MyOutdoorTV.com

Tread Lightly! is dedicated to promoting responsible recreation through ethics education and stewardship to those engaged in, or affected by motorized recreation on public lands and waters. Launched in 1985 by the US Forest Service and similar in concept to the public awareness programs Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl, the Tread Lightly! program transitioned into a national nonprofit in 1990.

Tread Lightly!'s educational message, along with its training and restoration initiatives are strategically designed to instill an ethic of responsibility in a wide variety of outdoor enthusiasts and the industries that serve them. The program's goal is to balance the needs of the people who enjoy outdoor recreation with our need to maintain a healthy environment. Tread Lightly! is considered the nation's signature outdoor ethics message, especially for enthusiasts using motorized and/or mechanized vehicles while enjoying their outdoors pursuits.

After 20 years, Tread Lightly! has become a credible, bipartisan and critically needed organization offering unique programs and services to help remedy growing recreation issues. Unique enough - the federal government officially recognizes Tread Lightly! as the nation's sole-source service provider of education and training on how to be environmentally and socially responsible while using motorized and mechanized vehicles in the outdoors.

Diverse Spectrum of Stakeholders
Stakeholders include government agencies, industry, media, conservation and enthusiast groups, and concerned individuals who share a common goal – to ensure sustainable outdoor recreation remains part of the American lifestyle because of the untold environmental, economic, social and physical value to the nation. Tread Lightly!'s current federal partners include: the National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Education and Training
With over 350,000 people exposed to its educational materials annually, Tread Lightly! reaches a wide variety of outdoor recreationists—from off-highway vehicle enthusiasts to hunters, boaters and horseback riders. The organization offers a full line of guidebooks and quick-tips brochures, as well as materials for youth, including school curricula, coloring books, and an interactive website featuring Tread Lightly!'s squirrel mascot, Lightfoot®.

In 2003, Tread Lightly! created a nationally recognized program called Tread Trainer™. Educating more than 26,000 people per year, Tread Trainer is a train-the-trainer course designed to produce instructors of the Tread Lightly! ethic.

Communications
Tread Lightly!'s positive message reached more than 43 million people in 2008 through public service announcements in print, radio, television and web media. All placements are received through donated ad space worth nearly $1.7 million in 2008. News coverage involving Tread Lightly! reaches an additional 10 million people every year.

Restoration
The Restoration for Recreation™ program is designed to keep the great outdoors beautiful, healthy, and accessible by providing much needed resources for backlogged maintenance, along with critical education and communications initiatives to allow for environmentally sustainable outdoor recreation. Last year alone, Tread Lightly funded and coordinated four Restoration for Recreation projects.

Tread Lightly! Principle
Travel responsibly. Respect the rights of others. Educate yourself. Avoid sensitive areas.