Plant a tree, camp for free

PORTLAND, OR, UNITED STATES

09.09.2016

Story by Michelle Helms 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District

PORTLAND, ORE. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invites volunteers to roll up their sleeves and devote Sept. 24 to planting trees and shrubs and improving parks at Cottage Grove Reservoir, near Cottage Grove, Oregon.

The event supports National Public Lands Day--the nation’s largest annual, single-day volunteer restoration effort for America’s public lands. Groups such as scouts, youth groups and civic clubs are encouraged to participate in the Cottage Grove Reservoir event, but individuals and families are also welcome.

For their efforts, volunteers are invited to stay in the Pine Meadows Campground at no charge, either the night before or the night of the event.

“We thought it would be nice to give volunteers a chance to stay the night and enjoy the campground they will be working to improve,” said Corps Park Ranger Christie Johnson. “The campground will be officially closed for the season, so the volunteers will have the whole place to themselves.”

Volunteers will also receive a pass good for free entry any day during the next year at public land sites managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The event begins at 9 a.m. at the Pine Meadows Campground; work will be completed about 12:30 p.m., then volunteers will be treated to a pizza lunch. All volunteers should wear sturdy closed-toe shoes and long pants. Gloves, tools, drinking water and snacks will be available throughout the morning.

Volunteers should pre-register no later than Sept. 16, by contacting a Corps of Engineers park ranger at [phone]. For more information about National Public Lands Day go to http://www.publiclandsday.org/.

Cottage Grove Dam and Reservoir is one of 13 dam and reservoir projects operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Willamette River drainage system. Each dam contributes to a water resource plan designed to provide flood risk management, power generation, irrigation, water quality improvement, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation and navigation on the Willamette River and many of its tributaries.

• Date Taken: 09.09.2016
• Date Posted: 09.13.2016 09:49
• Story ID: 209195
• Location: PORTLAND, OR, US