A bearded middle-aged guy (sans dog) stopped me on a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park and said, “So dogs are not allowed on this trail, right?” I was on Tundra Guardian duty and dressed in my volunteer uniform chatting with people as they made their way up the paved tundra trail. He went on to say, “I didn’t think there would be anyone here to stop dogs from being on the trail.”
I assured him that sometimes we had volunteers and staff patrolling the trails, but we obviously could not stop all the people from bringing their (non-service) dogs.
The encounter reminded me of how I frequently remind people that the park operates on an honor system. We have rules we expect people to follow, but the enforcement on 415 square miles is difficult. Thus, we hope people will honor the authority of the resource and follow the rules just because it is the right thing.
In another example, RMNP has a timed entry system in the summer that indicates vehicles must have a permit to enter the park between 9 am-2 pm. That requirement is enforced at the main entrances, but RMNP has several trailheads that do not require entering through the main gates. We tell people the rules and ask them to respect the system.
How people choose to be honorable and ethical is an interesting question. Moral development involves a person’s understanding of ethics and values. I believe most people want to do the right thing, but they are not always sure what that entails.
Lawrence Kohlberg outlined stages of moral development grouped into three levels: preconventional (focusing on one’s self and how to avoid punishment), conventional (guided by social norms, policies, and law), and postconventional (based on universal ethical principles of what is good and right). Individuals progress through these stages as their moral reasoning becomes more complex, with not everyone reaching the postconventional level. During the current shutdown, some people think the rules no longer exist and no one will enforce them. Planning to “not get caught” is a sad commentary on depreciated moral development.
Rules exist in the park related to doing minimal damage to natural resources. Helping people know what is right, fair, and just no matter who is looking is an ongoing challenge.
Self-entitlement can really warp people’s ethical behaviors I think. “Rules apply to everyone else, but maybe not to me… I have reasonable exceptions where these rules just don’t apply to me. ” It’s always interesting to me how they see no problem with that logic and appear to be guilt free about it.