U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Supports National Public Lands Day, Sept. 26

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Thousands of local volunteers at more than 90 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project sites will participate in this year’s 16th annual National Public Lands Day Sept. 26, the largest annual volunteer hands-on restoration activity of its kind. Activities include the clean up, repairs, refurbishments and other volunteer events in parks, forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands, cultural and historic sites and other public lands and waters and involve more than 100,000 volunteers at more than 1,500 sites nationwide.

Volunteers at Corps of Engineers’ sites will take part in tree planting, erosion control, bank stabilization, building trails, restoring recreation areas, trash pickup, removing invasive species, removing non-native plants, improvements to wildlife habitats, harvesting prairie plant seeds and rehabilitating playgrounds.

National Public Lands Day volunteers at federal sites receive free admission Sept. 26 and a coupon to return for “fee-free” day use activity any time in the next year at any project site managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management. Many state sites are also offering free admission for the day.

This year, National Public Lands Day programs throughout the country will focus on planting native trees and other vegetation to improve water quality and add to the natural environment of these well-used public lands. Planting vegetation and trees near bodies of water can help improve water quality in many ways. When trees and shrubs are planted as a “buffer zone” along the edges of rivers and streams, they are effective in reducing the amount of polluting runoff that would otherwise end up in those bodies of water. Just one tree can reduce 4,000 gallons of runoff annually.

Last year, National Public Lands Day involved 120,000 volunteers at 1,800 sites. Volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and planted over 1.6 million trees to honor the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps. National Public Lands Day partners include federal agencies, National Environmental Education Foundation and other nonprofit groups, 125 state, county and city agencies, and several corporate sponsors.

The Corps has been involved with National Public Lands Day since its inception in 1994 and has consistently been one of the largest providers of sites and volunteers participating in the event. The Corps is the number one federal provider of outdoor and water-based recreation, managing more than 11.5 million acres of land and water for natural resources and public recreation benefits. The Corps’ more than 2,400 recreation sites at 423 projects in 43 states offer a wide range of opportunities and facilities for outdoor recreation. For more information on Corps recreation opportunities visit www.CorpsLakes.us.

SOURCE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers