News Release
| Release Number: | 00-171 |
| Dated: | 9/19/2000 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.--If you have ever wanted to take an active part in making the world a better place, mark your calendar for National Public Lands Day (NPLD) on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2000.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning cleanup and conservation activities in the Rogue River Basin this weekend to celebrate the nationwide event. Staff at the Corps’ Applegate Lake in the Rogue Basin are inviting members of the public to participate in a number of activities planned at the project, including trail maintenance and improvement and removal of invasive plants that threaten native vegetation at Applegate Lake and along the Applegate River.
Volunteers should meet at the Corps’ maintenance compound at 10 a.m., about 13 miles south of Ruch, Ore., off Applegate Road. They also are asked to wear comfortable clothes suitable for outdoor work and to bring a sack lunch. Seating for lunch, as well as tools, safety equipment, refreshments and restrooms will be provided. For more information about these events, call park ranger Philip Lanni, Lost Creek Project Office, at (541) 878-2255, ext. 213.
Across the nation, the Corps manages nearly 12 million acres of public land, 4 million of which are water.
NPLD is the largest nationwide volunteer workday for America’s public lands, which includes parks, forests, refuges, lakeshores, grasslands and historic sites. The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation and its nine federal partners, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, coordinates NPLD to demonstrate shared stewardship and to provide environmental education about our nation’s natural resources.