In contacting more than 70+ local business people over the past few months about the need to permanently protect our beautiful Owyhee Canyonlands, Western Treasure Valley residents have told me how alarmed they are by how some people treat our public lands. They’ve expressed irritation in seeing garbage, cans, bottles, and other damage in areas that should be pristine. Many families have special spots they want to keep taking their kids and grandkids to visit for years to come, and they are disgusted when the places they love are trashed/damaged/overused. My pet peeve? Finding TOILET PAPER around a campsite! Am I right? Ugh, yuck.
Stewardship of our public lands includes preserving beautiful landscapes permanently; and we here at Friends of the Owyhee are working on that every day. But stewardship is also about safeguarding our environmental heritage, combating the damage we see from the changing climate around us these days, ensuring equitable access for everyone… and taking personal responsibility to not only clean up areas that have been abused but also spreading the word that we don’t appreciate having our shared areas decimated by the impulsive carelessness of others.
Gentle social pressure can be a positive factor in getting someone to notice when they’ve accidentally left things they shouldn’t at a campsite. I’m not talking about getting into anyone’s face; I’m talking about ensuring that everyone around my campsite sees me and my grandkids cleaning up other public spaces; digging cans out of fire pits and disposing of them properly, encouraging others in a positive manner for “going the extra mile” to clean up public spaces, and just in general teaching our families to be poster children for Leave No Trace principles.
“Leave No Trace” Principles for Disposing of Waste Properly:
Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled food. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter. Burning trash is never recommended, and cans/bottles don’t burn!
Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6-8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished. Bury toilet paper deep in a cathole or pack the toilet paper out along with hygiene products. (Do this for our Owyhee! Dry desert areas don't break down these items easily.)
To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.
FOTO hosts “First Saturday Stewardship” almost every month. If you are interested in helping clean up our public lands, please join us! Do you coach a team or run a kid’s club or church class? Why not partner with us to teach “hands-on” respect for these treasured landscapes! FOTO staff can work with you to find a stewardship event that offers safe spaces for children to help pick up cans or bottles.
Every time a group of us is out on a clean-up, we get positive honks and waves from passersby… why? People appreciate it when folks do “the right thing” and they especially love seeing youngsters learn it too.
Our public lands are a gift, and they represent the best of what we can achieve when we come together in unity to protect our natural heritage. By embracing stewardship, we not only safeguard these unique treasured lands, but also strengthen our communities, our families, and our connection to the natural world around us.
Do you have ideas on how to help with stewardship? Send us a message, or call to tell us! We appreciate your insight and comments, and we love it when people come together to solve problems. Let’s join forces to clean up our Owyhee public lands together!
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