Correct Response: C. The Leave No Trace principles, established by the Center for Outdoor Ethics, have been widely adopted by many outdoor and wilderness organizations and curriculums to create an ethical awareness that helps ensure the sustainability of outdoor recreation. The principles address safety (preparing for extreme weather, minimizing and completely extinguishing campfires), proper disposal of waste (pack it in, pack it out), preservation of the natural environment (leaving plants and other natural objects as is), respecting wildlife (observing animals from a distance, controlling pets), and other aspects of stewardship. Light packing (A) may help reduce the likelihood of leaving inappropriate materials in natural areas, but stewardship also involves many other dimensions of interaction with the environment. Familiarizing students with locations of parks, refuges, and forests (B) and having students participate in National Public Lands Day activities (D) is likely to increase student awareness of outdoor recreational opportunities and the importance of resources in public lands, but these activities do not directly address the goal of helping students develop an ethic of stewardship toward the natural environment.
