We as humans have a sense of compassion that drives us to want to help others. Some help by recycling, while others by becoming doctors; everyone wants to help in some way or another. Every time I have driven past a lost dog, I have stopped to call it over and find a phone number on a name tag. We feel the need to be a part of something, and we often selfishly act on that. We want to feel important and involved. We are sentimental and rely on things to remind us of a place or time, rather than memories. But in reality, sometimes the things that we do to try to help others or feel important are doing quite the opposite.

With the recent spike in frustration over the behavior of tourists in national parks as well as local outdoor environments, it's important to be reminded of the correct way to treat nature. In the last few months there has been a number of inappropriate behaviors in wild environments, including placing baby bison into cars, swimming in thermal pools and attaching balloons to Eagles. Park rangers in Yellowstone National Park have even been staging walk offs in protest.

I could write pages and pages on the proper etiquette to be used when in a natural environment, but to sum it up; LNT. LNT stands for "leave no trace," and is the most basic "rule" to follow when we venture off into areas of wilderness. The various environments and protected lands around the globe vary in their vegetation and animal populations but all should be treated with respect. The concept of LNT is quite self explanatory, it is to encourage humans not to leave a mark on the land. We have plenty of ways to express ourselves and leave our mark on the world, but distorting nature is not one of them. Practice of LNT includes staying on marked trails, proper cleanup and leaving vegetation and animals as they were. The simplest acts which may seem harmless hurt the environment. It's so important to preserve the land we have with so much of it being torn down for urbanization. Practice LNT by not taking rocks/sticks from the park, camping on designated sites, and sticking to the trails. Avoid hurting animals by not feeding them, tie up your food in bear boxes, throughly clean up campsites, and do not approach. By protecting the animals from these things, they will not become dependent on humans for food or care and lose their ability to live in the wild, as they are meant to be.

Preserved parks are meant for us to explore nature and enjoy it in its most primary state. When people choose to disrupt and indecently disrespect the land, we all suffer from the effects. It's imperative that we do our part to protect the nature we are so graciously given and fortunate to have. Practicing proper outdoor etiquette is important not only in national parks but in neighborhood areas such as ponds or bike trails. Nature lives all around us from the trees in our backyard to the bunnies on our streets. Do your part to protect nature and leave no trace.