On Saturday, Sept. 27, volunteers around the country will dust off their boots, don work gloves and head off to parks and trails.
This year, the city of Sedona has teamed up with the Red Rock District of the Coconino National Forest, the Sedona Historical Society and Slide Rock State Park to celebrate the 15th annual National Public Lands Day.
“Get Down and Dirty in the Red Rocks” is Sedona’s theme, as volunteers are encouraged to come out to Posse Grounds Park at 8 a.m. to register for tasks.
By Alison Ecklund
Larson Newspapers
On Saturday, Sept. 27, volunteers around the country will dust off their boots, don work gloves and head off to parks and trails.
This year, the city of Sedona has teamed up with the Red Rock District of the Coconino National Forest, the Sedona Historical Society and Slide Rock State Park to celebrate the 15th annual National Public Lands Day.
“Get Down and Dirty in the Red Rocks” is Sedona’s theme, as volunteers are encouraged to come out to Posse Grounds Park at 8 a.m. to register for tasks.
Volunteers will be sent to build a climbing wall at Sunset Park, clean up Jim Thompson trailhead, remove graffiti from Slide Rock State Park and clean up brush from Jordan Historic Park.
“Everyone is welcome to come out. We’ll find a task for you to do,” Bob Huggins, who started Sedona’s Volunteer Ranger Program, said. Huggins served as a park ranger for 31 years with the National Park Service.
What started out as a federal event with only the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management, National Public Lands Day has trickled down to state and local participation.
Sedona is the first area to have a regional approach to NPLD, said Andi Costello, administrative services director to the city.
It’s logical that the city of Sedona would get involved in the one-time federal event because Sedona is not unlike a national park, Huggins said.
To Huggins, it’s logical that the city is one of the sponsors again this year, after the event went on a three-year hiatus in Sedona.
Organizers are hoping to have 100 to 150 people volunteer Saturday to help clean up Sedona’s parks and forest land.
Last year, nationwide, 110,000 volunteers participated in planting trees, picking up trash, tending to trails and removing weeds.
Huggins expects a good turnout, not only because Sedona’s red rock landscape begs to be kept pristine, but also because forest lands are so accessible from Sedona. Sedona residents can access trails from their neighborhoods, not like volunteers in Montana who need to drive out to, say, Glacier National Park.
According to Bill Stafford, recreation staff officer for the Red Rock Ranger District, the district will be handling cleanup and maintenance of Jim Thompson trailhead down Jordan Road.
Their task is twofold: the removal of tumbleweed and the obliteration of unapproved trails.
Since there used to be a shooting range at Jim Thompson trail, there are a lot of side trails that aren’t approved.
“We have a lot of people using social trails and getting lost,” Stafford said.
After getting down and dirty, volunteers will carpool back to the park at 11 a.m. for a free lunch.
Participants will receive a free National Park day-use pass, a poster and the first 100 attendees with receive a free T-shirt.
Registration begins at 8 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, at Posse Grounds Park, 525 Posse Ground Road.
Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail
aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com
