Stewardship & Outdoor Ethics Program


The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is dedicated to promoting and supporting land stewardship and outdoor education. In collaboration with numerous partner organizations, BLM’s Stewardship and Outdoor Ethics Program educates the public on how to recreate responsibly in the outdoors, and sponsors volunteer events and activities designed to improve and enhance the public lands. 

Whether your favorite pastime is hiking in the backcountry or riding an off-highway vehicle (OHV) on the many BLM OHV roads and trails, the BLM encourages you to take the time to learn the outdoor ethics of your activity. Stewardship is about taking care of the great lands that belong to all of us, and keeping them healthy for future generations. Participate in preserving our national treasures – the public lands. 

National Recreation Programs

National Public Lands Day volunteers anchor "Stay on Trail" sign

Outreach & Partners/Events
To inspire the public to practice appropriate outdoor ethics, BLM partners with Tread Lightly! Inc. and Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. These organizations emphasize good land stewardship through education and ethics, rather than simply through a set of rules or regulations. Visit these BLM partner organization websites to learn more about how you can be a good steward on public lands by behaving responsibly in the outdoors.
 
The BLM also co-sponsors annual volunteer events including National Public Lands Day, National Trails Day and Take Pride in America, which help build land stewardship awareness among the public. Numerous improvement and enhancement projects are undertaken through these events, such as building bridges and trails, planting trees and shrubs, and removing trash and invasive species. The projects serve many purposes, such as to restore or improve landscapes and water quality and to improve habitat for native species, while also providing a more attractive and functional environment in which to recreate. 
 
 
Stay the Trail stewardship & outdoor ethics education trailerLand Stewardship Principles
The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics has created seven Leave No Trace Principles that are designed for reducing damage caused by outdoor activities, primarily non-motorized. BLM recognizes them as essential to effective and ethical land stewardship practice.
 
Tread Lightly! Inc. also has created pledges for land (Tread Lightly! on Land) and water (Tread Lightly! on Water) recreation users that are similarly designed to reduce damage caused primarily by motorized recreation activities. Recreational users are encouraged to follow the principles described in each pledge as these practices will greatly lessen the impact of recreation use in outdoor settings.
 
 
Additional Links
Environmental Education – The BLM Learning Landscapes website.  The BLM strives to realize healthier and more productive public lands through better informed citizens who are willing to participate and assist in solving complex environmental problems.  This site offers teacher resources, classroom activities, and a wealth of other learning opportunities relating to the 258 million-acre laboratory of BLM-managed public lands.
 
 
BLM Contact
Patti Klein
National Lead
Stewardship & Outdoor Ethics Program