Reduce the Impact of Social Media
Social media may have a bigger impact on wild places than you might think. Behaviors that alone have very little impact on the environment are spread and amplified on social media.
- Encourage positive behavior! Posting about conservation, Leave No Trace, and safety helps us spread and support the mission of the National Park Service. Negative behavior in a national park is not great, but promoting negative behavior on social media is even worse! Please don't approach wildlife and please don't post pictures that encourage others to do so!
- Be mindful of what your images portray. Do you really want to share illegal or unsafe behavior? You might like to free-solo up mountains without a helmet or whitewater raft without a life jacket, but be cautious promoting dangerous activities without context. Also, don't be the person who posts a selfie while feeding wildlife. If park staff sees those kinds of posts you may receive a citation in the mail.
- Do you have a permit for that? Commercial services are carefully regulated in national parks because no one wants to see these wild places overrun with advertising. Commercial photographers, product ambassadors, influencers, and other marketers should check out Olympic's Permits page for more information.
- Be aware of your surroundings. We know you want to get that perfect photo or video, but remember to take a look around first. We don't want you to slip, trip, or fall!
