Helping Hands for America’s Lands
Saturday
September 26th

National Public Lands Day 2014 at Cactus Flat
Staging Area
Fawnskin,
California ____ National
Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest daylong volunteer effort
for public lands, garnering more than 175,000 participants. The nonprofit Southern
California Mountains Foundation in partnership with the United States
Forest Service is staging one of 2,100 sites this year on America’s
second busiest national forest, the San
Bernardino National Forest.
Volunteers are needed to continue the ongoing restoration at Cactus Flat
Staging Area, a popular family recreation area adjacent to State Route 18 with easy access to work site.
“National Public Lands Day shows our
community the importance of keeping our lands healthy and green,” shared Stacy Gorin, interim
executive director, Southern California Mountains Foundation. “We’re passionate about mobilizing families and
individuals to get outdoors and give back to the mountains we love through
community service. We have fun and make
a difference thanks to our co-sponsors REI, Outdoor Life magazine and Yamaha Motor
Corporation USA,” she added.
No
experience necessary and volunteers of all ages are welcome. Volunteers should wear long pants and closed toed shoes,
as well as sunscreen and hats; supplies and gloves will be provided. Outdoor Life
magazine and Yamaha Motor Corporation USA
will provide lunch and a gift bag to each volunteer.
Register
at: http://mountainsfoundation.org/childrens-forest/forest-restoration.
Volunteers
will meet at the Big Bear Discovery
Center at 9:00 A.M., Saturday morning and caravan to Cactus Flat for
ecological restoration activities until 3:00 P.M.
Activities
will include planting shrubs and trees that have been grown at the San Bernardino
National Forest Native Plant Nursery, collecting native seeds,
creating rock check dams to prevent further erosion of soil, and water native
plants from previous volunteer events.
The Cactus Flat Staging
Area, established in 1988, is located within a matrix of endangered
species habitat along the southern edge of the Bighorn Mountain Wilderness. It serves as the
primary access point to a 25-mile system of designated off-road vehicle
trails. The Southern California Mountains Foundation in partnership
with the U.S. Forest Service has dedicated great resources and community
restoration events in the conservation and protection of this 5-acre project
site.
The primary focus of restoration
activities at Cactus Flat Stage Area have included re-vegetation of several
eroded hills and other unauthorized use areas within and adjacent to the
staging area, seeding, planting and protection of impacted sites outside of the
intended footprint. These measures
include the installation of barriers and signs to protect restored areas, and
to better direct vehicle and off-road traffic to appropriate opportunities within and adjacent
to the staging area.
The
Discovery Center is located at 40971 North Shore Drive/State Route 38 in
Fawnskin nestled on the North Shore of Big Bear Lake.
About the Southern California Mountains Foundation:
The
Southern California Mountains Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes
connecting communities to its public lands is the key to their survival. They mobilize individuals to inspire and
engage in environmental citizenship. The
Mountains Foundation achieves its
mission by raising money, organizing critical volunteer resources, and creating
and managing programs focused on health, stewardship and sustainability of our
Southern California mountains and urban “forests”. Visit www.MountainsFoundation.org
About Outdoor Life:
Outdoor Life is the go-to magazine for sportsmen,
looking to improve their hunting and fishing skills. It is published by the Bonnier
Corporation, one of the
largest consumer-publishing groups in the United States and the leading media
company serving passionate, highly engaged audiences through magazines, events,
digital media and leading-edge products. Bonnier Corp. is the U.S. division of
the Bonnier
Group, an international
media group active in television, newspapers, magazines, movies, books and
digital media.