[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[at-l] LNT 11- Stop! Thief!

Hello All -

This message looks at the LNT Principle:

                         Leave What You Find

This Principle is a piece of cake <g>.

In my previous LNT messages we have done a lot of exploration of the simple
backcountry truth:  nothing we humans bring in can be truly good for the
backcountry.

This is just the flip side of that simple truth: nothing we humans TAKE
from the backcountry can be truly good for the backcountry!

Sometimes we talk about the "big" stuff (timber, mineral ore, game animals,
etc.) and sometimes we talk about the "small" stuff (bird feathers,
arrowheads, flowers, etc.)...but, the "incremental damage" clause IS still
in our personal backcountry-use "contract" <g>.

Our nation's laws (and the political process that creates them) obviously
control how we remove the "big" stuff from our backcountry.  More and more,
these same laws are controlling the "small" stuff as well.

It is a federal crime to remove raptor feathers (and the rest of the
raptor, BTW <g>) from our public lands.  Our fish and game laws make it
illegal to remove (without the appropriate license, tags, stamps, etc.) the
feathers of a WIDE range of "game" birds.  In some states, songbird body
parts get the same legal protections.

It is a federal crime to remove items (arrowheads, pottery shards, etc.)
that may have archeological significance.  Many states have supplemented
these restrictions with laws of their own.

It is a federal crime to remove plants (and critters) that fall under the
protections of the various "endangered species" laws.  The various states
have been active here, too <g>.

There are a bewildering array of laws (federal, state, county, municipal,
etc.) on the various "books" around our nation that relate to removing MANY
other specific items from our backcountry.

Some of these laws are not enforced with any particular vigor (when was the
last time you were nabbed by the "Sparrow-feather Police" <g>), but they do
help us understand what our society (us!), at various times, has felt was
important enough to protect with the strength of our legal system.

At least as important to me as all the above laws, though, are the ethical
considerations of using the backcountry as a "grab bag" for our personal
pleasure.  We CAN alter the ecological balance with intensive removal of
even common items (flowers, nuts, critters, etc.).  We CAN make it
impossible for detective-archeologists to ever piece together the real
story behind the artifacts we moved out of place.

Remember how neat if felt when you looked over and first saw that
particular item that will forever mean "wild" to you?  For some of us it
might be a beautiful wild flower, an interesting twig with a burl built in,
or a piece of natural honeycomb.  Others might marvel at a beautiful
arrowhead, a piece of blood-shot quartz, or a magnificent butterfly.  We
all have different things that we look for in the woods that seem to make
all the sweat it takes to get there MORE than worthwhile <g>.

Remember how neat it felt...because if we put that wonderful piece of
"wild" in our pocket...we will have denied that SAME discovery thrill to
ALL the folks who will be coming behind us on the trail!

One of my fellow students in my "LNT Masters" course was a Wilderness Area
Ranger from Mt. Rogers NRA.  He is a serious birder with a VERY impressive
life-list (he was to the point that he had to fly TO a rare storm-blown
"foreign" bird to be able to add to his list <g>).  We would wake up each
morning before dawn and listen for the first bird calls.  He would identify
each species of bird as they greeted the day...and often could "call" them
up close enough for us to see!  This good man was SERIOUS about his birds!

We sere hiking thru the beautiful NC forests and he found a bird feather on
the trail ("Flicker", I think).  He stuck it in his hat and we went on.
Later, our instructors found a good spot for our morning "instructional
break" and we spent a couple of hours going over "Leave What You
Find"...and then broke for lunch.  The birder was in my tent/food group and
we noticed that he missed lunch (extra food ALWAYS stands out <g>).  He
rejoined us after we had a short "siesta" and were ready to move on down
the trail.

We later discovered that he had walked 2-3 miles back down the trail to
replace the bird feather where he had found it.  We were curious why he
felt that it was important that he do that (this is a guy that makes his
living out in the wilds and who KNOWS how many gazillion bird feathers get
shed each year).  He admitted that the "Leave What You Find" session hit
him hard...and he felt that he just had to start somewhere!  Me too.

We can take pictures of, make sketches of, compose a poem about, and even
cover up (until an archeologist gets there <g>) those neat "wild" things we
find...AND we (and everybody else!) STILL get to take the thrill home with
us <VBG>.

Hmmmm...let's stretch just a little bit...couldn't an entire backcountry
ecosystem also be one of those neat "wild" things that are well worth
leaving in place...?

See you at "LNT 12- Smokey's revenge!"

- Charlie II  AT (MEGA'93)
             PCT (Mex@Can'95)


* From the Appalachian Trail Mailing List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================