| Contacts: | David Boyd, Public Affairs Specialist, (970) 876-9008 |
Little Snake Field Office partners with youth groups to benefit area
CRAIG, Colo. — The Bureau of Land Management’s Little Snake Field Office and a host of community partners have teamed up to improve public lands and get young people outside.
“We have a number of projects planned this summer that are only possible through the support of local community organizations,” said Acting Little Snake Field Manager Dave Blackstun. “In addition to the public benefits of work such as trail construction and maintenance, these partnerships are helping get young people into the outdoors.”
The Steamboat Springs Youth Corps, a group of 14-16 year olds, will spend three weeks working on projects on BLM lands in Moffat and Routt counties this summer. They’ll put the finishing touches on the Duffy Mountain Geological Interpretive Trail as well as the Duffy Mountain River Access Campground expansion. They’ll also perform trail maintenance on the Ridge Trail in the Emerald Mountain Special Recreation Area outside of Steamboat Springs near Cow Creek Road.
The field office received $8,500 for these projects from BLM’s Take It Outside program, which encourages children and their families to spend more time outdoors on public lands, improve their health, and to promote stewardship of public lands.
The Steamboat Springs Youth Corps will also spend two weeks helping the Rotary Club build the Rotary Trail in the Emerald Mountain SRMA. This two-year project will include trail construction, interpretive signs, and trailhead improvements. The Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs donated $7,500 for this trail, which they generated through the Tango and Cash event held April 3, 2010.
The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, a group of 18-25 year olds, will spend two weeks working with the Routt County Riders and BLM to construct the Moose Draw/Agate Creek Trail in the Emerald Mountain SRMA. This work is being funded through a $35,000 grant to the Routt County Riders from the Great Outdoors Colorado program. BLM anticipates this trail will be completed in 2011. The Routt County Riders is a non-profit organization promoting bicycling in the area.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
455 Emerson Street Craig, CO 81625