News.bytes Extra, issue 551

National Public Lands Day in the Alabama Hills

Sophia (in red) and Coco give a thumbs-up to National Public Lands Day participants nationwide.

Residents of the Eastern Sierras volunteered their time Saturday to clean up public lands in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine.

The National Public Lands Day cleanup project was held in conjunction with the Alabama Hills Community Spirit Day, which is hosted by the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group and the Alabama Hills Film Festival.

“We focused on picking up smaller pieces of litter around the granite rock outcroppings and collected a lot of broken glass,” said Rich Williams, outdoor recreation planner at the BLM Bishop Field Office.

In November of 2006, the BLM Central California Resource Advisory Council met in Lone Pine and expressed its support for the BLM to build upon the grass roots effort of local leaders to frame a community strategy to maintain the character of the Alabama Hills.  Local residents have been working since then in a variety of ways, including, cleanup days.

Pictured from left to right; Chris Langley, Wally Snyder, Becca Brooke (BLM), Linda Hubbs, Luis Camacho, Michael Schell, Russ Monroe, Kevin Mazzu with daughters Coco and Sophia and Warner Fellows. Not shown are Donna Grunewald and Rich Williams (BLM).

- Rich Williams, Outdoor Recreation Planner, BLM Bishop Field Office (September 2012)

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