Local volunteers needed for trail project

1 OF 600 COAST-TO-COAST SITES TARGETED FOR HELPING HANDS

Grand Junction, Colo. – Join the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) and the Bureau of Land Management Grand Junction Field Office and McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area (NCA) in completing a two-mile loop extension of the Rabbit’s Ear Trail located near Rabbit Valley. On September 30-October 1, 2006, you can join in what has become the largest annual coast-to-coast volunteer restoration effort for America’s public lands—the 13th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD). Sponsored nationally for the seventh consecutive year by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, the event gives everyone an annual chance to give back to the very lands they use to hike, bike, climb, explore, picnic or just plain relax. Locally, Williams Production is sponsoring the event and their employees will be supporting the project.

“One of every three acres of land in the U.S.—600 million acres in all—belong to the American people,” McInnis Canyons NCA Manager Paul Peck said. “We invite all of you to come out and do something good for the land that belongs to you. It’ll be a full day of fun and camaraderie—you won’t even notice the hard work you’re doing!”

For the third year in a row, volunteers who work at a site managed by any of five federal agencies will be rewarded with a pass good for free entry any day during the next year at public land sites managed by those agencies: Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and USDA Forest Service.

For those volunteering for the day, wear durable work clothes, gloves and a hat, and bring plenty of water, snacks and sunscreen. Go online to get more information and register at voutdoors.org. Search for McInnis Canyons, or contact BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner Gene Arnesen at (970) 244-3020.

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