With spring around the corner, many Humboldt locals seek the outdoors in the mountains. A sunny weekend is a perfect opportunity to get into the backcountry, hike to a new lake, or go camping on the river. While going on a backpacking trip can be an awesome guilt-free trip with friends, there are a few things we need to do to protect the area we’re using.
Every year, a countless amount of trash is carelessly thrown to the wind by hikers, hunters, backpackers, and campers while they are recreating in nature. Shotgun shells, trash bags, and dog poop are just some of the common items that are found scattered around every trail-head parking lot you find. “I am a hunter myself, and I do participate in waterfowl hunting. One of the most disappointing things I see is the litter from shotgun shells,” Brian Bertoldi from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife said. “As much as I enjoy doing it, I also do my part and clean everything up. That’s something where it’s kinda hard sometimes to argue why people should still be able to go out there and hunt when all they do is trash the environment that they are recreating in.”
Hunters, however, are not the only issue when it comes to littering outdoors; dog owners and walkers have to do their part as well when it comes to disposing of their dogs’ waste. “Just because the poop is in wildlife doesn’t mean someone else might not come by and step in it,” Bertoldi said. “It is still the person’s responsibility to dispose of them properly, and that does not mean leaving them at a trailhead when there’s no trash can. You don’t know when the service person for the area you’re in is gonna come by and clean that place up, it could be days, could be weeks, could be a month.”
It’s clear we need to do better, but how? A simple way we can all start is by following the principles of “Leave No Trace”, an idea carried by many outdoorsmen that prioritizes leaving nothing but footprints while in the wilderness. To Bertoldi, this means bringing a small trash bag with him when he goes outdoors. “I mainly recycle them, like from the grocery store. They’re nice and compressed and weigh almost nothing. I just kinda carry them on me, just in case I go to a place with a bunch of trash because it’s easy to strap on your backpack and easy to tie up.”
Many nature lovers have adopted this simple but useful method of picking up after themselves. “You can reuse dehydrated meal bags, and I suggest bringing a separate trash bag,” Arcata High Senior Luke Moxon said.
Respecting the outdoors is crucial to preserving the nature we know for generations. Do your part.
