News Release

Ozark National Scenic Riverways Celebrates National Public Lands Day 2022

Park staff removes seasonal debris from a campground.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: September 16, 2022

Contact: Dena Matteson, 573-323-4814

Contact: Skyler Bockman, 573-858-3397

EMINENCE, Mo. -  Ozark National Scenic Riverways will be hosting an annual volunteer event in recognition of National Public Lands Day 2022 on September 24 at locations along the Jacks Fork River and middle Current River. Registration for the event will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the Burr Oak pavilion at Alley Spring. 

National Public Lands Day (usually observed on the fourth Saturday of September) is an annual event designed to encourage people to get outside and visit places like Ozark National Scenic Riverways. National Public Lands Day is also a national volunteer effort to encourage visitors to give back to the very lands we use to hike, bike, swim, explore, picnic, or just relax. It began in 1994 with three federal agencies and 700 volunteers. Now, eight federal agencies and many state and local lands participate in this annual day of caring for shared lands. It is the nation's largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance public lands! 

Once signed in, volunteers will have the opportunity to collect trash or participate in other projects to improve or maintain the park sites below. Volunteers receive a free T-shirt along with one fee-free coupon for admission to any national park after participating in a National Public Lands Day project. Everyone is encouraged to return to the Burr Oak pavilion by 4:00 p.m. where prizes will be awarded for various categories!  Project locations include: 

• Alley Spring 
• Bay Creek 
• Buck Hollow 
• Blue Spring (Jacks Fork River) 
• Rymers  
• Two Rivers 
• Rocky Falls/Klepzig Mill/Roberts Field 
• Owls Bend/Powder Mill  
• Blue Spring (Current River) 
• Log Yard 

For more information, contact Skyler Bockman at [phone], visit the park’s Facebook page, or website at www.nps.gov/ozar.  

www.nps.gov/ozar

Ozark National Scenic Riverways preserves 134 miles of the free-flowing Current and Jacks Fork rivers, the surrounding resources, and the unique cultural heritage of the Ozark people.  Learn more at www.nps.gov/ozar.  Find us on Facebook @ozarkriverways and on Instagram @ozarkriverwaysnps.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.