A beautiful October day coupled with a great group of area residents and BLM Worland Field Office staff resulted in a fun and successful National Public Lands Day event at the Castle Gardens Recreation Area near Ten Sleep, Wyoming.
Volunteers worked in teams to gravel and mulch the picnic table areas; move and stack firewood for the campsites; pull noxious weeds and pick up trash; and paint an informational kiosk. The improvements will provide more enjoyable experiences for the people who visit Castle Gardens to picnic, camp or explore the fantastic hoodoos.
Adam Babcock, outdoor recreation planner in the Worland Field Office, chose Castle Gardens for the project to build on recent improvements the BLM has made there including new shade shelters and foot paths that connect campsites to the restroom. But the choice was twofold.
“I also wanted to draw more attention to this gem of a recreation area," said Babcock. “It was already a great day-use area but now that primitive camping is permitted, it’s also a really cool place to set up camp among the hoodoos with views of the Bighorn Mountains."
Justin Smith, a Ten Sleep resident who frequents Castle Gardens for barbecues with family and friends, worked on a team that shoveled gravel and mulch underneath the shade shelters to level the picnic table pads.
“My family and I have enjoyed the Castle Gardens area often over the last few years," said Smith. “My kids love it and spend a lot of time howling at the moon and playing in the dirt. I was glad to be able to give back to Castle Gardens with a little work and I’m very excited that the BLM is actively advocating, maintaining and improving this wonderful space for us locals and our summer visitors."
National Public Lands Day took on a special meaning this year with the BLM’s 70th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
“This year especially, I wanted to connect people with the unique notion of public lands-that America was the first developed nation in the world to recognize the importance of protecting landscape-scale portions of land for the public domain," said Babcock.
The 35 volunteers, from preschoolers to older adults, used shovels, rakes and paint brushes to connect with that notion. Some even asked to do projects like this more often.
“It was great to see so many enthusiastic members of the public and the BLM come out to enjoy a beautiful autumn day and celebrate the lands that give us so much," said Babcock.
Volunteers spent a morning making improvements to Castle Gardens Recreation Area near Ten Sleep in celebration of National Public Lands Day.
Campbell Veal and Emmi Beckwith pulled weeds and picked up trash along the road and footpaths through the recreation area.
Volunteers improved the picnic and camp sites by graveling and leveling under the shade shelters.
(from left to right: Addie Starbuck, Belle Starbuck, Candy Caines, Justin Smith, Stetson Starbuck,
Roland Lloyd, Dustin Wilson, Sherry Redman, Dale Riedel)
Repurposed buck and rail fencing was stacked as firewood-an added bonus for campers at the newly designated campground. (from left to right: Angie Weeks, Xavier Weeks, Campbell Veal, Cari Forsgren,
Margaret Weaver, Isaiah Ridenour, Adam Babcock, Dora Ridenour)
Repainting the informational kiosk was a family project for Xavier, Sean and
Angie Weeks.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
