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Outdoor Safety & Ethics
Each year several individuals or parties get lost or hurt in the woods. The most effective way to prevent mishaps is to plan ahead and prepare for your trip. Always check for current conditions and regulations for the area you will be visiting.
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Outdoor Essentials
View a list of what items to bring when you travel outdoors. Being prepared could save your life.
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Outdoor Safety Tips
Know Before You Go! Check out some key safety tips, learn how to avoid hypothermia, what to do in a lighting storm & more.
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Outdoor Ethics
Learn tips to help minimize our collective impact on natural resources. Get involved and help others.
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Campfire Safety
Learn how to pick your campfire spot as well as prepare, build, maintain and extinguish your campfire.
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Winter Safety Tips
Winter hazards such as wind, cold, snow, or whiteout conditions can turn an outing into a tragedy. Advance preparation can ensure a safe and enjoyable outing!
Help Protect Bats from Bat White Nose Syndrome
In March 2016, Washington’s first case of white-nose syndrome was confirmed in a Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) near North Bend. Though the disease has devastated bat populations in eastern North America, we do not yet know how it will impact western bats. In general, bats in Washington do not hibernate in large aggregations like bats do in eastern North America. Thus, the spread of the disease in western North America may be different.
Find out more about white-nose syndrome, a disease that has killed millions of bats, and help to avoid its possible spread by humans.
Stay Safe!
Safety tip: All forest visitors are encouraged to notify family or friends of their trip itinerary including their expected return schedule. It is common for weather conditions to change suddenly in mountainous terrains; sunny mornings can turn into stormy afternoons. Always be prepared for bad weather
The most effective way to prevent mishaps is to prepare and plan ahead. Knowledge of the area, weather, terrain, limitations of your body, plus a little common sense can help to ensure a safe and enjoyable trip.Testing!
Please visit the Recreation Outdoor Safety and Ethics pages for more information, tips, and checklists.
Take care of our public lands
As with outdoor safety, backcountry ethics or how you recreate and use the forest determines how it will be left for the next visitor. Whether you are a seasoned wilderness backpacker or a first time hiker, please respect other users and use minimum impact techniques.
With increasing demands on our wilderness, backcountry, and developed recreation sites, it is up to all of us to keep these areas in good condition for the next visitor as well as the next generation.
Check these organization websites for more information on outdoor safety and ethics:
- Tread Lightly: www.treadlightly.org
- Leave No Trace: www.lnt.org
- North America Outdoor Institute: http://www.naoiak.org/
- National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS): http://www.nols.edu/courses/locations/pacificnw/