June 25, 2001  -  Leave No Trace  - 
Kongakut River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Among backcountry users, a "Leave No Trace" ethic is practiced by those wishing to minimize their impacts on wild, fragile places. The goal is to leave a camp site, hiking trail, river or any natural area as if you were never there. It requires a bit of an effort, but it's not difficult. Pack out everything you pack in, don't leave fire pits or ashes behind, bury human waste, etc.

While it's pretty easy to leave no visual signs of your presence, it's the invisible impacts that I worry about. Hiking on the tundra the other night, I flushed a bird from her ground nest. Would she return to her young? We've watched groups of caribou walk toward our camp only to alter their course upon seeing us. One night, a wolf veered several miles out of its way to avoid us. Does this added distance cause irreparable stress? Will the fragile tundra where we've pitched our tents recover?

If one person being extra careful to leave no trace can still impact wildlife, what will oil processing facilities, ice roads, wellheads, derricks, pipelines, mechanic trucks, fuel tankers, incinerators and work crews do to this delicate arctic ecosystem?


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