# Why Tread Lightly!...?



## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Treading Lightly is one of the best practices that we as public land users can do to make sure that we can not only continue to use our public lands in a variety of recreational manners, but also make sure that the natural resources and experiences remain intact for future generations. Its not about restriction, but rather about responsibility for our public lands and to ourselves, our friends and families, other visitors, and future generations.

So what does it mean to "Tread Lightly"? Well, we've developed our 5 Principles to break it down to basics:

*Tread Lightly! Principles*

*Travel Responsibly* on land by staying on designated roads, trails and areas. Go over, not around, obstacles to avoid widening the trails. Cross streams only at designated crossings. When possible avoid wet, muddy trails. On water, stay on designated waterways and launch your watercraft in designated areas.

*Respect the Rights of Others* including private property owners, all recreational trail users, campers and others so they can enjoy their recreational activities undisturbed. Leave gates as you found them. Yield right of way to those passing you or going uphill. On water, respect anglers, swimmers, skiers, boaters, divers and those on or near shore.

*Educate Yourself* prior to your trip by obtaining travel maps and regulations from public agencies. Plan for your trip, take recreation skills classes and know how to operate your equipment safely.

*Avoid Sensitive Areas* on land such as meadows, lakeshores, wetlands and streams. Stay on designated routes. This protects wildlife habitats and sensitive soils from damage. Don't disturb historical, archeological or paleontological sites. On water, avoid operating your watercraft in shallow waters or near shorelines at high speeds.

*Do Your Part* by modeling appropriate behavior, leaving the area better than you found it, properly disposing of waste, minimizing the use of fire, avoiding the spread of invasive species and repairing degraded areas.

We gain a lot by Treading Lightly as a community. Please help us by promoting the Tread Lightly! ethics whenever you can. 

For more information: Tread Lightly - Home

Also, you can follow us with social media!

Facebook: Tread Lightly! - Non-Profit Organization - Salt Lake City, Utah | Facebook
Twitter: Twitter
Myspace: Tread Lightly (Tread Lightly!) on Myspace



Thanks for the support!! And please, feel free to ask here if you have any questions or desire for clarification, at all.


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Also, just wanted to toss out a quick hello to let you know what Tread Lightly! has been up to recently, and where we're headed...

Past Events:
Phoenix International Sportsmens Expo - Phoenix, AZ
Salt Lake City International Sportsmens Expo - Salt Lake City, UT
Scouting University - Greenville, NC

Upcoming Events:
Denver St. Patricks Day Parade (Guest appearance by LightFoot, with Stay The Trail) - March 17 in Denver, CO
National OHV Safety and Education Conference - March 26 and 27 in Sacramento, CA
Easter Jeep Safari - April 4 to 8 in Moab, UT
Stewardship Day @ The Capital - April 19 in Denver, CO
Scout-O-Rama - May 5 in Salt Lake City, UT
Overland Expo - May 18 to 20 in Flagstaff, AZ

We are scheduling Tread Trainer and Master Trainer courses coming up, so if your organization, club, business, school, or agency is interested in hosting a course, please visit our Tread Trainer page: Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer

Stewardship Grants application deadline has been extended back to April 1, so if your member club is interested in some money for projects, please visit the page here for details: Tread Lightly - Stewardship Grants

We've also recently added a $60 dollar, three year option for our members, and with over 90% of your donation going directly towards our education, outreach, and stewardship programs your contributions are being put to good use!

Tread Lightly! leads a national effort to protect recreation access by promoting ethics education and stewardship programs nationwide.
Get involved, and Do your part to support responsible enjoyment of America's lands and waterways.

And in case spring comes in like a lion and keeps you off the trail, entertain and educate yourself for an hour or so by taking our online awareness course!


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## HypNoTic (Jan 30, 2007)

And how is it different of Leave No Traces and similar programs?


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

In basic purpose... Not at all different from LNT. In fact, we work fairly closely with LNT.

However, we cater to a much larger bandwidth of recreation activities, including mountain biking specifically
Tread Lightly - Responsible Mountain Bike Riding

We also have our stewardship programs, including grants for member clubs and 3-year individual members. These $500 grants can help support volunteers or buy materials and tools for trail projects.


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Well... if it just hasn't been a busy couple of months.

*Where have we been?*
Denver St. Patricks Day Parade (Guest appearance by LightFoot, with Stay The Trail) - March 17 in Denver, Colorado
National OHV Safety and Education Conference - March 26 and 27 in Sacramento, California
Easter Jeep Safari - April 4 to 8 in Moab, Utah
Stewardship Day @ The Capital - April 19 in Denver, Colorado
Scout-O-Rama - May 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Overland Expo - May 18 to 20 in Flagstaff, Arizona
Master Tread Trainer Course - May 26 in Portland, Oregon
Colorado State Parks Seasonal Training - May 30 at Sylvan Lake State Park, Colorado
Grand Mesa Jeep Club Show - June 2 in Grand Junction, Colorado
Colorado State Parks Seasonal Training - June 6 at Mueller State Park, Colorado
National Get Outdoors Day - June 9 in Salt Lake City, Utah
National Get Outdoors Day - June 9 in Denver, CO (Celebrating our mascot's 10th birthday!)

*And on the heels of that, where are we going?*
Master Tread Trainer Course for Stay The Trail - June 18th in Denver, Colorado
Sun Valley Adaptive Sports / Higher Ground Week - July 2 to July 6 in Sun Valley, Idaho area
FJ Summit (Including stewardship trail run day!) - July 18 to July 21 in Ouray, Colorado
Master Tread Trainer Course - August 28 to August 29 at Camp Sol R Crown in Wilmont, Wisconsin
National Order of the Arrow Conference (Boy Scouts of America) - August 1 to August 4 in East Lansing, Michigan
Master Tread Trainer Course (NOHVCC Conference) - August 21 in Great Falls, Montana
NOHVCC Conference - August 21 to August 25 in Great Falls, Montana

That sort of covers it... Please pay attention to our Tread Trainer Course listings for additional courses if you're interested in helping us promote the Tread Lightly! message throughout your area.

Tread Lightly! has also instituted a blog to give weekly updates on our goings-on. Have a look! treadlightlyoutdoors









Jason, Lori, and Justin with the mobile billboards sponsored by Drive Off-Road in Moab during EJS









Justin doing a workshop with seasonal employees from Colorado State Parks









Lightfoot with Woodsy and Smokey, at National Get Outdoors Day in Denver









Hanging out with Del from BRC and Matt from Stay The Trail Ambassadors, at the Grand Mesa Jeep Club Show

In addition to the stewardship grants program ( Tread Lightly - Stewardship Grants ), we are also about ready to start round 2 of our interpretive panel program. Over 2000 of these panels were placed last year on public lands throughout the country, promoting responsible use under our Ride On (motorized) and Respected Access (recreational shooting) campaigns. We are looking to place at least that number out again this year, so keep your eyes peeled.

Interpretive Panels Program | Respected Access is Open Access

We have some really big things coming down the trail at Tread Lightly!. Our memberships are up, our exposure is increasing through numerous outlets and partnerships, and we've had a huge response for donations for our annual eBay charity auction coming up later this year. We would like to say THANK YOU to all of our supporters, members, member clubs, and partners. Without your help, this wouldn't be possible.

Please consider joining Tread Lightly! and helping us continue to proactively maintain responsible access through ethics and stewardship. The list of benefits is long, but most importantly, you're helping to protect America's public lands and waterways for continued future use.


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## The Prodigal Son (Apr 22, 2008)

How about educating the user group treading the least lightly? How many of these signs have you paid for and installed? Getting new members and doing general PR campaigns is all good and fine, but we need land managers to place these signs out on trails and relentlessly go after the equestrian community until they get them to dismount their horse and kick their manure off the trails. Once you've paid for and had 1000 of these signs installed, I'll become a member.


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Thank you for the feedback. We have never been approached about that messaging, but it might be a great use of our stewardship grants... But it would take a local effort and land manager support. I assume you're volunteering to spearhead that in your area?

We can also add that message to our interpretive panel program, which provides signage to land managers across the country. Over 1600 individual panels went out last year alone, and we're getting ready to get going with that again this year.

Interpretive Panels Program | Respected Access is Open Access

We also have an equestrian tips brochure, which does include dispersing of manure at campsites. As we go into re-design over the next couple of years, I will take your concern into consideration since myself and many of my dirt bike buddies share the same frustration.

That said... None of those resources come free to us to provide to others. We have to work hard to find funding for these programs, so a cry of "Spend this $$$ and THEN i'll become a member" is a little cart-before-the-horse. Just sayin.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

My idea of treading lightly does not include a motor.


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

leeboh said:


> My idea of treading lightly does not include a motor.


Completely fair. We definitely appreciate our land managers and land owners who manage for multiple uses, so if motors just aren't your thing you can have a great day on a trail not open to them. And if you don't mind sharing the trail with them... Then its a chance to put some friendly competition into play. :thumbsup:

But there is a whole lot more to "responsible use" besides just what you happen to be riding that day... Guidelines that are shared by all users of public and private lands.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Here in the North East, trail access is probably different than the rest of the country. Quads and dirt bikes are not allowed on most public areas in MA. They do not "tread lightly " and ruin singletrack trails for mt bikers and hikers. They are not compatible for trail use. A big problem is illegal trail use by motor driven crowd. Go spread your junk on a different forum, not one for mountain bikers.


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## trailnimal (Mar 1, 2004)

I for one applaud the efforts of this group for trying to educate the motorized groups of how to minimize their impact. We could use more of this in the northeast and fault the land managers ( DEP,s, DEC's etc ) for not being proactive and managing motorized use. That is not to say I want them on trails designed and maintained for MTB's as the difference in speed and construction specs make them incompatible for the same trail. But there should be legal places to ride, and I think that pay to play and fines could generate enough revenue to create jobs and properly manage the use.


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## JDM (May 2, 2008)

Tread Lightly sounds like just the kind of thing that helps reduce tension between user groups. I think this forum is the perfect place to post info and updates. Thanks for sharing.


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## bpressnall (Aug 25, 2006)

It's good to see the encouragement of "tread lightly" biking techniques such as "Ride it don't slide it", but unfortunately there are no riding techniques that can prevent horse hooves from tearing up and widening trail tread. The non-motorized use that cases the most resource impact is less regulated than the human powered bicycle. Loosening soil, widening tread, noxious weed transport, spread of Giardia, eating vegetation, bigger parking lots to accommodate trailers, manure in the trail for hikers to enjoy-livestock have more impact on all accounts. And of course everyone else must move off the trail to give them the right of way. And what percentage of the population owns bicycles, compared to horses? Do I think horses should be outlawed? No. Do I think bikes cause no impact? No. I just feel that bikes get the bad rap from land managers, while they don't dare address the livestock issues. It has nothing to do with actual impacts, research or science. It's about perception, tradition, and politics. "Please use weed free hay and clean the manure out of the campsite if it's not too much trouble", is about as much regulation there is for equestrians, while bikes are completely banned from thousands of miles of trails. Funny how that works, huh? 

Anyway, keep up with the good work with educating motorized users. Have you gone after the vehicle advertisers with their pictures of vehicles driving on meadows and tearing up muddy roads?


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

bpressnall said:


> Funny how that works, huh?
> 
> It is funny how that works. It never fails that I get questioned about horses whenever i'm talking to a wheeled (mtb or dirt bike) group, and since i've seen miles of wet trails torn up by hooves, I can understand the frustration. We always encourage equestrians (and other users obviously) to be aware of the trail conditions themselves before they head out to avoid that type of impact.
> 
> Anyway, keep up with the good work with educating motorized users. Have you gone after the vehicle advertisers with their pictures of vehicles driving on meadows and tearing up muddy roads?


Actually, yes. We developed advertising guidelines years ago and have made some in-roads into companies that take what we provide seriously. Toyota is probably the most prominent, providing us with new vehicle brochures to glance over, as a courtesy. Much of the problem does come from a disassociation between our contacts at companies, and the advertising agencies. But rest assured, we're working on it. :thumbsup:


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Good morning everyone, and welcome to August!

We've been busy, yet again... What's that? You'd like a quick run-down? Absolutely... Here goes:

*Where we've been-*
Master Trainer Course (hosted by Stay The Trail Colorado) - June 18 in Denver, CO
Awareness Workshop for Cheyenne Mountain State Park - June 28 in Colorado Springs, CO
Tread Trainer Course (hosted by Sun Valley Adaptive Sports) - July 2 in Sun Valley, ID
Mountain Bike Nationals at Sun Valley - July 4-6 in Sun Valley, ID
FJ Summit - July 19-21 in Ouray, CO
Master Trainer Course at Camp Sol R Crown (hosted by the Boy Scouts of America) - July 28 and 29 in Wilmot, WI
National Order of the Arrow Conference - July 31 to August 4 in East Lansing, MI

*Where are we headed?*
Bass Pro Shops Land and Wildlife Expo - August 10-11 in Nashville, TN (Tread Trainers staffing)
CAST for Kids - August 11 at Strawberry Res, UT
NOHVCC Conference - August 21-25 in Great Falls, MT
Tread Trainer Course (hosted by Northeast Ohio 4x4) - September 31 in Windham, OH
Master Trainer Course (hosted by Rausch Creek Off-Road Park) - October 6-7 in Tremont, PA
BSA Outdoor Ethics Conference - October 24-27 in Hot Springs, AR
SEMA - October 30 to November 2 in Las Vegas, NV
Master Trainer Course (hosted by Uwharrie Off Road Training Center) - November 16-17 in Uwharrie, NC

If you are interested in participating or hosting a Master Trainer or Tread Trainer course in your area, please check the website. We will be getting the 2013 schedule running soon - Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer

Our educational posters program is up and running, including making these posters available for purchase by land managers and partner organizations. These can be fully customized to address the needs of the area. For more information on this program - Tread Lightly - Respected Access Educational Posters










A few pics for you all:









Jason covering learning styles with a Master Trainer course in Sun Valley, ID









Our new Master Trainers with the Boy Scouts









Justin teaching awareness courses at the National Order of the Arrow Conference in East Lansing, MI









Our Stewardship run group at FJ Summit in Ouray, CO

And a couple from our time in Sun Valley at the Mountain Bike Nationals with Sun Valley Adaptive Sports.








Getting set up before the races.









With one of the adaptive competitors' bikes

And because they're fun... A friendly "tip of the day"

Under the principle of "Do Your Part", as we move into the later days of Summer, there is still plenty of time to be involved outdoors. Keep your eye out for stewardship opportunities in your area and lend a hand. Taking even a tiny bit of time out of your day to pick up trash or fix a trail issue helps to promote the positive side of our community. A recent blog post from our Education and Stewardship Programs Manager going into a little more detail on the topic - Because Sometimes, It's the Little Things&#8230; | treadlightlyoutdoors

Happy trails...!


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Good evening all!

We hope that you've all been having a great trail season, and especially hope that everyone got a chance to see the fantastic changing of the colors going on throughout the country.

As the season winds down, and gear and your trail machine are getting stowed for the season, we'd like to encourage everyone to take that few extra minutes during the pre-storage maintenance to put in a little cleaning time. As with our riding season recommendation of cleaning your bike/quad/4x4 to help stop the spread of invasive species, the pre-storage cleaning provides a perfect time to take a fine-toothed brush to it and really clean out those wheel-wells, skid plates and undercarriage, floorboards, and the like to get rid of any unwanted hitchhikers. As our mothers always told us... "Your room will be easier to clean if you just KEEP it clean". Well thanks Mom, we get it now. Keeping our trail vehicles clean after our adventures makes it easier to clean up next time, and helps us all by keeping native plants where they belong.

And for the family haulers, tow-rigs and 4x4's, here's a great solution to containing the dirt, grass, and anything else your shoes may pick up on the trail once you've gotten that rig all spotless... New floormats! And since you're getting new floormats... Maybe some that say "Tread Lightly!" like these from our proud partners at Drive OffRoad.com???

So. Once that snow falls, and the trail rig goes to sleep for the winter (unless you're like us and don't mind a little snow-bashing here and there) please consider taking that extra step. Your gear will thank you, and so will we. Have a great upcoming weekend everyone!


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## Dirt Engineer (Sep 12, 2012)

No offence but I think you're trying a bit too hard. You're preaching to the choir, my friend. Enjoy Uwharrie in November. Plenty of mtb trails there as well


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Dirt Engineer said:


> No offence but I think you're trying a bit too hard. You're preaching to the choir, my friend. Enjoy Uwharrie in November. Plenty of mtb trails there as well


None taken. And while I agree that forums represent a pretty good "choir" in general... You never know when you might answer someone's unasked question, provide a resource, or strike a nerve and get some good conversation out of it.

Crossing my fingers I get to help teach at Uwharrie. Never been. And it would be great to get some more MTB folks in the training there for sure.

Until next time. :thumbsup:

-Justin


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## Dirt Engineer (Sep 12, 2012)

IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) has designated Uhwarrie as a Ride Center. We (Tarheel Trailblazers) and SORBA (Southern Off Road Bicycle Alliance) just finished up work on a grant on the Wood Run trail system Spring 2012. We are currently waiting on the USFS to help us identify the where we can continue to add more trail. That area is fortunately/unfortunately (depends on how you look at it) rich in archaeological sites which makes it challenging to build trail around.

We are well versed in "treading lightly" and sustainable trail design!


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

That's definitely a challenge. I am familiar with a number of trail plans in Colorado that are on hold because of archaeology. I personally think that the educational opportunity proposed by arch sites, etc is worth allowing access. Some interpretive signage, maybe some volunteers to provide oversight and answer questions along the trail (another great IMBA thing with the volunteer patrols!), and a dose of why its important to not vandalize or steal artifacts... and there you have it, a classroom in the forest.

IMBA (and the MTB community as a whole) has done great things with sustainable trail design. The motorized community has used those guidelines and design tricks for years, and is actually now looking to model those resources with tricks and tips that would specifically address motorized use.

Keep up the good work, and good luck with the new additions! Let us know if we can help with anything :thumbsup:

(quick side note... I've worked with the Atlanta and Chattanooga chapters of SORBA before in my previous life with one of our local affiliates in Colorado. Both chapters use graphics from the Stay The Trail Colorado motorized education program for trail tips. SORBA Chattanooga )


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## Medicine Wheel (Oct 4, 2012)

Hello, not trying to hijack a thread here but just wanted to introduce the Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates. We're a group of mountain bikers in Colorado Springs CO.We woek with other local organizations to build and maintain our existing world class network of trails. Keep up the great work everyone! Thank you for all you do!

We're actually have a trail work day on Oct 27th here in Colorado Springs in Palmer Park. Please visit the Calendar on our website. medwheel.org


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Medicine Wheel said:


> Hello, not trying to hijack a thread here but just wanted to introduce the Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates. We're a group of mountain bikers in Colorado Springs CO.We woek with other local organizations to build and maintain our existing world class network of trails. Keep up the great work everyone! Thank you for all you do!
> 
> We're actually have a trail work day on Oct 27th here in Colorado Springs in Palmer Park. Please visit the Calendar on our website. medwheel.org


Howdy!

As a group that works to maintain trails, you may want to consider applying for one of our stewardship grants. These grants can award up to $1000 to help your club and local organizations maintain and clean up our recreational opportunities. Keep up the good work, and let us know if there is anything we can help with. :thumbsup:

Tread Lightly - Stewardship Grants


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

Happy Sunday everyone!

Just wanted to pass on a little update with a couple big items...

First, as you've all probably seen with prior posts, we have been steadily increasing our involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and their Outdoor Ethics programming since we signed our agreement with them in 2010. Complimenting the human-powered backcountry ethics provided by Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly! has been asked to directly provide responsible use training and education concerning the mechanized, motorized, and shooting programs within the BSA. Over the last week, we attended the Outdoor Ethics Conference in Arkansas, providing a Tread Trainer course specifically tailored to those programs for over 60 council educators from across the country, as well as other coursework and sitting on an ethics panel in cooperation with LNT. This is sparking a huge opportunity for Tread Lightly! as we move towards further integration into those specific programs in the Nation's largest youth serving organization. For Scouts and leaders, stay tuned to the BSA Outdoor Ethics page for further information, including the soon-to-be announced new award structure for Outdoor Ethics. BSA Outdoor Ethics










Second... For those of you heading to Las Vegas for the SEMA show this coming week, please make sure to visit Tread Lightly! and meet the staff in cooperation with our friends at Omix-ADA. We'll be meeting with our partners, developing new partners, and looking to increase the resources and support that help us provide quality, relevant resources as we strive to increase the balanced protection of natural resources and continued access. More info- SEMA Show |

Last but certainly not least... Don't forget that our annual eBay charity auction will open early on November 1st. Get those bids in on products for your outdoor adventures, taking advantage of bidding that begins well below retail value. Tread Lightly - Auction

And until next time...
Happy Trails.


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## NEPMTBA (Apr 7, 2007)

We are all out there using the trails, so we all become responsible for what and where we ride, educating, maintaining, and practicing good fellowship gets us all more in the long run!


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## Tread Lightly! (Oct 19, 2011)

NEPMTBA said:


> We are all out there using the trails, so we all become responsible for what and where we ride, educating, maintaining, and practicing good fellowship gets us all more in the long run!


As simple as it could be put. Thank you. :thumbsup:


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## dburatti (Feb 14, 2004)

Dirt Engineer said:


> No offenc but I think you're trying a bit too hard. You're preaching to the choir, my friend. )


What he stated. You should petition MTBR for your own forum to better address your needs.

D


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