The Lorax is Not Speaking For The Trees... So We Should

[OlTrailDog]

While I am in no way advocating that folks drive nails into trees at public campgrounds, I do want to point out that hammering a nail into a tree will not harm it, nor cause it to die. The only scars that have a real negative impact on trees are ones that run the circumference of the tree.

In actuality, if you were going to hang full-time from trees on your own property, it would be better for the trees' long-term health to screw a couple eye hooks into them- rather than looping straps around the trees every night.

That said, I am always amazed at the blatant lack of respect many campers show toward the natural resources they claim to "love."

Two points. Wounds can act as entry wounds for other organisms, e.g. fungus and insects. Secondly, there may also be the "broken window" effect to take into consideration. That is to say, a campsite with nails pounded into trees tends to perpetuate more nails pounded into trees, "camp furniture" built, stock tied to trees long term, trash left in the fire pit, and folks randomly hacking away at trees within the campsite. It seems to be like hogs to truffles, camp pigs seem to have the uncanny ability to sniff out places to dump their trash and trash out campsites. Last summer after moving over to the beautiful Bitterroot from Bozeman I was stunned to see how local folks (out of state folks don't bring their trash all the way here to dump) have a sad lack of a decent land ethic. It is a local paradigm, folks around Bozeman love their back country, folks in the Bitterroot love to trash their back country.

I came to the sad conclusion that I would rather have a bunch of Californians with a good land ethic move here than to see the hog fest created by locals. Now that is dire.

[Adabiviak]

This may be a tough nut to crack... I don't believe I've ever been to a public campground with standing trees that weren't quite shredded due to random nails, slash marks, whatever.

As I think about it, most of the nails are probably for hanging stuff (water bag, backpack, trash bag, I don't know). If the campground managers had tree-friendly hooks... something simple like a velcro strap set that could wrap around the tree tightly (people aren't going to wrap it so tight that it'll strangle the tree), such that a simple S hook on one side would allow someone to hang something from the tree without issue? The simpler and cheaper, the better, because as I also think about it, if these aren't handed out for free, like "complementary tree hanging set - please use these if you need to hang something from a tree so we can keep them in good shape for future visits", people aren't likely to use them. This also has the benefit of being able to put the hook exactly where you want it.

For straight vandalism of the trees (from a set of initials into the outer, dead layers of bark to full tree-killing girdles), I don't have an idea. My few anecdotal data points tell me "wanton kids" and "drunk adults" are the source of most of these, both of which are highly resistant to following rules.

[RazorSharp]

People have been tapping maples for centuries. Trees heal just like people unless the abuse is drastic and constant. Not advocating nails in trees at campsites but stopping it is futile. Just too many crapheads in the world.

I wonder if a steel pole with a few eye hooks in each campsite would reduce this. If they put two of them, and made them beefy enough, then folks could hang from them.

[P-Dub]

In my 15 years of canoe camping in Algonquin Provincial Park, I have collected hundreds of pounds of trash left behind by careless/clueless campers. (It became a self-chosen 'job.') The nails at some campsites have been most egregious and defy logic. Do people not realize that if they need a clothesline, they can simply tie the cord around the tree trunk?? And what is it with people who feel the need to add a nail right next to a nail that someone else put there before?? Why do they hammer nails into tree roots?? Put nails right next to perfectly sound branches that could be tied to?? Not to mention, I do not understand the desire to HACK the bark of living trees with hatchets.....

Oh... don't get me started.... (oops, already did...)