“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” The quote originated from Chief Seattle, a Native American who came from the Duwamish Tribe in the state of Washington. This mindset has been adopted by locals and lovers of the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area who established the Leave Only Footprints program. Leave Only Footprints exists to raise awareness and participation in Leave No Trace behaviors and other green initiatives.
The collaborative effort began in 2007, coordinating city, state, business and individual efforts and resources to ensure the sustainability of our island’s valued natural assets. Herb Malone, president and CEO of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism, said, “Everybody came together and said this absolutely had to be done. Our cities adopted some very strong ordinances that help protect our environment and, as we all know, our economy is dependent on our environment. If we don’t take care of our environment, we don’t have an economy.”
He goes on to say, “It takes a lot of people to make it happen, but we’ve got a good team. Between the two cities, they removed over 400 tons of material from the beaches last year, in the form of aluminum chairs and tents, beer cans and Coke cans, and other kinds of trash – 406 tons of material taken out.”
By removing tents, chairs and trash from the beach each day, animals have seen the largest positive impact, especially sea turtles. The number of nests along the beaches has increased year over year, except for the years when there has been a natural disaster such as the BP Oil Spill or a storm.
More than 10 years later, Leave Only Footprints continues to grow. Both cities continue to work together with the help of community partners and getting the knowledge out to visitors. This remarkable team effort has paid off many times over.