Instructor Bob Hoverson prepares for pack trip. (The Herald/Submitted Photo)

Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Backcountry Horsemen of Big Creek recently sponsored a stock-oriented, Leave No Trace Master Educator course and Leave No Trace Backcountry Packing Clinic in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Leave No Trace (LNT) is an outdoor ethics program that trains all users to minimize impacts in the backcountry.  The stock-oriented LNT courses specifically provide training in common practices and proven methods to reduce stock impacts.

The Master Educator course focuses on minimum impact general stock use in both backcountry and frontcountry settings. Upon completion of the Master Educator course, students are certified as LNT Master Educators and can present programs, teach classes and certify others as stock-oriented LNT trainers.

Instructor Bob Hoverson has been a professional packer and stock manager for 42 years and has taught LNT for over 20 years.

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