2 Alabama State Parks earn ‘Leave No Trace’ Gold Standard
Reading time: 2 minutes
Two popular Alabama State Parks have been designated Leave No Trace Gold Standard sites.
According to an Alabama State Parks announcement on Instagram this week, Cheaha State Park and Monte Sano State Park have earned the prestigious title.
The designation is given by the national organization Leave No Trace, a membership-based nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the outdoors through science-based education that inspires responsible recreation.
Monte Sano State Park and Cheaha State Park only Gold sites in South
Currently, only 33 sites in the U.S. have earned the distinction of becoming a Gold Standard site.
Only six of the sites are east of the Mississippi River. Joining Cheaha and Monte Sano on that elite list are:
- Mohonk Preserve in New York
- Shenandoah National Park in Virginia
- Acadia National Park in Maine
- Hodges Village Dam in Massachusetts
In addition to Alabama’s State Parks, Wild Alabama has earned the Leave No Trace Gold Standard Program designation.
Why does the Leave No Trace Gold Standard matter?
If you care about taking care of our parks, forests and wilderness areas, learning about Leave No Trace is a must-do.
The gold standard designation process provides a framework for building a well-developed Leave No Trace educational program that results in better-informed visitors and fewer recreation-related impacts.
The “Gold” status indicates that the park excels at educating visitors on minimizing their footprint, preserving wildlife habitats and adhering to the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace:
- Plan ahead and prepare.
- Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
- Dispose of waste properly.
- Leave what you find.
- Minimize campfire impacts
- Respect wildlife
- Be considerate of others
If you are interested in enacting a Leave No Trace program in Alabama and your community, reach out to Wild Alabama, which has one of the most successful programs in the South and the nation.
