Destination Door County Partners with Leave No Trace Center

Destination Door County (DDC) has formed a partnership with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, becoming the first tourism destination in Wisconsin to do so. The partnership is designed to help minimize environmental impacts on the county by ensuring that both residents and visitors have information about sustainability and easy-to-practice skills in order to responsibly explore Door County’s natural world.

DDC adapted Leave No Trace’s seven principles to create the Door County Leave No Trace 7 Principles (doorcounty.com/discover/leave-no-trace-7-principles) as a guide for residents and visitors to use while enjoying the outdoors – the first step in a new DDC ecotourism campaign. 

During the spring of 2019, after soliciting feedback from residents, visitors and business owners, DDC made the decision to transition from a destination marketing organization to a destination marketing and management organization.  

DDC’s community advocacy manager, Cambria Mueller, helped to establish this partnership. 

“When we made the switch to destination marketing and management, the education that the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics provided to Door County was immeasurable,” Mueller said. “Creating the Door County Leave No Trace 7 Principles covers all the bases of being a good steward in Door County – for visitors and locals alike – to keep the county the beautiful natural place that many have come to cherish.”

The announcement about the seven principles comes on the heels of the Door County Board of Supervisors’ unanimous vote to become a Green Tier community: a voluntary Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources program focusing on environmental stewardship issues.

As the partnership develops, DDC and Leave No Trace will collaborate on more outreach, implementation and training on sustainable tourism practices.