Ozark National Scenic Riverways Hosts National Public Lands Day Event and Trail Building Events at Round Spring

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OTA member working on trail

News Release Date: September 21, 2017
Contact: Dave Tobey, 573-323-8093
Contact: Dena Matteson, 573-323-4814

EMINENCE, MO:  On Saturday, September 30, volunteers across the country will visit their favorite rivers, parks, beaches, wildlife preserves and forests to give back to the treasured lands where we play, learn, and relax. Ozark National Scenic Riverways will celebrate the 24th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) – the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands – beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning at the Round Spring Visitor Center. Park staff and volunteers will conduct trail maintenance, litter collection, river cleanup and minor campground maintenance, and will begin preparing for the upcoming Ozark Trail Association Mega Trail Building Events at Round Spring. Volunteers should bring work gloves and wear clothing and shoes appropriate for outdoor maintenance activities in the campground and on the Round Spring Spur Trail. At 1:00 p.m. a celebration of NPLD will be held in conjunction with a picnic lunch in the Round Spring Picnic Pavilion, courtesy of Ozark Trail Association and the park’s cooperating association Eastern National. Project work will continue until 5 p.m. Everyone is invited to participate in all or part of the day’s activities.

The following weekend, October 7-8, Round Spring will be the host site for the Ozark Trail Association (OTA) Mega Trail Building Event on the Round Spring Spur of the Ozark Trail. Volunteers can report to the Round Spring Visitor Center between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the Mega Events. OTA Mega Events can attract 100 to 200 volunteers and yield close to one mile of new trail. Mega Events are a wonderful trail celebration with free camping, delicious outdoor meals, and entertainment for volunteers. The Round Spring Spur will connect to trails in the Roger Pryor Backcountry Area and the Blair Creek Section of the Ozark Trail. When completed, the trail will provide new hiking options for visitors along the upper Current River and will also offer an opportunity for a mulit-day hiking/floating adventure between Round Spring and Powder Mill. A second OTA Mega Event is scheduled for October 28-29 at Round Spring. Visit the Ozark Trail Association website at www.ozarktrail.com for more information about the Ozark Trail and the upcoming Mega Events.  

“We’re pleased that Ozark National Scenic Riverways is participating in this nationwide celebration of our national public lands,” stated Larry Johnson, Superintendent.  “We are excited to help people connect with the places they love through personal stewardship activities.”

Coordinated each year by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), National Public Lands Day brings together volunteers from coast to coast to improve and restore the lands and facilities that people across America use and enjoy every day. Each year, NPLD 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 more information about National Public Lands Day, contact Park Ranger Dave Tobey at [phone] or e-mail us, visit the park’s Facebook page, or website at www.nps.gov/ozar.  

Ozark National Scenic Riverways preserves the free-flowing Current and Jacks Fork Rivers, the surrounding resources, and the unique cultural heritage of the Ozark people.  

-NPS-

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