Once humans begin using the trails, the negative effects exponentially increase. Walking down the trail leads to less permeability because the soil is packed down, which then causes water to erode the trail (Dávid, Lontai-Szilágyi, and Baros 243). Other pertinent effects include campfire scars, litter, habitat displacement, and contamination of water sources (Marion and Leung, “Environmentally” 229). These issues can drastically change the natural environment surrounding the trail and result in ecosystem loss or extinction of key species, which is why prevention is such an important action to take. While regulatory actions have been the first reaction to environmental degradation, education has become the best way to minimize the detrimental effects of tourism on the natural world because of the simplicity in application, widespread effects, and the success that the Leave No Trace program has had with effectively educating …show more content…
The peripheral route of persuasion is for people with short attention spans. It is more focused on the delivering a short, condensed message. The use of spokespersons, like celebrities, is an effective way to use this technique because the peripheral route depends on the credibility of the source rather than the information itself. The central route of persuasion, however, is the most effective technique. It utilizes the visitors’ attention to convey complicated topics and results in changed behavior. Visitors who take the central route are engaged in the analytical process of learning the material, which in turn means that they are more likely to retain the information (Blake). Education outreach also capitalizes on the theories of moral development developed by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg. People are either pre-conventional, meaning they fear punishment, conventional, meaning they care about what people think, or are post-conventional, meaning they chose to do the right thing because it is fair and just. Pre-conventional visitors respond best to law enforcement while post-conventional visitors would use education to do what is best for the environment. Conventional visitors would do what is right if they were surrounded by their peers (Reid and Marion 2). In order to speak to all audiences, programs have to include a variety of educational tools, just as