Meeker hosts National Public Lands Day celebration

MEEKER, Colo. – The community of Meeker is hosting one of the largest National Public Land Day celebrations in the state with a variety of events Sept 29 and 30.

Events on Friday, Sept. 29, officially get underway at 6:30 p.m. at the Library on Main St., with a welcome from County Commissioner Kim Cook, a presentation on the history of the Ute Nation by Gloria Thompson, and a presentation on the Centennial of the Antiquities Act by BLM Colorado Director Sally Wisely. Earlier in the day there will be a children’s book reading and story telling time at 4 p.m.

On Saturday, Sept. 30, the White River Museum will be open all day, and a number of vendors and exhibits will be on-hand at the museum and City Park beginning at 10 a.m., including Dutch oven cooking, concerts by Northern Ute Flutemaker Wayne Gardner and family, Ute drum groups, and Ute dance demos. A number of other presentations and tours will also be part of the celebration.

Fifth St. between Park and Main St. will be closed for the event on Saturday.

A complete schedule can be found at www.co.blm.gov/wrra.

A number of agencies and organizations have joined to host the event, including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Rio Blanco Historical Society, White River Museum, Northern Ute Public Affairs Office, Northwest Colorado Cultural Heritage Tourism Program, and the Town of Meeker.

Hundreds of National Public Lands Day events will be held throughout the country on or near Sept. 30. Last year more than 80,000 people attended more than 800 events across the country.

National Public Lands Day is an annual program of the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation, chartered by Congress in 1990 as a private nonprofit organization to develop and support environmental learning programs to meet social goals and build partnerships among government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

This celebration also coincides with the 100th Anniversary of the Antiquities Act, a landmark piece of legislation that for the first time protected the vast expanse of cultural resources on America’s Public Lands.

-BLM-