Public Lands Day events slated for BLM

GRAND JUNCTION— Grand Junction area volunteers are gearing up for several projects with the Bureau of Land Management as part of National Public Lands Day, Saturday, Sept. 20.

Last year’s National Public Lands Day saw nearly 70,000 volunteers and their community partners contributing $10 million in improvements to America’s public places. National Public Lands Day provides an opportunity to give back to the public lands we all enjoy.

Events for this Saturday include:

Opal Hill Volunteer Project

Volunteers will meet at the Devil’s Canyon “overflow” parking area in the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area, south of Fruita. Work will begin at 8:45 a.m. with a 12 p.m. picnic lunch. Projects include work on the Colorado Canyons entrance sign, trail maintenance and rehabilitation of the area. Volunteers should bring sunscreen, a hat and sturdy footwear. Pat Gormley, a local historian, will talk about the early history of the area during lunch. For more information, contact BLM’s Wade Johnson at 244-3025.

27 ¼ Rd. Trail Cleanup

The Motorcycle Trail Riders Assoc. and the Western Slope ATV Assoc. will work on a trail clean up project on 27 ¼ Rd. north of Walker Field Airport from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The City of Grand Junction is providing dumpsters for the project. For more information, contact John Potter at 858-3923.

Holy Cross Trail Reconstruction

The Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Assoc. (COPMOBA) will reconstruct portions of the Holy Cross Trail in the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area. Volunteers will meet at the trailhead on Monument Rd., two miles south of Broadway. Volunteers should bring a lunch, water, sturdy boots and gloves and sunscreen. For more information, contact Pat Kennedy at 244-8877 or Karen Enenkel at 245-9779

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