presence impacts the “durability” of the “surface” (land) and also whether and how the land can permit safe travel for visitors. The trail crew works to maintain designated trails to concentrate the impact of foot and stock traffic. We ask ourselves, is the trail safe enough for recreational use? Can we recreate without creating any further and/or unnecessary damage to this trail? 

 

Safety is our primary charge; ourselves, the public, and the land itself. That may mean proactively taking down more trees than the primary problem tree. Small trees and limbs pinned under larger trees, aptly named spring poles, can have explosive tension. They can shatter or snap back if cut haphazardly or sling back uncontrollably if not addressed before removing the impinging tree. Safety may also mean closing a trail entirely if it is too damaged. Our work must also comply with the rules and regulations of the land. In “designated wilderness,” the use of motorized equipment is prohibited. There is no delicate way to lift and place a 300-pound log off the trail. Dragging, rolling, heaving, shoving, or cutting; we will do what it takes to safely remove obstacles from trails. In areas where the use of motorized equipment is permitted, we ride motorized dirt bikes and use chainsaws. Dirt bikes and chainsaws are unquestionably more impactful than hiking and manual cross-cut saws. Yet, at the same time, without the help of motorized equipment, there is no way we could keep up with visitors and the endless amounts of trail work. As I later describe, allowing visitors to venture ahead into unmaintained areas makes the land more vulnerable to unsustainable impacts. So why do we do the work we do the way we do it? It seems like one big step back! In some sense, it is. But it allows us to take two steps forward. 

 

The first step forward is that by clearing designated trails, trail crews make outdoor recreation in an

LNT-friendly manner, possible. During the pandemic, there was a 300%  increase in visitors to the Umatilla National Forest alone. Not going outside is not a solution. More and more people are getting outside, and the way to allow more people to do so in an LNT-friendly manner is to have designated trail systems. Without trails, visitors will go any which way, blazing undesignated trails, eroding the soil, and disturbing the natural vegetation. There are inevitable impacts of being outdoors, and it is better to have one designated trail than many poorly chosen paths. 

 

The second step is up to you, to me, to all of us. It is the ongoing choice to follow established trails and observe usage regulations. Taking this step sustains a precedent for all visitors. Just as the choice to abide by LNT is ongoing, so too is the work of clearing trails. The outdoors is subject to the laws of nature, and many times our work is undone faster than we can do it. Another crucial way this second step forward is taken is through partnerships. Volunteer trail crews, such as the Blues Crew, help us tremendously with the labor needed to maintain trails. 

 

In just a few short months of this internship, my understanding of the Leave No Trace principles has expanded more than I thought it would and more than it ever could have in a classroom. As a recent college graduate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunity to be immersed in the concepts and theories I had only talked about in a classroom has been a drastic and welcome change. Surprisingly, there is something about the timbre of a chainsaw and the whir of a dirt bike that invokes contemplative thought. I have gained new perspectives on the importance of Leave No Trace and what it takes to make LNT in outdoor recreation possible. Taking one step back to take two steps forward is not a bad thing, and we ought not to be discouraged by it. 

‹ › ×

    Share

    FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest

    Leave a Reply / Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Be sure to add your name to the roster, so we can send you latest news, jobs, events and resources.

    Make a Donation

    Make a Donation

    Recent Posts

    • Mt. Adams Institute has received a 3-year, $1,149,768 grant from AmeriCorps
    • Talking about the Tongass
    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Taylor Payton
    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Samuel Kauffman
    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Robert Alwood

    Categories

    • Bulletin
    • Cascade Mountain School
    • Fun & Miscellaneous
    • Mountain Talk
    • Public Lands Stewards
    • VetsWork Environment
    • VetsWork Greencorps

    Check Out Instagram

    View

    Jan 14

    Open
    Blue Hour at Mount Adams, The #bluehour is the period of #twilight when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade.
______________________________

#mtadamsinstitute  #mountainreflections  #explorewashstate #pnwonderland #cascadiaexplored #cascadia #wonderfulwashington #wonderfulwashingtonstate #pnwescapes #pnwadventures #pnwadventurers #pnwcrew #pnw_shooters #mtadams #giffordpinchotnationalforest #giffordpinchot #pnwphotographer #pnwphotography #leavenotrace #washingtonphotography #bluehourphotography #klickitatcounty #photography #blue #light #landscapephotography #landscapephotographer #mountains
    55 11

    View

    Apr 19

    Open
    She’s off for her school overnight trip! She handled all of her own packing and I am fully confident that means she’ll have at least 95% of the things she really needs. Girlfriend is on top of it! #urchinadventures #montessorikids #overnightfieldtrip #cascademountainschool
    32 1

    View

    Dec 6

    Open
    Mt Adams in August 
•
•
•
#pnw #mtadams #adamssummit #mtadamssummit #mtadamswilderness #mtadamsinstitute #pnwonderland #pnwlife #pnwadventures #washington #summit #alpine
    47 1

    View

    Jul 28

    Open
    Presentation day for my little angels #mtadamsinstitute #cascademountainschool
    25 0

    View

    Apr 17

    Open
    KCD is sad to be losing the amazing Krystal Hedrick, who has accepted a new position as GIS Mapper with the Weld County Assessor’s Office in Colorado.

She served at KCD over the past year through Mount Adams Institute VetsWork, an AmeriCorps career development program for military veterans who want to work in natural resources management.

As a forest technician, Krystal brought passion to her work on KCD’s North SeaTac Park restoration managing a KCD WCC crew to remove harmful invasive plants and prepare the site for reforestation efforts that will improve the park’s ecosystem making it more resilient and beneficial for local wildlife.

#BestOfLuckToYou #ThankYouForYourService #MtAdamsInstitute #AmeriCorps #Forestry #UrbanForestry #WashingtonConservationCorps
    37 1
    Load More
    • Back to Blog
    • Prev
    • Next



    © Copyright 2021 Mt. Adams Institute. All rights reserved.
    Mt. Adams Institute is an equal opportunity employer.
    contact us | partnership inquiries | site by Greta Rose Agency