CELEBRATE NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY AT LAKE MEAD NRA
BOULDER CITY, Nev. - Lake Mead National Recreation Area is hosting a variety of events and offering free entry into the park Sept. 28 in celebration of National Public Lands Day.
The day, celebrated by federal land areas across the U.S., began in 1994 to encourage caring for the nation’s shared lands. Today, it is the largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance publicly held lands for the greater enjoyment and enrichment of all who visit.
In addition to volunteering, park rangers encourage visitors to enjoy Lake Mead National Recreation Area’s 1.5 million acres of public land available for boating, fishing, hiking, photography and sightseeing.
Fee-free day
Entrance fees will be waived at Lake Mead National Recreation Area Sept. 28. Fees for camping, lake use or use of concessions still apply.
National Public Lands Day Government Wash cleanup
Come be a part of National Public Lands Day during a litter cleanup at Government Wash 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 28. This area of Lake Mead National Recreation Area is heavily used by summer visitors. Volunteers are needed to lend a hand to clean up the area. Individuals, families and groups are encouraged to participate. The first 100 participants will receive a free one-time pass to the park (limit one per family). For more information, or to register, please contact Chris Pietrafeso at 702-293-8711 or Christopher_Pietrafeso@nps.gov.
National Public Lands Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park and Trails event
Numerous activities will take place at the Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park and Trails event in Laughlin, Nev., Sept. 28. For full details, visit www.publiclandsday.org/npld-sites/colorado-river-heritage-greenway-park-trails. A 5K run and 1K walk will begin at 7 a.m. A youth fishing clinic will run 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. National Park Service rangers will lead several interpretive walks, starting at 9 a.m.
Volunteers are needed to help complete the “Contractor’s Camp" Interpretive Trail from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The camp was home to the workers who built the Davis Dam. The work will involve moving rocks, gravel and decomposed granite using wheelbarrows, shovels, buckets and small sledge hammers. If trail work is too hard, there will be opportunities to help with a litter cleanup event. Individuals, families and groups are encouraged to participate. The first 25 participants will receive a free one-time pass to the park (limit one per family). For more information, or to register, please contact Bryan Goodwin at 702-293-8717 or Bryan_Goodwin@partner.nps.gov.
Bookstore discount
At the Alan Bible Visitor Center, the Western National Parks Association Bookstore will offer a 15 percent discount on bookstore items, such as books, postcards, T-shirts and other gifts. Open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. For more information, call 702-293-8990.
Back-to-school in America’s National Parks
For those who can’t make it out to America’s public lands Sept. 28, the National Park Service has launched a new National Park Service online service for educators that uses natural landscapes to teach science and the authentic places where history happened to infuse an understanding of the challenges we have faced as a nation.
“Bringing America’s national parks into classrooms will help students build a lifelong connection with nature, history and the broad and diverse culture of our Nation," said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “This new web tool is a perfect example of how technology can be used to bring us closer to our treasured landscapes and the stories and places that define the American people. I hope students and teachers across the country will use these new resources to learn about the parks and to inspire a future visit to our public lands, which belong to all Americans."
The website at www.nps.gov/teachers is user-friendly and easily searchable by location, keyword, and more than 125 subjects, ranging from archeology to biology to Constitutional law. The site also features materials produced by National Park Service programs, including nearly 150 lesson plans from the National Register of Historic Places’ award-winning Teaching with Historic Places program.
The next fee-free days in 2013 will be Veterans Day weekend, Nov. 9-11. Fee-free days only apply to entrance fees. Fees for camping, lake use or use of concessions still apply.
For more information on National Public Lands Day, visit www.publiclandsday.org. For more information on recreational opportunities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/lake or call (702) 293-8990.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
