On Saturday, Sept. 30, Big Bend National Park will host a volunteer project in celebration of National Public Lands Day. The National Park Service has also designated the day as a fee-free day, allowing all visitors to Big Bend National Park, or any national park, to enter for free.
National Public Lands Day is a chance to join with hundreds of thousands of fellow volunteers at public land sites across the country to give back to the lands where we play, learn, exercise, and relax. It is the country’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands.
Free and open to the public, those wishing to volunteer will meet park staff in front of the Panther Junction Visitor Center at 8:30 am. Volunteers will work on a project to remove interpretive sign posts along two trails - Panther Path and Lost Mine Trail. The work along Lost Mine Trail requires hiking a moderately strenuous, 4.8 mile (roundtrip) trail. Panther Path is an easier 1/3 mile path. The park will provide volunteers with tools, work shirts, gloves and water. Volunteers should wear work clothing and close-toed shoes, be prepared for outdoor conditions, and bring a refillable water bottle and snacks. A pizza lunch will be provided at 12:00 noon. For more information, please contact Anna Marini at e-mail us or 432-477-1108.
National Public Lands Day is sponsored by Toyota and the National Environmental Education Foundation. Each year, volunteers provide tens of millions of dollars’ worth of services in one day that would otherwise take limited park staff months to accomplish. Last year, more than 200,000 people participated in events at more than 2,500 sites in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. For other information and events, check their website at http://www.publiclandsday.org/.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
