Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

What does this image invoke? Does it call up any memories, thoughts or feelings?  As a child I would carry around a stuffed toy of this bear – Smokey the Bear.  I remember carrying him around with my fat little fingers by his belt. I truly loved him, as he was the protector of all naive animals of the forest from careless humans. Smokey the Bear has been the spokesperson for forest fire safety since the 1950’s – making it the longest PSA campaign in US history.

The campaign helped bring attention to our responsibility to help protect parks, forests and wildlife. I was unaware of the life lessons of responsibility and conservation I was learning at the time.  As a child of the 70’s, it was natural to be outside playing and exploring all and any area I could either walk to or bike. I’ve always been fascinated by nature. I was lucky to be in both Girl Scouts and Indian Guides and able to go on several camping trips each year which nurtured my love of hiking, camping, and our beautiful natural world. I also credit Smokey’s calming voice saying “Only you can prevent forest fires”.

When I think about Smokey, I think about conservation and my responsibilities. Smokey was a trailblazer in conservation, today there are many organizations and people fighting the good fight, and we can all give our assistance to the fight. I listed a few regulations all should follow while hiking in my first post, and would like to expand on them in regard to conservation. It is important and our responsibility as guests of parks, campers, or hikers to tread lightly. By treading lightly, it should be as if you were never there, or leave it even better then you found the area. If we all do our part, and follow a few rules we can keep our parks natural and beautiful for generations.

Remember to travel responsibly on designated roads, trails, and areas. By staying on the trails single file and not walking on the edges or cutting switchbacks, it will decrease the damage, causing erosion and visual scarring. When walking on open country where there are no trails it’s best to fan out, dispersing footprints and impact or creating a new trail. Always respect the rights of others, obtain permission if crossing private property, keep the noise down, and keep your pets under control.  Do your part, by modeling appropriate behavior, leaving the area better than you found it, properly disposing of waste, and minimizing the use of fire. Please remember we are guests and there will be many to follow and we want all to experience nature and its beauty.

Image from website Smokeythebear.com