Let’s protect and enjoy our natural world together.

The health and safety of our citizens and visitors are important, but so is the health and future of our outdoor recreation areas and public lands. We need to protect the outdoors by teaching and inspiring people to enjoy it responsibly. A set of outdoor ethics and a moral code, Leave No Trace is based off of 7 Main Principles. Whether you’re a well-trained backwoods enthusiast or new to the front country camping and recreation scene, it’s vital to comply with Leave No Trace principles in order to preserve our beautiful outdoors spaces for many generations to come.

The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace provide an easily understood framework of minimum impact practices for anyone visiting the outdoors. Although Leave No Trace has its roots in backcountry settings, the Principles have been adapted so that they can be applied anywhere — from remote wilderness areas, to local parks and even in your own backyard. They also apply to almost every recreational activity. Each Principle covers a specific topic and provides detailed information for minimizing impacts.

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare

• Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you’ll visit –> This means, check and educate yourself on fires. Oftentimes, during wildfire season, our county has a ‘No Burn’ policy, banning fires of all kinds. 
• Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies. –> It’s Montana, it can snow and drop below freezing temps at anytime of the year. Look ahead and beware of the incoming forecast, road conditions and natural events.
• Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use. –> It’s no secret that ‘The Last Best Place’ has been discovered. Though we’re seeing growth in our off-seasons, reminder that our summer season is the busiest, June through August.
• Visit in small groups when possible. Consider splitting larger groups into smaller groups.
• Repackage food to minimize waste.
• Use a map and compass or GPS to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging. –> In Northwest Montana, there are many areas that do not have wi-fi and cellular service. If you’re going into the backcountry or lesser traveled areas, please carry a GPS, satellite device and a map to be best prepared.

2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

• Durable surfaces include maintained trails and designated campsites, rock, gravel, sand, dry grasses or snow.
• Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams. 
• Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.
  • In popular areas:
    • Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.
    • Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
    • Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.

In pristine areas:

• • Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.
  • Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

3. Dispose of Waste Properly

• • • Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite, food preparation areas, and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food and litter. –> This includes citrus rinds and other “natural” wastes. When left, they can attract wildlife that can lead to unintended consequences for the animal. And though it may be a “natural” substance, realize that a lot of that wastes takes years to decompose, leaving it looking like trash for the next person.
    • Utilize toilet facilities whenever possible. Otherwise, deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep, at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole with objects like rocks, sticks, or moss when finished. –> This also goes back to being prepared; many recreational areas have designated waste management, please use prior to your recreational activities if possible.
    • Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products. –> This includes flushable wipes, baby wipes, diapers, and tampons.
    • To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater and do your best to scrape dishes of food particles prior to washing.
    • At our local Volunteer Park, if the trash bins are full, please take your trash to your car or back home with you to dispose of. Leaving it outside the trash receptacle is not acceptable. This attracts wildlife or can blow away in the lake, park or highway when the wind picks up. 

4. Leave What You Find

• • • Preserve the past: examine, photograph, but do not touch cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
    • Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
    • Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
    • Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

5. Minimize Campfire Impacts

• • • Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the environment. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a LED or battery operated lantern for light.
    • Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
    • Keep fires small. Only use down and dead wood from the ground that can be broken by hand.
    • Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes. –> This means you must plan ahead and carry enough water to deadout your fire if you’re not staying by a close-by water source.
    • Be aware of the burn regulations. Often times during hot summer months and extreme fire season, there is a ‘No Burn’ policy in place that forbids any fires of any sort.
    • Please put out all cigarettes, cigars and tobacco products. Do not litter and throw them on the ground; please pack them out.

6. Respect Wildlife

• • • Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them. –> BE BEAR AWARE. Northwest Montana has a high concentration of both grizzly and black bears. They can be in town, along the shores of the lake, to the forests or mountains. Carry bear spray at all times, having it accessible (this does not mean zipped away in your backpack). 
    • Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, [habituates them to humans], and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
    • Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely. –> Many campsites provide bear proof boxes. If they don’t click HERE to learn about properly hanging your food and trash.
    • Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
    • Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

• • Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
  • Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail and on the lake.
  • Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
  • Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
  • Let nature’s sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises.
  • Remember there is a no-wake zone within 200-feet of the shores of Flathead Lake. This keeps both boaters and those on shore safe. Also, always be on the lookout for a bright colored flag in other boats; this signifies that there is a swimmer in the water nearby.