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Volunteers who pitch in on National Public Lands Day will be rewarded with a free entry day during the next year at any public land site managed by five federal agencies. |
Thousands of volunteers will clear trails, build bridges, plant trees, and participate in hundreds of other activities on the 11th Annual National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 18, 2004. In what has become the largest volunteer hands-on effort of its kind in the country, participants will lend a hand to the very lands they use to hike, bike, climb, fish, swim, explore, picnic, or just plain relax.
For the first time, all National Public Lands Day volunteers who work at a site managed by five federal agencies will receive a coupon good for a "fee-free" day at any site managed by the agencies. Those agencies, which have entry fees, are the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service.
The free entry day was initiated by National Public Lands Day and co-sponsored by Take Pride in America, a national partnership that aims to seek, support, and recognize volunteers who work to improve our public parks, forests, grasslands, reservoirs and wildlife refuges, as well as our cultural and historic sites, local playgrounds, and other recreation areas.
Image credit: NLPD
Also, The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation announces the Fourth Annual National Public Lands Day Photo Contest, open to all National Public Lands Day (NPLD) volunteers. The winning photos will be published in the winter edition of the NPLD newsletter, posted on www.npld.com, used in press releases and potentially featured in other national publications.
Mail your photograph (at least 4X6) along with color transparency with specific location information, your name, agency, office address, email address, and office phone number. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like your entry returned after the contest. Mail entries to be received by November 1, 2004 to:
Agency Photo Contest
National Environmental Education & Training Foundation
1707 H Street NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20006Questions may be directed to Patti Pride at (202) 261-6474 or pride@neetf.org
"The fee-free day has been something we’ve been working toward for several years," said Patti Pride, Director of National Public Lands Day. "Our goal was to reward our volunteers with a free day at the public land site of their choice." National Public Lands Day is being sponsored for the sixth consecutive year by Toyota Motor Sales USA. For more information, including a list of National Public Lands Day sites, activities, contacts and downloadable photos, visit npld.com or call 800-VOL-TEER (800-865-8337).