Low Impact (LNT/LMT) Techniques

From a friend:

"Hey Tom! Can you point me In the right direction in regards to resources on low impact canyoneering practices?"

Seems like there is lots to say on this... my mind however does not know where to start... HELP ME!!!

There are many threads here on the CC that touch on this subject, including this one:
http://canyoncollective.com/threads/custodianeering.18500/

And there is this video from the National Parks...

https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=669838FD-13C5-4DB2-AB99-F490E69CA1FB

And there is this article from Back In The Day: https://www.canyoneeringusa.com/intro/minimum-impact

First level: Don't get hurt in a canyon. There is nothing more high impact or more likely to leave a trace than a rescue. Helicopters, extra bolts and webbing, lots of people, publicity, rope grooves, scratches in canyon walls from the litters etc.

Second level: Don't put or leave anything in a canyon that cannot later be easily removed by another party. Better to tie webbing around a tree than pull 100 feet of rope around the tree. Minimize rope grooves by padding edges, using a toggle even from established anchors etc. Deadmen and cairn anchors are better than new bolts.

Third level: Don't leave anything in a canyon and take out anything that doesn't belong there. Learn how to use sand traps, pack drags, water pockets, toggles, captures, downclimbs, jumps etc. to ghost canyons. Don't tell anyone about the canyon unless you're also showing them how to preserve it for future explorations to experience it as you did. For heaven's sake, don't put it on the internet. There are plenty of already published canyons to be done but a rapidly diminishing number of true exploration canyons still out there.

Be careful as you progress from first level to third level that you don't do something to avoid leaving anything in the canyon that would hurt somebody or hurt the canyon. Better to leave webbing than have someone get hurt. Better to have one set of well placed bolts than foot deep rope grooves etc.

^Well said!