![]() In hindsight, clearly the question was never one of education as opposed to regulation. By the late 1970s, voices began expressing concern that managers were regulating the joy and spontaneity out of wilderness recreation – that education was a better approach to management than regulation (Bradley 1979 Lucas 1982). Increasingly, they adopted rules and regulations – from limits on group size to designating where camping would and would not be allowed. In the early 1970s, parks, rivers, and wilderness areas started limiting the number of recreationists through permit systems. Since the problem stemmed from increasing recreational use, the solution most often suggested was to identify a carrying capacity and to limit use so the number of recreationists never exceeded this capacity. ![]() Papers were written about wildlands being “loved to death,” about problems with overcrowding and ecological damage, and need for management (e.g., Snyder 1966). By the 1960s, wildland recreation was exploding. Unfortunately, awakening awareness and resultant behavioral change were insufficient to offset increasing population and interest in backcountry recreation. Backcountry Recreation Booms in the 1960s and 1970s This awakening awareness was the ultimate origin of the Leave No Trace (LNT) movement. Some who noticed impact would have recognized the link between impact and their recreational behaviors, altered their behaviors accordingly, and encouraged others to do the same. The effects of trampling on vegetation were noted as early as the 18th century, and concern about recreation impacts on redwoods led to studies as early as the 1920s (Liddle 1997). Where did the Leave No Trace program come from? Even in the far past, when population levels were lower, outdoor recreation was less popular, and resultant impacts were less problematic, some people undoubtedly recognized the ecological damage recreation can cause. Top image by Bob Dvorak: Leave No Trace practices promote conservation in backcountry settings.
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