BSA Troop 226 Leave No Trace

The Leave No Trace principles might seem unimportant until you consider the combined effect of millions of outdoor visitors. One poorly located campsite or campfire may have little significance, but thousands of such instances seriously degrade the outdoor experience for all. Leaving no trace is everyone’s responsibility.

Instilling values in young people and preparing them to make ethical choices throughout their lifetime is the mission of the Boy Scouts of America. Leave No Trace helps reinforce that mission, and reminds us to respect the rights of other users of the outdoors as well as future generations. Appreciation of our natural environment as a knowledge of the interrelationships of nature bolster our respect and reverence toward the environment and nature.

Leave No Trace is an awareness and an attitude rather than a set of rules. It applies in your backyard or local part as much as in the backcountry. We should all practice Leave No Trace in our thinking and actions—wherever we go.

We learn Leave No Trace by sharing the principles and then discovering how they can be applied. Leave No Trace instills an awareness that spurs questions like “What can we do to reduce our impact on the environment and on the experiences of other visitors?” Use your judgment and experience to tailor camping and hiking practices to the environment where the outing will occur. Forest, mountain, seashore, plains, freshwater, and wetland environments all require different minimum impact practices.

Help protect the backcountry by remembering that while you are there, you are a visitor. When you visit a friend, you take care to leave your friend’s home just as you found it. You would never think of trampling garden flowers, chopping down trees in the yard, putting soap in the drinking water, or marking your name on the living room wall. When you visit the backcountry, the same courtesies apply. Leave everything just as you found it

Hiking and camping without a trace are signs of an expert outdoorsman, and of a Scout who cares for the environment. Travel lightly on the land.

If you feel you are up to the challenge of Leave No Trace you're urged to participate in a Leave No Trace Awareness Program. In an effort to promote awareness, Troop 226 conducts an extensive Leave No Trace Awareness program. This program is limited to 6 participants per group. Each participant is interviewed to ensure they have met the prerequisites, understand the requirements and will be committed to participating in Leave No Trace.

More information about Leave No Trace can be obtained by contacting your local land manager or local office of the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, the National Park Service, or the Fish and Wildlife Service. (Check the blue pages of your local telephone directory.) Or, contact Leave No Trace toll free at 800-332-4100 or on the Internet at http://www.LNT.org. For posters, plastic cards listing the Leave No Trace principles, or information on becoming a Leave No Trace sponsor, contact Leave No Trace Inc., P.O. Box 997, Boulder, CO 80306; phone 303-442-8222.

The Troop 226 Leave No Trace Awareness program is conducted outside of normal troop activities and will consist of class room instruction as well as practical outdoor experiences. You should plan for approximately 15 hours of class room time, 3 separate overnight camping/backpacking trips, and one Leave No Trace related service project (service project will not count toward rank advancement). Attendance and participation will be mandatory for all participants; there will be no makeup sessions.

Upon successful completion of the course, each Scout will be eligible for the BSA Leave No Trace Awareness award and Leave No Trace Awareness patch, No. 8630.

Scout and Venturer	Scouter and Venturing Leader
1. Recite and explain the principles of Leave No Trace.	1. Recite and explain the principles of Leave No Trace.
2. On three separate camping/backpacking trips demonstrate and practice the principles of Leave No Trace.	2. On three separate camping/backpacking trips demonstrate and practice the principles of Leave No Trace
3. Earn the Camping and Environmental Science merit badges (Boy Scouts), or complete No. 3 under the Scouter and Venturing leader requirements.	3. Share with another Scouter or Venturing leader your understanding and knowledge of the Camping and Environmental Science merit badge pamphlets.
4. Participate in a Leave No Trace-related service project.	4. Actively assist (training, advice, and general supervision) a Scout in planning, organizing, and leading a service project related to Leave No Trace.
5. Give a 10-minute presentation on a Leave No Trace topic approved by your Scoutmaster.	5. Assist a minimum of three Scouts in earning the Leave No Trace Awareness Award.
6. Draw a poster or build a model to demonstrate the differences in how we camp or travel in high-use and pristine areas.	6. Plan and conduct a Leave No Trace awareness for Scouts, Venturers, Scouters, or an interested group outside Scouting.

Application Form