***Originally posted 3/12/19 on @publiclandshateyou***
Many people were, and still are, upset that I called out a couple of individual accounts for going off-trail and taking pictures in the wildflower fields. Some people don't seem to understand the impact that one person can have. .
This photo from @thesimplehiker is the manifestation of that impact. One person chooses to disregard the rules, goes 10' off the trail and tramples a few flowers. The next person sees that minor impact, thinks it's ok because someone else did it, but they go 20' to get that perfect shot. Before long, you've got 7 people wandering around in a previously untracked wildflower field, beating down a new trail that others are sure to follow, signage be damned. .
The physical impact of breaking the rules here is obvious. A new trail through a previously virgin field. How about the impact of the pictures that these people take, as seen in the second picture? In addition to their physical footprints, these people are leaving a digital footprint that suggests to their followers that it's ok to go off trail. That it's ok to pick wildflowers. That it's ok to ignore posted signs for a cool Instagram picture.
So did I make too big a deal about one picture? Maybe. But the cumulative impact of everyone breaking the rules, even in small ways, WILL have a visible, and likely permanent, impact on the environment, especially if tourism accounts like @visitpalmdesert are going to be jumping on the bandwagon. #publiclandshateyou #protectourplaces #deathby1000cuts #disrespect #selfish #ignorance #peoplesuck #illegal #publiclands #superbloom #superbloom2019 #poppy #poppyfield #ourpubliclands #protectyourpubliclands #seesomethingsaysomething #wildflowers #wildflower #trampled #flowers #illegalbehaviour #forprofit #profitfirst #highimpact #leavenotrace #wildernessethics #wildflowersociety