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Kevin Callan: Should parks require mandatory education courses for permits?

Glenn MacGrady

Glenn MacGrady

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"There have always been ignorant, unethical and apathetic campers wandering the woods. But if you’re feeling, like my group did, as though there are a lot more of them lately, you’re right."

"Now I’m hearing some paddlers talk about the need for a mandatory backcountry etiquette course taken before anyone heads out to sleep in the woods. This isn’t a new idea. Many national parks, including Canada’s Pacific Rim and Gros Morne National Parks and the United States’ Yosemite, Denali and Glacier National Parks, require users to attend orientation sessions before issuing permits on some backcountry routes. Why not do the same for all protected spaces?"

paddlingmag.com

Is Mandatory Backcountry Education Coming To A Park Near You?

Litter, poop and fire damage have some paddlers calling for more regulations and enforcement at backcountry sites.
paddlingmag.com paddlingmag.com

Aye or nay to this idea?
 
I have long advocated for a birding "license" akin to a hunting license. Not quite the same thing as requiring a class, but they would perhaps go hand in hand (I can see requiring a certificate or license to get a backcountry permit). As a birder my main thought is that the funds for purchasing the license would be used for conservation of habitat - something similar could be applied to backcountry activities. Hunters of course pay for a yearly license and also take courses, so it's not as if there is not a model to follow. It also feels like hunters get preferrential access to some wildlands because they pay fees to do so; a fee system for other activities would seem to give them more financial and potentially political clout...
 
Aye and Nay. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. If you need a pass to access a route, I can see a requirement to watch a short video (if done online), or read a pamphlet/listen to a presentation prior to issue if in person. As a "general" rule I feel that people with extensive time outdoors pretty much understand what is acceptable and what is not, though there are always exceptions and alcohol seems to usually be involved. It may help with the newer crowd, but experience is usually the best teacher.

Back in California I was an active member of the Friends of the Rubicon, which was a volunteer group dedicated to the Rubicon Jeep trail through trail work, education, etc. It was a long and slow process that proved extremely worthwhile over time and had a large impact on maintaining the trail, keeping it open to the public and fostering responsible use.

Like many things, it takes a crisis to prompt action or a commitment to prevent an avoidable outcome such as closure. Which is probably true of most activities be it hiking, jeeping, cycling, kayaking, canoeing etc. When actions of others begin to infringe on ones, ability to enjoy something, they tend to insight change. Majority usually rules whichever way it swings.
 
This a typical easy cheap plastic bandage treating a festering wound. While it helps, a little, to cover the unsightliness it does nothing to treat the cause. IMO the answer involves the 3 E's. Education and enforcement. Both can be applied at the desk and in the field. But these take another E. Effort. All of which requires proper targeted funding.
The last time I tripped in a park the ranger issuing our permits demanded we read the rules before she completed the paperwork. We happily complied. Didn't matter we knew and obeyed them. I wish I could say the same about the carrousing crowd slouching next to us at the desk sniggering at the stoopid rulez . But who knows? Maybe one of their group was fastidous and principled, making sure they followed the rules.
Reminds me of an article I read in the news recently, about a small park in a big city. It seems this parkette has been beautified over the years by dedicated volunteers, providing a greener escape for city types needing some r & r. But it's suspected the frat house and bar peeps nearby has lead to abuse of said parkette. So too the troubled street people leaving their pollutions behind. The answer? Gates. With locks. To keep the ne'er-do-wells out, between the hours of 10 pm and 8 am. The existing 3 ft fence is marginally effective I suppose. Seems an easy "fix". But a more thorough approach towards a lasting solution would be so much harder, but wouldn't it be worth it, in the end?
Investments need to be made and maintained if we truly value our green spaces, wherever they are.
 
Hopefully I am not creating online enemies by saying this, but I feel honor bound to defend the idea of regulations. Regulations are rules by which we keep the areas we love free of development, overuse, and exploitation. If areas are unregulated, there is nothing to stop mining, deforestation, and misuse. I understand the notion that some escape to the backcountry to avoid modern society for a while, but that modern society has the potential to devastate these places we love (and whatever our primary reason for conducting a backcountry trip, I am sure we all admire the beauty and pristine nature of the places to which we're paddling). I would only request that we carefully consider that regulations, while they can sometimes appear onerous, are what protect the areas we love...
 
If areas are unregulated, there is nothing to stop mining, deforestation, and misuse.
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I don't think these types of regulations, which I'm in favour of, and try to create and enforce, are the type that we are discussing here. I think the premise of Callan's article is that anyone entering an established park for a wilderness trip should undergo some sort of mandatory training to instruct them on proper wilderness etiquette, such as how to poop in the woods, proper campfire practices, leave no trace instruction, all the kind of stuff that experienced trippers are already aware of and practice.

I'm not interested in tripping in those areas anyway, so I guess my opinion is void. Right now in Ontario, as a Canadian resident, I can trip on Crown land or unmaintained water parks with no registration or fees. The only people who would even know I was out there would be my wife and close friends. Canoeists in Ontario have so far slipped under the regulation free-for-all, we don't have to register our canoes, we don't have to have a boat license, and we don't have to wear a life jacket, as long as it is in the canoe. I'd like to keep it that way. I guess what they do in parks doesn't matter to me, as long as a regulation bonanza, often a money grab, doesn't leak over onto my turf.
 
The BWCA requires an orientation for entry permit (at least the permit holder of a group, as I understand it). That didn't make me feel "unfree" there.

There are some very popular places that would benefit from a permit system with some basic unobtrusive training (reminder for many). I guess if that's offensive, we still have other places to get away from that. I don't see a problem here, but I don't know how far that goes in Canada. If I have to take training to do a trip in Canada though, I don't see that as any kind of deterrence.
 
There will be 3 reactions to new regs...

1) the folks that already know and follow the rules will be unaffected

2) the people that are happy to follow the rules but just don't know the rules will become aware and follow the rules

3) the people that don't care about the rules will be unaffected (or perhaps even more vindictive)

So I wonder what percentage of the litterers just didn't know they weren't supposed to litter. I'd guess zero. But it's easy to envision an increase in vindictive behavior as bureaucracy increases.

I won't go off on folks that propose new time or money taxes on people with no personal accountability or business case.
 
Yeah, I think people who are in the habit of littering won't be changed. Neither will deliberately destructive people (although they might be discouraged from attending). But I have witnessed plenty of people who were oblivious of the damage they caused or might cause from their fire practices, where they set up camp, how they handle food, etc. Many, if not most of those, have been motivated into better practices after receiving proper instruction.
 
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