Each year over 120,000 volunteers dedicate more than 4 million hours to volunteer service in America’s national parks. These volunteers make it possible for the U.S. National Park Service to welcome 280 million visitors to approximately 83.6 million acres of parkland and open space each year. Thousands more Americans are volunteering to help out on 191 million acres of national forest land managed by the USDA Forest Service.

Parks and open spaces maintained by state and local governments as well as by non-governmental entities also rely on the work of volunteers who clear trails, lead nature and trail walks, staff information booths, remove litter, assist with ongoing cleaning and maintenance, and countless other activities to make parks and open spaces available in communities across the country.

The USA Freedom Corps is working to engage more individuals and organizations in these types of opportunities in an effort to conserve and protect our parklands and to create safe and meaningful experiences for visitors who enjoy our tremendous natural resources. 

The Department of Interior currently provides information on opportunities for volunteering on federal lands, state and local contacts in many states, and resources to start your own service activity through their Take Pride In America program.

During his 1986 State of the Union address, President Ronald Reagan asked all Americans to share in the responsibility of protecting our public lands by lending their skills, resources and volunteer labor.  During 1989 to 1993, Take Pride in America successfully engaged individuals nationwide in efforts to preserve and protect our natural resources and open spaces, generating more than 12 million hours among individuals and groups in volunteer service.

In 2003, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton re-launched this program to encourage more Americans to demonstrate their citizen stewardship by volunteering to improve our parks, refuges, recreation areas and culture and historical sites. Through Take Pride in America, the USA Freedom Corps can offer individuals across the country more and better ways to engage in volunteer projects that will make an important difference for our public lands.

For more information on Take Pride in America, visit www.takepride.gov.