For Immediate Release: August 23, 2004
Contact: Mel Lloyd, 970-244-3097
 
 

LOCAL VOLUNTEERS TO PITCH IN ON NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY - 600 COAST-TO-COAST SITES TARGETED FOR HELPING HANDS ON SEPT. 18

WESTERN COLORADO – Some popular Bureau of Land Management (BLM) trail systems on the Western Slope will receive special attention as area residents join the largest annual coast-to-coast, single-day volunteer restoration effort for America’s public lands.

Local volunteers from such groups as COPMOBA and the Lake City Trails Group, as well as volunteers-at-large, will roll up their sleeves and devote their day to both repairing and building trails as part of the 11th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) on Saturday, September 18.  Choose an activity that you’d like to participate in and register now!  Sponsored for the sixth consecutive year by Toyota Motor Sales USA, NPLD gives Americans an opportunity to give back to the very lands they use to hike, bike, climb, swim, explore, picnic or just plain relax.

“Thousands of volunteers, including those from Colorado’s Western Slope, 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.”

This year, for the first time, volunteers who work at a site managed by any of five federal agencies will be rewarded with a free entry day during the next year at any public land site managed by those agencies: Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and USDA Forest Service.

Gunnison Field Office; Henson Creek, Lake City, CO: Public input identified the need for an easy trail connecting the town's trail system to public lands, so the Lake City Trails Group is assisting BLM in constructing 3000 ft. of universally accessible trail along Henson Creek west of Lake City.  Volunteers will meet along the Henson Creek Road just west of town.  This important project will provide opportunities for a safer and more enjoyable outing.  Preliminary trail work was done over the summer and Sept. 18 will focus on finishing the trail.  In addition to a fee-free coupon, BLM is providing lunch and an NPLD t-shirt for the volunteers.  Contact Arden Anderson, BLM recreation and wilderness specialist, at 970-641-0471 for more information about this project.

Glenwood Springs Field Office; Red Hill Special Recreation Management Area, Carbondale, CO: Join Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) and the Red Hill Committee in maintaining some of the most popular trails in the Roaring Fork Valley.  The trail project will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an appreciation dinner at the end of the day.  Volunteers can register with the RFOV at 877-662-5220 or http://www.rfov.org, or contact the volunteer coordinator at the Glenwood Springs Field Office at 970-947-2800 for more information about this project.

Grand Junction Field Office; Holy Cross Trail-Lunch Loop Area, Grand Junction, CO: Register at 970-244-8877 or http://www.gvmbp.org and join other volunteers at the Tabeguache trailhead on Monument Rd., hiking in to reconstruct a scenic and popular loop trail southwest of Grand Junction used by mountain bikers, hikers and trail runners.  Work on this project will occur on both Sept. 18 and 19, and prizes will be given away to volunteers all day Saturday.  Along with an NPLD t-shirt and a fee-free coupon, registered volunteers will receive energy bars and a meal at the end of the work day.  Families are encouraged to participate in this clean-but-dirty fun!  For more information, contact Park Ranger Chris Pipkin at 970-244-3024.

Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area; Rabbit’s Ear Trail, Grand Junction, CO: Volunteers for this trail maintenance project will meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot just south of Interstate 70 in Rabbit Valley (exit 2), carpooling to the trailhead.  Help maintain this 2.5-mile trail that boasts one of the most impressive vistas in the Grand Valley.  You’ll receive a free t-shirt but bring gloves, sturdy boots, lunch, 2 quarts of water, sunscreen and a hat with you.  Contact Troy Schnurr, NCA park ranger, at 970-244-3032 for more information.

You may also contact Mel Lloyd at 970-244-3097, go to 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.

-BLM-

Editor’s Note:  National Public Lands Day Q & A available upon request, or go to www.npld.com for additional information.