First Seattle Backyard Session a Success

April 18, 2011, Seattle, WA: The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics conducted a Backyard Session in Seattle, Washington to discuss this year’s Hot Spot at Mount Rainier National Park’s Paradise Area. Mount Rainier National Park rangers, Jordan Mammel and Christine Czazasty, presented an overview of impacts related to recreation at the popular Paradise area within Mount Rainier National Park. Mount Rainier stands as an icon of the Pacific Northwest and it was evident that there is incredible enthusiasm around Mount Rainier and Leave No Trace Programs within the Seattle area. Dave Winter, Leave No Trace’s Outreach Manager, moderated the discussion and lunch held at Seattle’s downtown REI store.

Along with representative from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, individual members, board member and Mount Rainier National Park, participants included representatives from Cascade Designs, Outdoor Research, Eddie Bauer, REI, Groundspeak, Washington Trails Association, The Student Conservation Association, Rainier Mountaineering Incorporated, My Scenic Drives.com, and The Mountaineers.

The next Seattle Backyard Session will be held in June:

June 27th at The Mountaineers Program Center in Seattle, 7-9pm
June 28th at The Seattle REI Flagship Store, 6:30-8pm

If you live in the Seattle area, we would like to invite you to join area educators, partners, volunteers and members to sign up for volunteer opportunities at Mount Rainier National Park, learn about upcoming Leave No Trace trainings in the area and discuss all things Leave No Trace for your community.

About Backyard Sessions
Backyard Sessions encourage Leave No Trace community activism and create a platform for training, environmental youth programs and Leave No Trace–based stewardship activities. Through the Backyard Session program, like-minded people gather together in local communities across the country for fun, social and interactive events to learn how to incorporate Leave No Trace where they live and play. Learn more or bring a Backyard Session to your community at Backyard Sessions.

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Peak Steward Training: March 7 in Boulder, CO

The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative is a non-profit organization partnered with the USFS, Leave No Trace, and others whose mission is to preserve and protect the fourteen thousand foot peaks in Colorado through active stewardship and public education. CFI’s Peak Stewards are a group of enthusiastic volunteers who are trained to monitor high-use Fourteeners. Peak Stewards document human and wildlife encounters, user behaviors, compliance with Forest Service regulations, and trail and resource conditions.

Peak Stewards also initiate contact with other climbers when appropriate, and provide educational information about Fourteener-specific Leave No Trace principles for Colorado’s alpine environment. Once trained, Peak Stewards will commit to volunteering a minimum of four days throughout the summer.

Peak Steward Training #2 will be at the Boulder REI from 9:30-3:30, Sunday March 7th. We have the Community Room (big glass room in the center of the store) reserved and plenty of space. Please contact Brian at 303-278-7650 or email to brian@14ers.org for more information or to sign up for the training.

Fastpacking the John Muir Trail Presentation - March 15th, Boulder, CO

When: Monday, March 15, 2010 7:00 PM-8:30 PM
Where: Community Room, REI Boulder, 1789 28th St

Presenter: Kurt Achtenhagen, Director of Finance and Operations, Leave No Trace Center For Outdoor Ethics

Are you interested in fastpacking, lightweight backpacking, hiking the John Muir Trail, or all three together? Join Kurt Achtenhagen, Finance Director for the Center, for a slide show and presentation about his recent trip down the John Muir Trail. Together, with a group of friends, he covered the 220 miles in 8 incredible and very enjoyable days last fall. He will share many of the tricks and tips learned along the way, his top ten list of suggestions for traveling lighter and farther, and show the gear he packed for the trip.

See Kurt's past blog entries on his trip here:

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

More information: http://www.rei.com/event/2170/session/2615

Successfully PEAKing interest at REI

Throughout our travels in New Mexico and Texas, we have had the opportunity to provide PEAK (Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids) training to six different REI stores. In 2001, REI partnered up with the Center to develop a program to introduce the Leave No Trace principles to youth in a fun and interactive manner. Through the generous support of REI, the PEAK Program is able to reach over 100,000 kids annually! Click here to find out how you can get your hands on a PEAK Pack to inspire the children in your life to become lifelong stewards of the land.

Safe Travels...Kate and Tracy