News Release Archive

Reclamation Invites Volunteers to Join the Natural Bridges Recreation Area Cleanup and Trail Restoration Event on Saturday, September 15, as Part of National Public Lands Day

Media Contact: Pete Lucero, MP Region Public Affairs Officer, 916-978-5100, plucero@usbr.gov

For Release: September 10, 2012

America's Great OutdoorsSONORA, Calif. – In celebration of National Public Lands Day and the annual Great Sierra River Cleanup, the Bureau of Reclamation’s Central California Area Office will partner with the Tuolumne Resource Conservation District to host a recreation area cleanup and trail restoration event at New Melones Lake’s Natural Bridges Recreation Area on Saturday, September 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

New Melones Lake is located on Highway 49, approximately 8 miles (13 km) north of Sonora and 6 miles (9 km) south of Angels Camp, Calif. The public and members of local organizations and businesses are invited to participate.

Volunteers should dress for the summer heat; bring lunch, water, a hat, sunscreen, work gloves and trash grabbers (if possible); and wear sturdy shoes. On-site registration and check in will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Natural Bridges Trail Head located on Highway 49 approximately 3 miles north of Columbia. Refreshments will be provided.

To register for the event, please contact Jim Revord or Toni Petric at 209-536-9094 ext. 200 or Park Ranger Hilary Maxworthy at 209-536-9094 ext 236 or hmaxworthy@usbr.gov. Participants who require special accommodations should contact Maxworthy as indicated above or at TTY 800-877-8339.

NPLD is the nation's largest single-day volunteer event for public lands. Begun in 1994 with three sites and 700 volunteers, it is typically held on the last Saturday in September. In 2011, more than 170,000 volunteers worked at 2,067 sites performing a variety of services including building and maintaining trails and planting trees, shrubs and other native plants. For additional information, please visit the NPLD website at http://www.publiclandsday.org/.

The GSRC is the premier volunteer event focused on removing trash and restoring the health of waterways throughout the Sierra Nevada Region. This annual cleanup is coordinated by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and held in conjunction with California Coastal Cleanup Day. Please visit http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/our-work/rivercleanup for more information on the GSRC.

The GSRC and NPLD support President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative, which seeks to empower Americans to share in the responsibility to conserve, restore and provide better access to our lands and waters and leave a healthy, vibrant outdoor legacy for generations to come. To learn more about this initiative, please visit http://americasgreatoutdoors.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.

Relevant Link:

Public Lands Day

Sierra Nevada Conservancy in conjunction with California Coastal Cleanup Day