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Last updated: 04/04/03

On September 23, the Bureau of Land Management will host 50 project sites as a part of the 7th annual National Public Lands Day. The nationwide event is a day when families and groups of all ages volunteer to "give something back" to America's millions of acres of public lands. BLM's projects planned for National Public Lands Day include a multitude of activities from building trails to planting trees to cleaning up lakeshores and streams. (For information on each BLM site, see the accompanying chart.)

BLM Director Tom Fry expressed his excitement about this year, which is the first time the BLM will sponsor events in all of its state organizations, including 11 western states including Alaska and 5 Eastern States projects. "National Public Lands Day is a terrific opportunity for Americans to experience first hand their public lands and give something back to their country," said Fry. "This year will be the best ever, as the BLM prepares to host thousands of volunteers in all of our states."

Nationally sponsored by Toyota, National Public Lands Day is the largest nationwide volunteer workday for America's irreplaceable resource… its public lands – our parks, forests, refuges, lakeshores, grasslands and historic sites. This year overall, National Public Lands Day will include more than 250 sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and will involve more than 50,000 eager volunteers – a ringing endorsement for public lands in America.

Coordinated by the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF), National Public Lands Day is managed year-round by federal agency partners including the BLM, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the National Park Service; the USDA Forest Service; the Department of Defense; Tennessee Valley Authority; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A ninth federal partner, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also supports environmental education and programs like National Public Lands Day that demonstrate environmental knowledge.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt endorses the volunteer-driven event, proclaiming that America's public spaces are one of this nation's greatest treasures. "National Public Lands Day is an excellent opportunity for Americans to take care of our public lands for future generations, just as past generations have passed them on to us. I urge all Americans to get involved with their public lands, both on National Public Lands Day and everyday," Babbitt said.

Officials from the Department of the Interior's and BLM's headquarters offices will participate in BLM National Public Lands Day projects:

• Assistant Secretary of the Interior Sylvia Baca, Hollister, CA
• BLM Director Tom Fry, Price, UT
• BLM Deputy Director Nina Hatfield, Pohick Bay, VA (sched. permitting)
• BLM Asst. Dir. Renewable Resources and Planning Henri Bisson, Phoenix, AZ
• BLM Asst. Dir. Communications Larry Finfer, Agua Fria National Monument, AZ
• BLM Asst. Dir. Business and Fiscal Resources Bob Doyle, Pohick Bay, VA

The BLM manages more land – 264 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The Bureau, which has a budget of $1.4 billion and a workforce of about 8,700 employees, also administers 700 million acres of on-shore minerals throughout the nation. The BLM preserves open space by managing the public lands for multiple uses, including outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, and mining, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources found on the public lands.

The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation, chartered by Congress in 1990, focuses on environmental learning as a solution to critical challenges in natural resources management, education, health care and business. In its mission to support environmental education, NEETF initiates programs and public/private partnerships that will result in an environmentally knowledgeable public, environmentally competent professionals and environmentally capable leaders and policy-makers.

This page was created by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Office of Public Affairs 1849 C Street, Room 406-LS Washington, DC 20240 Phone: (202) 452-5125 Fax: (202) 452-5124

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