Eastern States Office of External Affairs
| Contacts: | Diane Hendry | , 703-339-8561 | , dhendry@blm.gov |
Meadowood Special Recreation Area Shines on NPLD 2012
On September 29, BLM-Eastern States Meadowood Special Recreation Area (SRMA) staff and volunteers celebrated National Public Lands Day 2012 by painting fences, surveying boundary lines with cadastral staff, painting bird feeders and weeding the Pollinator Garden. As a part of the BLM's NPLD 2012 social media meetup, BLM Acting Deputy Director Neil Kornze tweeted about the day's events from the @BLMDirector account… |
@BLMDirector: The painting team is on a roll! #NPLD Meadowood.
@BLMDirector: Bird feeders decorated, weeds pulled, fences painted. Quite a day at Meadowood #NPLD.
BLM-Eastern States Director John Lyon thanked all volunteers for their contributions on NPLD 2012. "My son Ben and I have made NPLD and Meadowood a regular destination since coming to Virginia two years ago. I am always proud to see what is accomplished by our volunteers and particularly our Meadowood Friends group members accomplish in such a short time."
BLM-Eastern States celebrated NPLD 2012 the two weeks prior to the September 29 event as well. On September 12, Earth Sangha - a Challenge Cost Share partner - and Lower Potomac Field Station staff led a meadow planting event. September 22 brought 51 volunteers from REI (Recreation Equipment, Inc.) in Woodbridge, Virginia, who painted 4,300 feet of 4-board perimeter fence.
The Meadowood SRMA offers 13 miles of hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding trails including a universally accessible trail to Hidden Pond; two fishing ponds, 800 acres of forest and meadows, geocaching, picnicking and bird watching. The SRMA is the site of environmental education programs for homeschoolers, public and private schools, local 4-H groups and community youth agencies. Programs consist of bird identification, fishing, habitat hikes, tree identification, Urban Leave No Trace, tracking, invasive weed removal, clean-up days, in addition to activities for the classroom.
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.