[at-l] Thirding thumbs

[charliethorpe@worldnet.att.net (Charlie Thorpe)]

Hello Tim -

You said:

>There is a rule of thumb when eating any wild foods...
...
>...so your impact is probably less than it actually sounds.
>
>This is a real issue I have with today's crop of Leave No Trace campers, who
>walk through the woods preaching no impact, while stripping those same woods
>of foods often critical to the residents...

Nice posting!  I like the "thirds" solution to sharing...and I completely
agree with your assessment of the incremental damage caused as successive
human "thirders" each take their allotment.

BTW, it is my feeling that the incremental damage caused by the critters
taking their "third" is just as real...but, that damage IS a natural part
of the ecosystem.  As the balance tips for one plant or for one critter,
"natural selection" tips it back to equilibrium again.  Our intrusion into
this wonderful wild system of life is what we call our "impact"...too much
intrusion and we don't get to enjoy that "wonderful wild system" any more.


Is it your concern that LNT somehow teaches folks to want to strip the
woods?  Or that LNT just makes some of us later feel a little guilty when
we see our blue tongues in our shaving mirror <g>.

Protecting ALL parts of ALL backcountry ecosystems is an important part of
the LNT message...including the foods, water, habitat, solitude, and all
the other things that the wild critters need to exist.  If this is not
clear from my messages, then I screwed up.  Perhaps I condensed things a
bit too much in an effort to keep my postings from getting so long that you
have to take two gorp/water breaks to read them <g>.  I said:

"We CAN alter the ecological balance with intensive removal of even common
items (flowers, nuts, critters, etc.)."

Help me figure out a way to say it better so that your point is clarified!

Thanks for the good feedback!

- Charlie II



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