Keep America Beautiful
Horseshoe Bend, Page, ArizonaSnowfall on a point in the Colorado River called Horseshoe Bend.
Scouts Outdoor Code
"As an American, I will do my best,
to be clean in my outdoor manners,
to be careful with fire,
to be considerate in the outdoors,
and to be conservation minded"
On my recent trip to Arizona, I had the chance to photograph some of the Southwest's natural wonders. From the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley, I was able to see amazing vistas, capture some memorable photographs, and have a ton of fun in the process!
One of the places I stopped gave me more than just a great photograph; it also gave me a lot to think about. This place was Horseshoe Bend, a picturesque wonder of geology carved by the Colorado River. I had been to the site once before, about 18 months ago. On that first trip, the area around the bend was quiet, serene and visited by a fairly small number of people. Coming back only a year and a half later, the location is now serviced with shuttles and busloads of tourists. Sadly, the effect of more human activity in the area was all too visible: litter, makeshift trails, and portable toilets. Facilities that were designed for a few thousand visitors per year had long since been overwhelmed, and now a major construction project is underway to build facilities and a hard surface pathway to the ledges.
The change wasn't a fluke. The National Park Service and other organizations have documented the massive increase in the number of people who visit Horseshoe Bend. Five years ago, the site was known only to locals and a handful of unusually knowledgeable visitors. Today, the rim above this winding bend on the river draws over 1.3 million visitors annually. The main culprit, according to experts, has been social media. Beautiful pictures of Horseshoe Bend have made it known to the entire world and drawn in hordes of visitors in the process. The place itself, in a sense, has gone viral.
The situation at Horseshoe Bend made me think about the unique conservation challenges of the 21stcentury. At a time when popularity on social media can turn quiet, out of the way spots, like this random bend in the Colorado River, into tourist destinations practically overnight, we have to ask ourselves what we as visitors can do to ensure that these places remain for future generations. When we haven't even solved the problems that have existed for well over a century, how can we cope with the new ones that are still arising?
Over the years, there have been plenty of initiatives aimed at aiding conservation by getting everyday people like you and me to do our part. While none of them provides a complete solution, I think they all have something important to teach us about our own roles in preserving the places we visit. Perhaps the most basic of these is The Outdoor Code, a brief oath recited by every member the Boy Scouts of America. This code has the young scouts pledge to be clean and considerate in the great outdoors, treat nature with respect and follow good conservation practices. Although it's over 60 years old and written for young men, I can't help but think how much better Horseshoe Bend might look today if the adults among us adhered to the simple principles outlined in The Outdoor Code.
Expanding on these principles a bit is the concept of a "land ethic", first proposed by writer and conservationist Aldo Leopold in his 1949 classic book A Sand County Almanac. Leopold observed that while codes of ethics existed to govern how individuals interacted with each other and with society as a whole, no such code governed the relationships between humans and the land. While Aldo Leopold never presumed to develop an all-encompassing land ethic, he did leave us with the following insight into a basic rule he believed could help humans make ethical choices in their interactions with the natural world:
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
One of the most successful pushes to bring conservationism to the mainstream was launched in 1970 by Keep America Beautiful, a non-profit organization that embarked on a massive campaign to make the general public aware of the effects of pollution and littering. The group's effort to distribute mass numbers of free pamphlets to educate the public was followed up in 1971 by perhaps the most famous public service announcement ever created. The 1-minute television advertisement titled “People Start Pollution: People Can Stop It” helped to spur the modern environmental movement and educate millions of people about the personal role they could play in conserving our country's natural beauty. Keep America Beautiful has continued this important work ever since. Fifty years later, with political and corporate interests manipulating public sentiments to burn more fossil fuels, or the rush to mine lithium to add hybridization and energy storage to everything from cars to power grids, I think the struggle continues.
Most recently, we've seen the emergence of the Leave No Trace movement, a campaign that focuses on responsible hiking and camping. Leave No Trace proposes seven principles aimed at helping visitors leave nature exactly as they found it. These principles range from proper waste disposal and fire use to being aware of the surfaces you're walking or camping on. From these seven basic tenets, outdoor enthusiasts have hit upon a large body of best practices for preserving various ecosystems and minimizing the risk of human damage. Of particular importance is the fact that the Leave No Trace movement has offered some helpful guidance for responsible social media portrayal of natural locations that may address the problems I saw at Horseshoe Bend.
As a photographer, conservation efforts are especially important to me. I've had the pleasure to visit and photograph some of the most beautiful natural scenes in the United States, and I can't help but wonder what these places will look like 50 or 100 years from now if those of us who come to enjoy them don't become more responsible stewards now.
The effect of social media popularity and human negligence on Horseshoe Bend isn't unique. Other sites, including Zion and Yellowstone National Parks, are suffering from many of the same problems I witnessed firsthand on my recent trip. This experience definitely got me thinking, and I hope that some of my thoughts will resonate with you and encourage you to take a more active role in conservation on your next outdoor adventure.
Photo: Adam Folken
References:
https://www.outsideonline.com/2291861/horseshoe-bend-canary-our-park-system
https://www.outdoorethics-bsa.org/OutdoorCode.php
https://www.aldoleopold.org/post/understanding-land-ethic/
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/leave-no-trace.html
https://lnt.org/blog/new-social-media-guidance
https://e360.yale.edu/features/greenlock-a-visitor-crush-is-overwhelming-americas-national-parks
