Lander Field Office
| Contacts: | Sarah Beckwith | |||
| 307-347-5207 |
Youth Group Enjoys Work and Play at BLM Lander Campgrounds
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lander Field Office and the Casper-based Conservation Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) youth group recently worked together to make needed improvements to two popular campgrounds south of Lander.
 A member of the CORE group has a question about the project before beginning work. | |
 Science and discovery is an integral part of the CORE experience. Photo courtesy Frank Symington. |
“After five days we accomplished a ton of work that wouldn’t have been possible without the CORE kids, and now the public can enjoy these much-improved campgrounds,” said BLM Outdoor Recreation Technician Brandon Thielke.
The group used their free time to explore and learn about the area. One night, local astronomer Frank Symington brought high-powered telescopes, microscopes and discovery kits to the campground and led activities which included an environmental scavenger hunt and views of the sun and Saturn’s rings. The students also enjoyed the opportunity to find and collect samples of plants, insects, rocks and other specimens and then examine them under a microscope.
Victor Orr, Violence Prevention Coordinator for the Self Help Center of Casper, received funding 12 years ago to start CORE. CORE teaches young people how to have respect for all people and how to work together as a team. The 16 participants are from Casper and many of them come from disadvantaged homes.
“CORE provides these kids with experiences they wouldn’t normally have,” said Orr. “Many of them have never been in the mountains and have never camped.”
Orr has led several outings like this each summer since CORE’s inception. The groups do volunteer projects for the BLM, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, including an annual trip to Yellowstone National Park.
For more information contact Brandon Thielke at 307-332-8400 or bthielke@blm.gov.
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.
Lander Field Office 1335 Main Street Lander, WY 82520