An Open Letter To Outdoors People

We, the undersigned—outdoorsmen all, old-timers all—want to express our deep concern over the growing trend to wear lug-soled boots and shoes for all outdoor activities.

Lug soles are great for the purpose for which they were designed, climbing and hiking on rocky trails. They are unmitigated disasters on woodland trails. Demographics and studies of outdoor recreation show that woodland trails are where most American hikers do their hiking. Lug shoes chew up dirt trails almost like bulldozer treads and snowmobiles; they make trails deeper by accelerating erosion. They cause puddles which, in turn, cause hikers to widen trails to avoid the puddles! The net result: deeper and wider trails made by the very people who ought to be most interested in the environmental impact of their own outdoor activities.

Our plea is simple: Wear lug soles for the purposes for which they were designed and which they perform admirably; for other outdoor activities, do as we do. Buy yourself a top grade, comfortable pair of non-lug boots or shoes from a farm or army store. Make a contribution to the woodland trails where most Americans hike.

Lug soles have become almost a badge to identify outdoor-oriented people. Students even wear them to classes on our campuses. If you want a badge, wear Woodsy Owl. It's cheaper than lug soles and does no environmental damage! Better yet, do as we have tried to do over the years. Let every indoor and outdoor activity be of such quality that you don't need a badge.

Signed:

Wm. M. Harlow, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Douglas E. Wade, Northern Illinois University
George Gibbens, Florence State University (AL)
Reynold Carlson, Indiana University
George Donaldson, Northern Illinois University

Illinois Parks and Recreation 27 July/August, 1977