If you've ever picked up a stick in a park or reserve to help lever yourself over the rocky patches and up the hills, or just to poke at stuff, you probably thought you weren't doing any harm.

Key points: National Parks and Wildlife officers are urging us not to pick up sticks to use as walking sticks

National Parks and Wildlife officers are urging us not to pick up sticks to use as walking sticks They say when lots of people do that it has an impact on wildlife

They say when lots of people do that it has an impact on wildlife They recommend people bring walking poles rather than grabbing a stick from the bush

But Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services wants track users to think twice about picking up walking sticks.

"People's small actions can actually have a very large impact over time," the Parks and Wildlife Service's Tracey-Ann Hooley said.

"Lots of people pick up sticks to use as a walking stick and take it out of the bush.

"When lots of people do that, it can have an impact."

A walking stick is much more than just a stick, she said, it could be material for an eagle nest, an ant highway, a sunbed for a skink, or a home for fungi.

Staff at Freycinet National Park noticed a large number of sticks being discarded in the car park at the Wineglass Bay Lookout.

The popular lookout attracts 271,000 visitors each year.

The staff decided to collect the sticks over three months and display them to demonstrate to visitors how quickly they pile up.

Rangers at Freycinet National Park collected discarded walking sticks over three months to demonstrate the impact. ( ABC Radio Hobart: Samantha Stayner )

'Not just a stick'

Ms Hooley said white-bellied sea eagles used these sticks to make nests.

'They make enormous nests; they can be over 2 metres wide and very deep," she said.

"They need a very big, strong nest to withstand winds.

"The kind of sticks people are picking up are the kind eagles can incorporate into their nests.

"It could be a place for a skink to shelter behind or on a sunny day to bask on.

"We have birds that feed by pouncing, so they might like to perch on that stick and look around for food and pounce down at catch it."

Smaller critters used sticks too, she said.

"If you're an ant, that stick could be a perfect highway across the forest floor, so instead of clambering over small stuff you could commute really quickly," she said.

"Insects like to lay eggs under things, and fungi will grow on sticks.

"A stick is not just a stick, it can be so many things."

A white-bellied sea eagle is one creature that needs sticks to build a nest. ( Supplied: Helen Cunningham )

Ms Hooley said the flow-on effect of removing just one nice-looking walking stick could be big.

"On any one day, by removing a stick you could be impacting lots and lots of different animals in lots of different ways," she said.

"We go to these places because they are beautiful and inspiring, and we want to leave them as beautiful as when we arrived, so when we go back the next time they are still beautiful."

A walking stick is a common sight on Tasmania's tracks. ( ABC Radio Hobart )

Leave no trace

Ms Hooley said the 'leave no trace' principle was a win-win for users.

"Our parks are so special and we want to keep them special," she said.

"Leaving what you find, the sticks, the shells, the feathers, they are part of what makes the experience of being in these places so rewarding."

She said it was important to stay on tracks to avoid spreading soil-borne diseases, and visitors should never feed wildlife.

"People think they are doing the right thing by giving an animal a treat or helping it out," she said.

"It can actually lead to a horrible disease where they basically end up not being able to eat and they starve to death."

She said it was best to stay a couple of metres away from animals.

"Touching wildlife is a real problem; people can be very tempted to pat wildlife," she said.

"Wildlife is wild and we need to keep it that way."

Ms Hooley said using a pair of binoculars could make a great difference.

"If you want to see the whole suite of natural behaviours animals have, if we're sitting further away we'll get an opportunity to see that," she said.

She said those intending to walk a track should do research beforehand, and bring walking poles if required — rather than grabbing a stick.