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.
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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.
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