National Public Lands Day 2007

Date: September 26, 2007

On Saturday, September 29, Oregon Caves National Monument will celebrate the fourteenth annual National Public Lands Day with a volunteer cleanup effort at Oregon Caves. Sponsored for the ninth consecutive year by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, National Public Lands Day is the largest annual coast-to-coast, single-day volunteer restoration effort for America’s public lands.

Volunteers are invited to join park staff for a day of cave cleanup and restoration, including lint removal, litter pickup, and algae control. Oregon Caves has an annual visitation of approximately 48,000 visitors who leave behind hair, lint, and bits of trash in the cave that accumulate near the tour path. Additionally, lights on the tour path permit the growth of non-native algae. Studies have found that lint and algae can alter a cave ecosystem by providing a food source for non-native species of insects.

Those interested in participating must sign up in advance. Volunteers will be rewarded with a pass good for free entry any day during the next year at public land sites managed by these agencies: National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Free camping is available to registered volunteers on Friday and Saturday nights at Cave Creek Campground, less than four miles from Oregon Caves.

Those interested in volunteering but unable to attend this Public Lands Day event are encouraged to call or email Oregon Caves to receive notification of future volunteer events. For more information or to sign up to participate, contact Elizabeth Hale at [phone] extension 254 or by email to [e-mail].