Great Basin National Park is to be the site of this year's White Pine County National Public Lands Day event, as area residents join the largest annual coast-to-coast, single-day volunteer restoration effort for America's public lands. This year's local theme is “Our Public Lands, An American Legacy.”

Local volunteers will roll up their sleeves and devote their day to stacking firewood, repairing trails, conducting fish and macroinvertebrate surveys and participating in educational programs at Great Basin National Park as part of the 15th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) on Saturday, Sept. 27. Sponsored for the ninth consecutive year by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, these national cleanups give Americans an annual chance to make public lands in local communities safer, prettier, and more desirable.

“Last year we reached a monumental participation of 110,000 volunteers in National Public Lands Day and we are expecting to increase this by an additional 10,000 this year,” said Robb Hampton, NPLD director.

This year, National Public Lands Day will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps. By educating volunteers at sites across the country, NPLD maintains the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, an army of 3 million Americans who in the 1930s countered the devastation of the Dust Bowl and the American chestnut blight by planting more than 3 billion trees, building 800 state parks, and fighting forest fires.

Local activities are to begin with registration at the Lehman Caves Picnic Area in Great Basin National Park at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27. Groups over 15 are encouraged to contact Curt Dimmick at (775) 234-7331 extension 216 prior to this date and time.

Volunteers are invited to participate in the various work projects. Outdoor education activities are scheduled for children of elementary school age. Lunch will be provided by Mt. Wheeler Power at noon for all participants accompanied by local entertainment. All participants will also receive a free Public Lands Day t-shirt and a voucher good for one year for a free 60-minute cave tour of Lehman Caves.

Local participants in this event include: Great Basin Trails Alliance, Mt. Wheeler Power, Ruth Volunteer Ambulance and EMT Service, White Pine Chamber of Commerce, White Pine County, White Pine School District, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Nevada Division of Forestry, Nevada Division of State Parks, BLM Ely Field Office, Great Basin National Park and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Ely Ranger District.