News Release Archive

Reclamation and Boy Scouts Invite Yuma Citizens to Help With National Public Lands Day Cleanup

Media Contact: Jack Simes , 928-343-8334

For Release: August 27, 2007

The Bureau of Reclamation's Yuma Area Office and the Ocotillo District, Boy Scouts of America, are seeking volunteers to help clean up six miles of the south Yuma Valley protection levee as part of 2007 National Public Lands Day on September 29, 2007.

Reclamation and the Boy Scouts are co-sponsoring the clean up, which will take place from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Public lands make-up over one-third of America, and they belong to us. Together we can protect them.

Volunteers will check-in at the Yuma West Wetlands, located adjacent to the Colorado River on 13th Avenue. From here, they will be directed to select sites in need of attention along the levee. This area has become cluttered with years of littering and illegal dumping. Volunteers are requested to bring work gloves, wear a hat, sun glasses and to use sun screen prior to participating. Pre-registration is available by calling the Ocotillo District Office, at 928-782-1896.

National Public Lands Day is the largest annual hands-on volunteer effort to preserve America's lands. This is the 10th annual river sweep led by the Scouts, and the 3rd year Reclamation has participated. Last year, over 100 Yuma volunteers helped clean up Jackrabbit Pass. Nationally in 2006, over 100,000 volunteers participated in "giving back" to public lands that we all share by collecting litter, restoring recreational facilities, replanting native plant species, and replenishing sensitive habitat. For more information on National Public Lands Day, see: http://www.publiclandsday.org/. This cleanup project is also part of the Department of the Interior's Take Pride in America program, see: www.takepride.gov.

For more information about this cleanup event please contact Jack Simes, at the Yuma Area Office, at 928-343-8334, or jsimes@lc.usbr.gov.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.