News Release
| Release Number: | 08-147 |
| Dated: | 9/16/2008 |
| Contact: | Erica Gann, 503-808-4510 |
PORTLAND, Ore. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invites local volunteers to roll up their sleeves on Saturday, Sept. 27, and devote their day to planting trees and shrubs in the Pine Meadows Campground at Cottage Grove Lake.
The tree planting project supports National Public Lands Day, and is part of the nation’s largest annual, single-day volunteer restoration effort for America’s public lands.
Last year, 110,000 volunteers participated in National Public Lands Day events across the country, and the national goal is to increase participation by 10,000 this year.
Locally, Corps park rangers are encouraging organized groups such as scouts, youth groups, and civic clubs to participate in events, but individuals and families are also welcome.
Volunteer orientation begins at 1 p.m. at the Pine Meadows Campground amphitheater. From there, participants will scatter throughout the campground to plant trees and shrubs between camp sites with work ending around 5 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to wear sturdy closed-toe shoes and long pants. Gloves, tools, drinking water and snacks will be available throughout the day.
For their efforts, volunteers are invited to stay in Pine Meadows Campground at no charge on the night of the event.
“Since the event is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, we thought it would be nice to give the volunteers a chance to stay the night and enjoy the campground that they worked to improve,” said Corps Park Ranger Christie Johnson. “The campground is officially closed for the season, so the volunteers will have the whole place to themselves.”
Those wishing to camp should pre-register by calling the Corps park ranger office at (541) 942-5631.
For the fifth year in a row, volunteers who work at a site managed by any of five federal agencies also will be rewarded with a pass good for free entry any day during the next year at public land sites managed by those agencies: National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Cottage Grove Lake is one of the 13 dam and reservoir projects operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Willamette River drainage system. Each dam contributes to a water resource plan designed to provide flood damage reduction, power generation, irrigation, water quality improvement, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and navigation on the Willamette River and many of its tributaries.
For more information, contact a Corps of Engineers park ranger at (541) 942-5631 or see a list of NPLD sites, activities, contacts, and downloadable photos from past events in the Media Center section of http://www.publiclandsday.org/.