Living & Playing in Wyoming’s Wild Country

A Primer on Appreciating and Protecting
the Wild Country of Wyoming

What You Can Do to Keep the Wild Wild

There are many simple ways for residents and visitors to think about participating in the campaign to protect Wyoming’s wild landscape.  

Leave No Trace is a core practice for visiting wild lands, camping, recreating, hunting and fishing, yet leave no trace of your presence by utilizing prescribed clean, camping practices.  

Here are the core LNT principles while using the backcountry of Wyoming.

Plan Ahead and Prepare

• Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.
• Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
• Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
• Visit in small groups when possible. Consider splitting larger groups into smaller groups.
• Repackage food to minimize waste.
• Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

• Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.
• Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
• Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.

In popular areas:

• Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.
• Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
• Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.

In pristine areas:

• Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.
• Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.
• Dispose of Waste Properly
• Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.
• Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.
• Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
• 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.

Leave What You Find

• Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
• Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
• Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
• Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

Minimize Campfire Impacts

• Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
• Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
• Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
• Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, and then scatter cool ashes.

Respect Wildlife

• Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
• Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
• Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
• Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
• Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

Live Sustainably

There is a direct link between the protection of wild lands and choosing sustainable living practices – recycling, using less energy, composting, buying locally, and green products.  The pressure on wild lands from our energy intensive lifestyles is threatening wildlife all over the globe.  We are in the midst of the sixth great extinction of species on the planet due primarily to human activities.  If we can change our behaviors in simple ways, many species will benefit, including our own.

For example, check out the Green Living Guide website produced by the National Geographic Society. You will find many tips for changing the way you travel, clean your house, cook, and manage your trash.

You may also want to calculate your carbon footprint to determine how much energy you use to maintain your particular life choices.  There are many sites including the NGS site listed above for determining your footprint and what you can do to reduce it.

Join, Support and Buy

You can support the Wyoming Wilderness Association who is dedicating its efforts to protecting Wyoming’s public wild lands.  There are many conservation oriented non-profits in Wyoming.  You can connect to some of them through this website.

You can also buy products from businesses that support wild lands.  There are many businesses that support the efforts of WWA to bring new wilderness protections. See which businesses have endorsed the Rock Creek proposed wilderness campaign HERE.

1% for the Tetons (who helped fund this website) is an organization in the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming that brings together businesses in the region to contribute 1% of their gross income to projects that protect the natural areas and sustainability projects.

1% for the Tetons is a local chapter of 1% for the Planet, an international alliance of businesses which donate one percent of their sales to environmental organizations worldwide. Members of 1% for the Tetons automatically become members of One Percent for the Planet. Member businesses donate one percent of their sales to 1% for the Tetons. These donations are aggregated and granted to fund projects supporting the long-term sustainability of the Tetons region.

1% for the Tetons grants are distributed through a donor-advised fund of the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole.

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