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By Simmons Buntin, January 17, 2012 3:22 pm

A Pavilion resident shows water contaminated by fracking.

Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens (PACC) today denounced attacks from the oil and gas industry and the state of Wyoming in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding its investigation of contaminated drinking water wells in Pavillion, Wyoming. EPA test results show that hazardous chemicals, commonly used in oil and gas development, contaminated the wells.

Powder River Basin Resource Council and Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project applauded PACC for its letter and today launched a national sign on letter campaign urging the EPA to continue with its rigorous investigation and to identify the cause of the contamination.

In December 2011 the EPA released the draft report of its scientific investigation into the connection between oil and gas development and contamination of drinking water wells. After initial testing in August 2010, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) urged residents not to drink their water or use it for cooking. If EPA’s draft is finalized with its current conclusions, it will definitively refute the oil and gas industry’s claim that hydraulic fracturing has never contaminated drinking water wells.

“Pavillion residents made continual requests for help from the state of Wyoming and industry before seeking assistance from EPA to address the contamination issues. For over ten years the state refused to help us. That’s when we went to the EPA. Now it appears the state is joining the industry in fighting this study tooth and nail,” said John Fenton, Powder River Basin Resource Council Board Member and Chair of Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens.

EnCana Oil & Gas USA, which owns and operates over 200 gas wells in the Pavillion area, denies that drilling is to blame for the contamination, stating that many of the toxins “occur naturally.” On January 6, 2012, EnCana sent a letter demanding that the EPA suspend the public comment period on the report claiming that the agency didn’t give the company copies of all the data it used to compile the report. Also last week, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming and Wyoming Water Development Commission accused the EPA of not following its own water-testing protocols by holding several water well samples two days too long before conducting tests.

Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens, Powder River Basin Resource Council, and Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project have long fought to require the regulation of fracking and full and public disclosure of the chemicals used in drilling operations.

“These accusations are a political ploy to cover up the results and bring a halt to the study,” said Gwen Lachelt, director of Earthworks’ OGAP. “We’ve seen this time and again with industry shirking responsibility and the government turning its back on the people who bear the impact of energy development in our country,” Lachelt stated.

“The EPA is conducting a scientifically sound investigation of the contamination in the Pavillion area,” said Wilma Subra, chemist, president of Subra Company, and board member of the State Review of Oil & Natural Gas Environmental Regulations (STRONGER). “Holding the samples for a longer time did not compromise the results. If anything, longer hold times make the results less likely to indicate contamination,” Subra stated.

“The American public needs to see this for what it is: a planned assault to undermine the Pavillion study and smear the EPA.” said Deb Thomas with Powder River Basin Resource Council, “EnCana did get one thing right.  The state of Wyoming should hold their own testing events to the same standards they’re demanding from EPA.  The state’s test results should publicly release all critical information, including all the Report-related raw data. That would allow all parties and citizens to understand what regulated and non-regulated chemicals are being found in our drinking water and aquifers.  ”

The area under investigation just east of Pavillion is home to about 160 residents in the middle of the Wind River Indian Reservation, 150 miles east of Grand Teton National Park. Residents share their farming operations with over 200 oil and gas wells that surround their homes. Toxic chemicals were found in nearly nine out of every ten wells sampled. In monitor wells drilled by EPA, benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, was found at 50 times the limit safe for human health along with numerous other toxic chemicals including 2-BE, a chemical used in fracking operations. Through the years contamination has been suspected, EnCana supplied and halted drinking water service to residents. In 2011 EnCana tried to sell its entire Pavillion/Muddy Ridge gas field to Legacy Oil & Gas out of Midland, Texas. Legacy backed out of the sale in late November.

For more information:

• PACC letter to the EPA
• EPA announcement of Pavillion draft results
• EPA Pavillion study page:
• PRBRC website
• PACC website
• Earthworks: Community Survey Reveals Health Impacts in Pavillion, WY Gas-field

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By Simmons Buntin, January 4, 2012 10:32 am

By Erik Hoffner

I recently did an assignment for Yale Environment 360 reporting on Sweden’s forestry industry. I was excited to see the country, where “my people” are from, and which is regarded as the greenest in the world. For these reasons I already felt proud, but my purpose there would turn out to give me pause.

The trip made it clear that the country’s forestry model, which Sweden likes to say is the most sustainable forestry system in the world, does not work. Federal regulations on logging were replaced in 1993 by an act requiring that every logging operation balance production with conservation, allowing companies to be their own bosses and operate under a “freedom with responsibility” framework.

Earlier this summer the Swedish Forest Agency revealed that over a third of all the recent cutting activities, 37%, violated the tenets of the model by prioritizing production over conservation. That is perhaps not surprising: voluntary programs like this rarely work, no matter what country you’re from.

Swedes identify strongly with nature and polls show that they prioritize conservation and recreation over logging by a long shot. However, there’s a big disconnect between sentiment and action and between the built and natural environments, exacerbated by the great distance between the country’s main population centers in the south and the logging tracts of the north.

One sunny afternoon in Stockholm I asked Dr. Ulf Swenson about this. We sat on a bench outside his lab at the Swedish Museum of Natural History where he works as a senior research scientist and had a buoyant conversation, but his face clouded when the talk turned to the logging in the north. A recent visit there left him “terrified by how little forest was left.”

That’s a pity, because this is where most of the country’s oldest and richest natural forests are, and where much of Europe’s biodiversity calls home. In order to meet their production goals, though, forestry companies are pushing aggressively into these areas and the loss of biodiversity is increasing. Perhaps the Swedes’ high level of trust in each other, which has been extended to these companies via the forestry model, is being betrayed when it comes to the trees.

While there I also joined an excursion of “biodiversity hunters,” folks with varying biology backgrounds from Ph.D.s to students, who search for rare species of plants and animals whose presence can keep forestlands from being logged. Several of them were from Helsinki, interestingly. They told me that they’d given up on preventing the loss of Finland’s forests and instead work here, where there is still a chance to save a significant portion of the region’s natural boreal forests and intact biodiversity.

I go into much more detail on the specific problems in the Yale piece (which was subsequently picked up by National Geographic), which is also resplendent with damning quotes not only from conservationists but also logging company reps and official sources, one of which is a high official in the country’s version of the EPA, who calls the Swedish forestry model hopelessly naïve.

But you’ll perhaps get an even better feel for the issues and the landscape by watching this quick video interview with two conservationists in the northern county of Jamtland, and from the images I’ve collected on my website:

It was great to see where my people come from, even if it was to break a rather unpleasant story. But it’s a huge question: if the so-called greenest country in the world can’t do forestry sustainably, who can?

~~~

Erik Hoffner is a freelance photojournalist and Outreach Coordinator for the award-winning magazine, Orion. His work appears in Earth Island Journal, Grist, and The Sun. He is also an editorial board member of Terrain.org.

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By Megan Kimble, December 12, 2011 9:49 am

A mature buffelgrass plant pokes out of rocky terrain (photo courtesy of Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum)

Buffelgrass is like the cockroach of the Sonoran desert. This invasive species, introduced from the African savannah, has gained a foothold in southern Arizona, crowding out native plants and threatening native wildlife populations. Dense buffelgrass stands compete with native plants for precious desert water, crowd out germinating seeds with their deep roots, and spread wildfires through an ecosystem ill-adapted to fire.

But since 2005, a group of dedicated volunteers have been working to eradicate buffelgrass from disturbed public lands. Volunteers from the Arizona Native Plant Society, the Arizona Sierra Club, Tucson Audubon Society, Sonoran Desert Weedwackers, and University of Arizona Soil, Water, and Environment Club have worked to dig up buffelgrass stands and prevent future invasions by planting native species. On December 3, 48 volunteers worked in an area of severely disturbed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands at the base of the Waterman Mountains in the Ironwood Forest National Monument northwest of Tucson.

In the mid-2000s, this site had one of most severe infestations of buffelgrass in the entire Tucson Basin. Starting in 2005, the Arizona Sierra Club organized volunteers to manually remove buffelgrass on these BLM-managed lands. Since 2008, a core group of Arizona Native Plant Society volunteers has worked to regularly apply herbicide to emerging buffelgrass, plant native trees, and install water catchment areas to encourage desert restoration. Over 66 native plant species and thousands of planted native trees have taken hold across the site. Though invasive buffelgrass on this site is now under control, the soil remains charged with seed, so maintenance is constantly required.

Though hardly a new phenomenon—think Christopher Columbus and smallpox—globalization has opened the gates for the introduction of non-native species into ecosystems throughout the world. Invasive species are estimated to cost about $138 billion in environmental damage and losses each year, and are estimated to affect 1.7 million acres of U.S. wildlife habitat each year. Other examples of invasive non-native species wreaking havoc on ecosystems include yellow starthistle, which now dominates almost 10 million acres of once-productive grazing land in northern California, and, in the animal world, the carrier pigeon, which, having spread through cities across the country, is estimated to cost over $1 billion annually in property damage.

Although many non-native species aren’t invasive and don’t disrupt their new environments, problematic disruptions arise when non-native species, freed from the pressures of co-evolved natural predators, thrive at the cost of native plants and animals. After habitat destruction, invasive species are considered to be the greatest threat to ecosystem biodiversity.

To help with future buffelgrass projects in Arizona, contact volunteer coordinator John Scheuring at jfscheuring@hotmail.com.

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By Megan Kimble, October 31, 2011 6:22 pm

The world’s population hit 7 billion today. Well, give or take 56 million.

The United Nation’s Population Fund acknowledges that its projection has a 1 to 2 percent margin of error—which translates roughly into the population of Italy—and that an exact date could not be determined; they chose October 31 as the “symbolic” date for hitting 7 billion. That a specific day was designated is less about the significance of the exact number—7,000,000,000 breathing, eating, sleeping people—than the usefulness of a time peg for a necessary conversation: how on Earth are all these people going to live on Earth?

Many people have focused on the environmental issue of growing consumption of energy and natural resources caused by growing populations. As more people enjoy greater access to wealth in rapidly developing countries like China and India, demands on already strained energy sources threaten to grow even higher.

At the same as wealth is rising, so are the numbers of impoverished people living in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where most of future population growth is projected to occur—which is, not coincidentally, where many women don’t have access to contraception, or are empowered enough to request it.

In the annual State of the World Population report, the new leader of the United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, a Nigerian obstetrician-gynecologist, wrote: “In many parts of the developing world, where population growth is outpacing economic growth, the need for reproductive health services, especially family planning, remains great.”

The benchmark population count has catalyzed conversations not only about the 7 billion people but also the one. Inspired by work at National Geographic that analyzed population data for humanity’s most common characteristics, reporters at CBS hit the streets to find “Earth’s most typical person.” They found Mu Li, a 28-year-old male who lives in New York City and works for People’s Daily, China’s state newspaper.

According to the National Geographic profile, the world’s largest ethnic group is Han Chinese, there are more males in the world than females, and the global median age is 28. Mu Li fits the bill. He also:

— Is right-handed.

— Is Christian

— Speaks Mandarin.

— Owns a cell phone.

— Doesn’t have a car or bank account.

— Makes less than $12,000 a year.

In the face of 7 billion people, the power of one shouldn’t be forgotten. “Instead of asking questions like, ‘Are we too many?’ we should instead be asking, ‘What can I do to make our world better?’” Osotimehin wrote.

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By Megan Kimble, October 24, 2011 10:32 am

An aquatic inventory team explored this dry wash in the Rincon Mountains during the BioBlitz (photo by Megan Kimble)

Standing under the sun on a 110-degree day in Tucson, it’s easy to assume the Sonoran Desert is a hostile, lifeless place. But, venture into the hills, and you’ll find a different story. Nestled among the giant Saguaro cacti is a brimming ecosystem, hosting the greatest diversity of vegetative growth of any desert worldwide, as well as an astonishing array of mammals, reptiles, birds, and aquatic invertebrates.

This weekend, the National Park Service and National Geographic teamed up to host the 5^th annual BioBlitz in Saguaro National Park to inventory the diversity of that ecosystem.

A BioBlitz is a 24-hour event to find and identify as many living species as possible in a national park. Scientists and experts lead inventory teams of students, teachers, and community members into Saguaro National Park East and West to explore the park’s mountains, valleys, cactus forests, washes, and tinajas in search of the desert’s wildlife.

An un-inventoried rattlesnake (photo by Megan Kimble)

Each team had a focus—from Gila monsters to aquatic fungi—and they ventured into the national park for two- to four-hour shifts. School kids took over the inventory teams all day on Friday, Oct. 20, as part of a broader mission to get young people excited about science.

Two of the major events unique to Tucson included the saguaro census, which focused on counting the growth and preservation of the iconic saguaro forests, and the night sky inventory, which measured light pollution in and around Tucson, an important measurement for the many world-class observatories located outside the city.

Tucson’s BioBlitz was the fifth in a series of 10 annual BioBlitzes planned by National Geographic and the National Park Service, leading up to the Park Service’s centennial in 2016. The first BioBlitz was held at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., in 2007; in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California in 2008; Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 2009; and Biscayne National Park in Florida hosted last year’s BioBlitz.

While inventorying species is the stated mission of the BioBlitz, the event is as much about the park as the people—getting people into the park—which is why all BioBlitzes focus on national parks adjacent to major urban areas around the U.S.

John Francis, the Vice President of Research, Conservation and Exploration for National Geographic, explained why: “We’re trying to awaken people who don’t really understand their deep connection with nature,” he said in an interview on the National Geographic BioBlitz website. “Sometimes in the urban setting you don’t get out into nature. But there are parks around the country that are close to the city, and we want to get the schoolchildren and the families into the park, to get them to be with those who really know it and love it and get them bitten by the bug that’s so exciting about loving nature through these BioBlitz activities.”

The Tucson BioBlitz was the first large-scale species inventory of Saguaro National Park. Check out images and results from the BioBlitz on the National Geographic BioBlitz blog.

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By Simmons Buntin, August 12, 2011 10:17 am

Each issue of Terrain.org includes the UnSprawl case study, a close examination of a development that strives to put people over automobiles, reduce resource use, and create a sense of place though vernacular architecture, plazas and parks, and more. For example, check out the latest UnSprawl: Rockville Town Square in Rockville, Maryland, which creates a new, dynamic and transit-adjacent town center in place of a failed 1960s-era shopping mall.

Working with Planetizen Press, Terrain.org is putting together a full-color book of 11 updated UnSprawl case studies, plus a new one — with interviews, additional resources, and exclusive online content. To make that happen, however, Terrain.org editor-in-chief Simmons Buntin (who is writing ten of the case studies, alongside architect Ken Pirie, who is writing two) must travel to the communities, meet with the bright minds behind the innovative projects, and photograph the developments. And to make that happen, he needs to raise funds to offset travel costs.

That’s where you come in:

Using Kickstarter’s secure platform, Simmons is hoping to raise $2,500 toward travel costs through September 5th. If he doesn’t reach the funding goal, then he doesn’t receive any of the pledged funding.

What do supporters get for pledging? Depending on your pledge level, you can receive anything from a Terrain.org sticker to an electronic or print copy of the book once published, to a limited-edition photograph by Simmons, to an onsite tour of one of the projects.

Please take a moment to learn more and pledge today:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/635178095/unsprawl-case-study-book

Thanks for your consideration.

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By David Rothenberg, June 9, 2011 8:56 am

Following my previous book/CD projects on birds and whales, I am now on a quest to make music live with bugs.  The first and perhaps greatest stop: jamming with hordes of singing cicadas, the kind that come out once every thirteen years across the American midwest.

Here on a particularly exposed single tree at the corner of Vigal Road and East Lakeshore Drive in Springfield, Illinois, it feels like photographer Charles Lindsay and I have arrived at the epicenter of the thirteen year cicada invasion.  There are literally millions of cicadas per hectare at such moments, and we have a hard time keeping them out of our clothes.  If you are afraid of insects, this is the way to get over it—take out your saxophone in the midst of a swarm of cicadas, bugs that have been slowly growing for thirteen years underground preparing for these few weeks when they ascend the trees, sing in swells of wheeeeeoooowsh white noise, calling out for a mate.

We don’t really know how selective the females are at such moments, but Dave Marshall and John Cooley discovered that a precise wing-flick sound made by the females exactly half a second after the males finish their song is the signal that the female is ready to mate.  There are so many bugs out here that perhaps everybody scores.  Science doesn’t really know—fieldwork can only be done less than once a decade.  I didn’t hear any other saxophones out there.  And we have no idea how or why the males of Magicicada trecassini synchronise their whoops in waves of swelling sounds every few seconds.  The sound of ten of them all doing this next to my ears is as deafening as a heavy metal concert.

Hear the live performance here.

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By Simmons Buntin, April 25, 2011 12:49 pm

Least Tern. Photo by Tom Grey.

(Washington, D.C., April 22, 2011) One year after the start of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) announced it will launch a five-state, Gulf Coast conservation effort that will identify and implement protective measures for vulnerable beach-nesting birds such as Least Terns, Black Skimmers, Sandwich Terns, and Royal Terns.

The project will bring expertise not only from ABC, but from partners throughout the Gulf region, including the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program; National Audubon, the Pascagoula River Audubon Center (and their Audubon Junior Naturalist and “Chick Shelter” programs), and the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society; and the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. The project, which is funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, will focus on beach-nesting bird habitat in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

“This project will reduce impacts on key beach-nesting bird colonies, many of which are currently vulnerable to accidental disturbance by members of the public, dogs, and ATVs which can cause adult birds to abandon a nest or lead to crushed eggs and injured chicks,” said Mike Parr, Vice President of ABC and one of the leaders of the project. “Nesting birds occupy a tiny portion of the region’s beaches, usually well back from the shoreline, so there won’t be a conflict with beach goers, but the areas they do use are absolutely vital to their breeding success” he added.

“All of us love the beaches of the Gulf – they are economically vital to our coastal communities – thus our project goal is not to restrict public access, but instead we hope to engage the public in helping us with beach bird recovery by sharing this beautiful shoreline during nesting season,” said Cecilia Riley, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory.

“Audubon is excited to bring our volunteers, Audubon chapters, and over 100 years of experience protecting beach-nesting birds along the Gulf coast to this exciting initiative by ABC”, said Melanie Driscoll, Audubon’s Director of Bird Conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Flyway.

“Beaches are among the most limited and threatened of all bird habitats in the U.S. They provide only a tiny sliver of nesting opportunity for birds, and are often heavily used by humans, squeezed by development, and frequented by colonies of feral cats. Consequently, birds that require this habitat face considerable survival challenges. Much of their plight is caused by anthropogenic impacts, so it is only fitting that we take steps to fend off some of those challenges and give them a fighting chance,” Parr said.

Habitat to be targeted by the project was directly impacted by the oil spill, both from the oil itself and also as a result of the cleanup effort, which caused damage along much of the Gulf Coast through disturbance and nest destruction by cleanup crews on foot and in vehicles, and through the removal of sand from nesting areas to construct protective berms along the tideline.

Specifically, the project partners, with the help of volunteers, will implement conservation measures such as signage and fencing at critical, unprotected or insufficiently protected colony sites for beach-nesting birds, to reduce accidental nest destruction and abandonment. These direct protection measures will be supported by a public awareness campaign designed to encourage beach-goers to respect and avoid sensitive nesting areas.

Both the Least Tern and the Black Skimmer are on the U.S. WatchList, which identifies birds that need conservation attention to survive a convergence of environmental challenges, including habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change.

American Bird Conservancy (www.abcbirds.org) conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats, while building capacity in the bird conservation movement. ABC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization that is consistently awarded a high rating by the independent group, Charity Navigator.

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By Simmons Buntin, April 20, 2011 12:35 pm

Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard.

The Center for American Progress released two reports on the one-year anniversary of the BP blowout: “The Gulf One Year Later: Beyond Rhetoric?” by Michael Conathan, which discusses the Congressional response to the economic and environmental catastrophe, and “One Year Later BP Still Not ‘Making It Right’” by Jorge Madrid and Kiley Kroh, outlining the lack of accountability and responsibility on the part of BP to restore the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

In “The Gulf One Year Later: Beyond Rhetoric?,” Michael Conathan discusses the congressional response to the BP spill, which claimed the lives of 11 men and set off an 87-day environmental nightmare. The explosion also triggered an equally ferocious barrage of rhetoric in the nation’s capital. A frantic burst of congressional hearings emerged as the immediate oversight response. As usual, they were full of sound and fury—sadly but not surprisingly—signifying nothing. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that 101 oil-spill-related bills were introduced in the 111th Congress, which came to a close in 2010. Exactly zero were enacted into law. Another 15 have been introduced so far this year—none of which has been acted upon by their committee of jurisdiction. This article explores past efforts and current efforts within the legislature and the administration and why this legislation has not been promulgated a year later.

Members of Congress should work toward passing legislation that would:

• Mandate that 80 percent of BP’s Clean Water Act fines be sent directly to the Gulf Coast to repair environmental and economic damage
• Strengthen provisions ensuring local stakeholders have a voice in prioritizing the use of the funds

For the full article, click here.

“One Year Later BP Still Not ‘Making It Right’” by Jorge Madrid and Kiley Kroh outlines the lack of responsibility and accountability by BP to fully compensate for the damage done to individuals, businesses, and the fragile ecosystem of the Gulf region. Despite the administration’s insistence that BP bear the entire cost of the unprecedented cleanup, it looks like taxpayers will be picking up half the bill. The galling payouts don’t end there, either. Transocean gave its top executives safety bonuses in December 2010 and Ken Feinberg and his firm, Feinberg Rozen, which was hired by BP to manage the claims process, negotiated themselves a raise, now receiving pay of $1.25 million a month. BP has made clear that it will be ending compensation proceedings for individuals and businesses by 2013 and is exploring a loophole in the wording of the Clean Water Act that could dramatically reduce its liability for significant penalties under both the Clean Water Act and NRDA.

To provide proper oversight and strategic spending, the following steps should be taken:

• Establish an independent citizens’ advisory council to ensure the money goes to appropriate projects
• BP and other responsible parties should be required to make an immediate down payment on the NRDA process
• Responsible parties should be prevented from using the court system to further delay payment while legal challenges are pending

For the full article, click here.

To speak with CAP experts on this topic, please contact Christina DiPasquale at 202.481.8181 or cdipasquale@americanprogress.org.

###

The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reflect these values. We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

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By Rafael Otto, March 31, 2011 12:43 pm

Jeff Alt, an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast, offers great tips and strategies for families to head outdoors. In addition to walking the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail, Jeff Alt has walked the 218-mile John Muir Trail with his wife, and trekked across a 50-mile path of Ireland with his wife, young daughter, and extended family. He and his wife emerged from the church doors on their wedding day with backpacks. His son was taken on his first hike at 8 weeks.

Check out his advice for getting the kids outside.

Best Tips for Teaching Your Kids to Enjoy Hiking

“Getting kids outside is more important than ever,” says outdoor enthusiast and author Jeff Alt. “TV, computer and video game addictions are replacing outdoor play time and contributing significantly to the national obesity epidemic! Get the kids outside!”

Start Early-Develop A Routine:

• Start hiking with your newborn.

• Let the child lead.  This helps you focus on what they’re interested in and keeps you from leaving them in your dust.

• Take a family walk once a day.

Prepare your family for your adventure:

• Research the destination & activity.
  • Maps, guidebooks, websites, local experts, rangers, lectures.

• Choose a trail that offers easy access to domesticated amenities.  Be a parent, not a Sherpa.

• Check into transportation options.  Have a plan for what to do if you need to get off the trail.

• What kinds of wildlife can you expect?  Will water be available? What are the weather and terrain like?  Avoid hiking in freezing temperatures, lightning storms, and extreme heat.

• Get everyone fitted into boots and packs.

• Clothing- NO COTTON! Dress in layers (synthetics, fleece, wool, and waterproof breathable items).
  • • Rain jacket
    • Hat
    • Shirt
    • Socks
    • Shorts/pants
    • underwear
  • Deet Free bug repellant
  • Children’s sunscreen

• Train before you go. This will help you adjust to carrying the pack, and your child will acclimate to the routine.
• Bring plenty of water.

Think Food – Think Fun:

Pack your kids favorite snacks to encourage your kids to eat and stay energized.

Bring items that are easy to prepare or ready to eat.

• Freeze-dried meals
• Pasta/rice/beans
• Foil-wrapped meats such as tuna or chicken
• Dehydrated fruit and veggies
• Sliced apples, grapes, bananas, carrots
• Energy bars or granola bars
• Peanut butter
• Cheese and sausage
• Bagels, tortillas, crackers, candy bars, nuts
• Oatmeal and dried cereals

Learn First Aid and be prepared for trail emergencies:

Carry a first-aid kit, and brush up on child first aid and CPR. Learn about the dangers of hypothermia, and monitor children for signs. Pack your child’s medication.

Learn how to use a compass and map or GPS. Learn how to make a shelter. If you get lost, make yourself as visible as possible. Place a bright item (e.g. item of clothing or gear) in the open. Make distress signals and make noise. If you brought a cell phone, see if it works. Leave a copy of your itinerary with a friend or family member.

Keep the journey fun:

Whatever animal or rock your child takes interest in, stop and explore with them. Talk to your child about what you’re seeing.  Label the animals, rocks, trees, and flowers. Tone down your mileage goals to the comfort level of your child.

Engage older children with trip planning, animals, local history, or anything that applies to what they are learning in school.

Let your older child bring along a friend.

Entice the computer kids with gadgets (e.g. GPS, pedometers).

More on Jeff Alt:

Alt is a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA). His adventures have been featured in media nationwide including: ESPN, Hallmark Channel, the AP, CNN-Radio, NPR, and more. Alt’s award-winning books, A Walk for Sunshine and A Hike for Mike, have been reviewed in Library Journal, Chicago Sun Times and more.

For more information visit www.jeffalt.com