Cairn Reduction signage now at fourteen trailheads.

Five new trailheads have installed Cairn Reduction signage this quarter, bringing the total across our partner network to fourteen. The signage carries a measured two-part message: that recreational rock stacking disturbs local microhabitats, and that the practice raises distinct welfare concerns under the precautionary framing the Rock Welfare Project advances.

The two-part framing is deliberate. Land managers, who choose what appears on their trailheads, are generally comfortable with the ecological case and meet the welfare case with curiosity, scepticism, or both. We do not require partners to endorse the welfare framing. We require only that they not remove it from the panel.

Early observational data, gathered with a volunteer surveyor at three pilot trails, suggests a measurable reduction in new cairn formation in the first six weeks post-installation, with partial regression toward baseline thereafter. The data are not robust enough to publish. We mention them only because to omit the regression would misrepresent the result.

Trailhead managers interested in joining the partner network are invited to contact our Outreach team. Signage is provided at no cost; installation and maintenance remain the partner's responsibility.