NOS Mission

Nevada Outdoor School inspires exploration of the natural world, responsible stewardship of our habitat and dedication to community.
This is the spot for us to share stories, fun ideas or general musings. When you aren't in here, we hope to see you out there!







Thursday, February 10, 2011

Think Outdoorsy, Act Locally

One act of vandalism leads too...

Back in December I vented about a vandalized trailhead restroom – see Winter Hike Interrupted – recently, I was excited to hear the Bureau of Land Management was able to repair the damage! However, my excitement was rudely interrupted when my informant’s sentence was finished with, “but now it’s covered in paintball shots…”

I ventured up to Water Canyon to take a look at the damage myself and along the way found tree vandalism as well. Some of this vandalism was not deemed appropriate for this blog; I’ll let your imagination figure out what was carved into one particular tree. 

...more vandalism.

If you’re like me, you’re probably a little disheartened right now. But turn that frown upside down and ask yourself – what can I do to help my local recreation areas? The answer – lots!

- Carry a trash bag with you on a hike and pick up litter along the way.

- Stay on the designated trails. It is much easier to avoid creating a user trail than to erase one.

- If you see vandalism, report it to the land manager.

- Lend a hand during a land stewardship event. Contact your local conservation organization for information or look for a local event in correlation with National Public Lands Day.

- Join a Friends Group or another local organization; these groups adopt recreation areas to help conserve our resources. A couple of the Friends groups we partner with are Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Friends of Black Rock High Rock.

- Spread awareness by voicing your concerns with a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.

Volunteers removed a few tons of trash from the
Black Rock Desert on National Public Lands Day

I feel that it’s important to take care of all recreation areas; but while National Parks belong to everyone across the country; local parks belong to you and your neighbors. I would argue that we need to take even more pride in these recreation areas and help conserve our local resources so our community can continue to enjoy them.

Do you have more ideas to help protect your local resources? We’d love to hear them!

-Trails

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