Boy Scouts of America

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Outdoor Ethics

Active Scouts

From a Cub Scout’s first hike in a local park to the thrill of our High Adventure bases, from our backyard to the backcountry, our outdoor ethics guide us to be responsible outdoor citizens — protecting our natural world for generations to come and being considerate of other visitors.  Scouting has a long, proud tradition of conservation service to the nation. How do we maintain our outdoor ethics and preserve that tradition? By heeding the challenge in the Outdoor Code:

As an American, I will do my best to—

  • Be clean in my outdoor manners.
  • Be careful with fire.
  • Be considerate in the outdoors.
  • Be conservation-minded.

Building upon this foundation, the Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Venturing, and Sea Scout programs all include outdoor stewardship, care for the environment, and Leave No Trace as part of their programs. At the Scouts BSA level, youth are encouraged to take leadership positions in encouraging proper outdoor ethics using the principles of Leave No Trace. Many Venturing crews have similarly adapted Leave No Trace principles to guide their outdoor recreation activities.  Through the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace, we can take responsibility for our own impacts. We can provide leadership to those around us to reduce their impacts by making good choices. Together, we can preserve and conserve our rich environmental heritage.

Scouts and Venturers who embrace the Outdoor Code and the principles of Leave No Trace often find that they wish to give back and help protect the environment that has given them so much. Some may find that they are “wild with love for the green outdoors—the trees, the tree-top singers, the wood-herbs, and the nightly things that left their tracks in the mud,” in the words of Ernest Thompson Seton, the first Chief Scout. These Scouts and Venturers have begun to feel what Aldo Leopold called the “Land Ethic.” The Land Ethic extends our concern beyond our fellow Scouts and Venturers, our families and friends, and even humanity itself to the entire environmental community of which we are a part—the deserts, forests, fish, wildlife, plants, rocks, oceans, and web of life encompassing them—what Leopold called “the Land.”

 The BSA has partnered with Tread Lightly! to provide specific practical outdoor ethics guidance for motorized activities.

Promoting Outdoor Ethics in the BSA Outdoor Program

Scouting has incorporated outdoor ethics at all program levels.   To learn even more about outdoor ethics, many Scouts, Venturers and adults earn the BSA Outdoor Ethics Awareness and Action Awards.   

The troop Outdoor Ethics Guide is a youth who supports learning the skills, practices and ethics needed for responsible outdoor recreation.   The guide is coached by an adult advisor.

Both youth and adult members, especially those who are teaching outdoor skills to others, are encouraged to take specialized courses to learn Leave No Trace skills.

Many councils have an Outdoor Ethics Advocate and Leave No Trace Master Educators who provide leadership to their local units, districts and council in learning and practicing good outdoor ethics.    Council Outdoor Ethics Advocates and Conservation Chairs are supported by Outdoor Ethics & Conservation Coordinators and Outdoor Ethics & Conservation Managers.

The BSA Outdoor Ethics and Conservation Subcommittee organizes monthly roundtables, hosts a national conference, and provides resources for everyone teaching and promoting outdoor ethics in Scouting:

Do you have questions about Scouting’s outdoor ethics? Email us at [email protected]