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Bureau of Land Management
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National Public Lands Day 2000
BLM Leads the Pack with 50 National Public Lands Day Sites in 2000 By Bibi Booth In 2000, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hosted an extraordinary variety of work and educational activities at a record-breaking 50 sites from Florida to Alaska, enlisting the aid of more than 6,000 volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels. At Virginia's Pohick Bay Park site, for example, volunteers built an erosion-control retaining wall and re-routed two sections of trail. At Cochiti Lake in New Mexico, a lakeshore clean-up project took center stage for the day. And at Badger Springs, the gateway to Arizona's Agua Fria National Monument, volunteers collected 60-75 large bags of trash and an assortment of oversize garbage, with prizes awarded for the most 'interesting' items collected. At The Wedge Overlook in Utah, volunteers--including BLM Director Tom Fry--laid concrete for a handicap-accessible ramp, built 700 feet of buck and rail fence, and removed old tires from the Sids Mountain Wilderness Study Area. "National Public Lands Day is a terrific opportunity for Americans to experience first hand their public lands and give something back to their country," Fry has said. Director Fry also presented the Director's Legacy of the Land Award to the Emery County (UT) Commissioners for their creation of the Emery County Public Lands Council and their long-term commitment to the management of our public lands. At 46 other BLM locations around the nation, NPLD participants improved wildlife habitat, stabilized stream channels, painted, trimmed, revegetated, signed, scrubbed, weeded, and otherwise pampered the irreplaceable cultural and natural resources on BLM's public lands. All told, this year 50,000 NPLD volunteers performed work with a value of $8 million at over 270 sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The value of this event extends far beyond what is accomplished on this one day, however. By exposing For information on 2000 NPLD activities conducted by all participating land management agencies, please visit the national NPLD website at http://www.npld.com.
On Saturday, September 23, 2000, public-spirited Americans took up tools, got down and dirty, and set to work in a big way for our public lands. For these intrepid volunteers, the seventh annual celebration of National Public Lands Day (NPLD)--the nation's premier workday on behalf of America's public lands--
was just too good an opportunity to pass up. The nationwide event was coordinated by the non-profit, D.C.-based National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF), with participation by eight Federal land management agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency, private partner groups, and local and national sponsors, including Toyota USA.
"As the event grows each year, more and more people are becoming involved in public land stewardship. We at the Department of the Interior feel that it is extremely important to restore and protect these unique open spaces in the face of growing development. National Public Lands Day is an occasion to celebrate public lands and the open spaces they guarantee."
Americans to the spectacular resources on the public lands and affording them the opportunity to contribute their labor, NPLD nurtures a sense of stewardship and conservation, and encourages public lands volunteerism during the remainder of the year.
Last Updated: January 9 , 2001
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Bureau of Land Management
Environmental Education and Volunteer Programs