For Immediate Release: August 27, 2004 CA-CDD-04-65
Contact: Greg Hill (760) 251-4840

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park Joins National Public Lands Day Celebrations

Local staff and volunteers from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Old Town San Diego State Historic Park will stage a living history reenactment of the exploration and surveys of public lands at the Historic Park on September 18, 2004, in recognition of the 11th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD).

The San Diego State Historic Park will be one of 600 sites participating in what will be the largest annual coast-to-coast, 1-day celebration of America’s public lands. Toyota Motor Sales USA is sponsoring NPLD for the sixth consecutive year, which gives Americans an opportunity to learn about the very lands they use to hike, bike, climb, swim, explore, picnic or just plain relax.

“Thousands of volunteers, including those in San Diego, will prove on National Public Lands Day how much they care about their irreplaceable public places,” said Patti Pride, director of National Public Lands Day. “Each year, more and more Americans come out to lend a hand on this special Saturday in September, and we invite all of you to join us.”

From building a footbridge along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, to preserving the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as many as 90,000 Americans are expected at 600 sites for NPLD in 2004, preserving and protecting their favorite public places for themselves and future generations.

By educating visitors and volunteers at sites across the country, NPLD maintains the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, an army of 3 million Americans who in the 1930’s countered the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the American chestnut blight by planting more than 3 billion trees, building 800 state parks, and fighting forest fires.

For more information contact Greg Hill with the BLM at (760) 251-4840 or see a list of NPLD sites, activities, contacts, and downloadable photos from past events on www.npld.com, or call 1-800-VOL-TEER (800-865-8337).

National Public Lands Day is managed by the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation. Chartered by Congress in 1990, NEETF is a private nonprofit organization that develops and supports environmental learning programs to meet social goals and builds partnerships among government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

Toyota is guided by its Global Earth Charter, a comprehensive effort to promote conservation activities and to protect the environment in all stages of the company’s operation. National Public Lands Day is just one way Toyota has demonstrated its environmental leadership. The Toyota Prius, which has an EPA rating of 55 mpg, is the benchmark of gas/electric hybrid vehicles and is 90 percent cleaner for smog-forming emissions than the average vehicle. The company will introduce two more hybrids -- the Lexus 400h SUV this fall and the Highlander SUV in early 2005. Among its many environmental accolades, Toyota received the Gold LEED Award from the U.S. Green Building Council for a new office complex at its headquarters in California.

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