National Public Lands Day - Bureau of Land Management 2010 Report
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National Public Lands Day - Bureau of Land Management 2010 Report Bureau of Land Management volunteer in Barstow, Ca. The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) provides knowledge to trusted professionals who, with their credibility, amplify messages to national audiences to solve everyday environmental problems. Together, we generate lasting positive change. NEEF partners with professionals in health, education, media, business and public land management to promote daily actions for helping people protect and enjoy the environment. Through our primary programs - Classroom Earth, National Public Lands Day, National Environmental Education Week, Business and Environment, Earth Gauge® and Health & Environment - we offer Americans knowledge to live by. To learn more, call (202) 833-2933 or visit www.neefusa.org. National Public Lands Day Overview National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the nation’s largest volunteer event focused on improving public lands. Each year, thousands of Americans come together on a Saturday in late September to volunteer their time to improve parks, recreation areas, trails and historic sites throughout the country. On September 25, 2010, over 2,080 public lands sites hosted events with an attendance of approximately 170,000 volunteers. Their efforts resulted in an estimated $15 million dollars in improvements to the public land areas Americans utilize every day for recreational and educational activities. Volunteers improved their public lands by removing 450 tons of trash; collecting 20,000 lbs of invasive plant species; building and maintaining 1,320 miles of trails and planting 100,000 trees, shrubs and other native plants, among other projects. This success is in part due to the unprecedented level of support received from the federal government. Along with eight federal agencies hosting volunteer events, the Environmental Protection Agency recognized NPLD as a day of service and invited staff to attend volunteer events across the country. Federal dignitaries including Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley spoke at signature sites. They acknowledged the importance of volunteerism, recreation and public lands to the health of individuals and communities. These same themes were included as part of the National Public Lands Day Presidential Proclamation. For the second year, President Obama wrote a proclamation stressing the need for Americans to “to give their time and energy to care for - and to go out and enjoy - our public lands.” The proclamation was distributed to sites and read across the country as part of the day’s opening ceremonies. Since NPLD’s inception in 1994, the Bureau of Land Management has been an important federal partner and champion of the program. Starting with two sites in 1994, participation within the Bureau of Land Management has grown each year. This year, 230 Bureau of Land Management sites hosted NPLD events. The Bureau of Land Management supports the efforts on the ground by distributing materials and shirts to all participating sites, producing press releases and promoting the yearly educational themes. With the support of the Bureau of Land Management, NPLD has been able to grow into a preeminent public land volunteer event. 2 National Public Lands Day 2010 Accomplishments National Public Lands Day Growth 2010 had the highest participation of sites and volunteers in the history of the program. An estimated 170,000 people volunteered at 2,086 sites. NPLD sites were located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. At these sites, over 2,800 different projects were completed. NPLD resulted in an estimated $15 million of improvements to public lands. Signature Sites Seven public lands were chosen to be “signature sites.” They featured dignitaries, guest speakers, special volunteer activities and ceremonies. The signature sites attracted media attention and served as models for other public lands and volunteers. The seven signature sites were: Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, Washington, D.C. Barton Creek Greenbelt, Austin, Texas Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Wilmington, Illinois Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, Georgia Fort Washington Park, New York, New York Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado At Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined volunteers helping to restore threatened marshes along the Gulf Coast. He spoke to the crowd of volunteers about the importance of the Gulf Coast region and the need for continued restoration work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. After Secretary Salazar planted marsh grasses with volunteers, he joined Robb Hampton, director of National Public Lands Day, to tour areas within the refuge. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, were among those who spoke at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. Lisa Jackson and several enthusiastic Girl Scouts announced the official start of Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar NPLD with a reading of the 2010 Presidential Proclamation. After planting marsh grasses at Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge the opening ceremonies, Lisa Jackson, Nancy Sutley and other dignitaries joined Diane Wood, president of the National Environmental Education Foundation, to plant trees in honor of the 17th annual National Public Lands Day. Over 200 volunteers prepared Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens for the winter months by removing dead plants, clearing trails, planting trees, mulching and raking. The largest National Public Lands Day signature site event occurred at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, Ga. Over 300 volunteers helped to restore the historic buildings that were important in shaping the life of Dr. King. During the opening ceremonies, the volunteers were greeted by guest speakers including Stan Meiburg, EPA Region 4 deputy director, and Greening Youth Foundation executive director, Angelou Ezeilo. 3 Partnerships National Public Lands Day’s continued growth is due to the program’s ability to form new partnerships with governments, nonprofits and businesses while strengthening relationships with existing partners. The program’s oldest and strongest relationships continue to be with the federal government. In 2010, eight Volunteers clearing a trail at Kenilworth federal agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Park and Aquatic Gardens Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and the USDA Forest Service accounted for over 40% of all NPLD sites. The Environmental Protection Agency designated it as an optional day of voluntary service for employees. Along with hosting volunteer events, federal agencies advertised NPLD and continued the fee-free coupon distribution program. Everyone who volunteered on federal land during NPLD received a fee-free coupon to return to a federal public land at no cost for one day during the next year. The fee-free coupons are one of the most popular features of NPLD. They are consistently requested by land managers for their volunteers. The fee-free program is so successful that the National Park System declared National Public Lands Day a fee-free day for all visitors. National Public Lands Day reached out to state, regional and local governments to encourage them to host volunteer events. Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania signed memorandums of mutual support with NPLD that resulted in over 50 state parks hosting volunteer events within the three states. Overall, 32 state agencies and almost 100 local and regional government agencies hosted events in 2010. Although all NPLD events occur on public lands, not all are hosted by the public land managers. Some are planned and implemented by local nonprofits and “friends groups” affiliated with public lands. 184 nonprofits and friends groups hosted National Public Lands Day events in 2010. They Volunteers assisting the Delaware Center for ranged from small friends groups with no staff and minimal funding to large Horticulture at Stapler Park state and regional nonprofits such as Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism (SOLV) and the San Diego River Parks Foundation. National Public Lands Day continues to have strong and fruitful partnerships with the Girl Scouts of America and the Boy Scouts of the USA. In 2010, 333 scout troops participated in volunteer projects. Every scout that attended an NPLD volunteer event was given a special certificate recognizing their contribution to the community. Girl Scouts were also eligible to earn a Get with the Land patch. 4 5 Two nonprofit partners of special significance were World Water Monitoring Day and KaBoom! They provided free materials, educational content and resources to site managers. World Water Monitoring Day donated over 100 water quality test kits to site managers. Many of the sites that received the kits had scout troops or children participating in NPLD. They were able to add a fun, educational component to the day’s events. Similarly, site managers that registered with KaBoom! were eligible for Play Day grants to improve the quality and infrastructure of public playgrounds. Presidential Proclamation For the second year in a row, National Public