National Public Lands Day opportunities abound

Toyota sponsorship to put over 80,000 back in touch with public lands at 600 sites.

"We make it a family event," says Indiana volunteer who brings his wife and three sons each year

Washington, D.C., May 25, 2005 - Free admission to America's National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, National Forests and many other public lands on their annual fall fix-up day is just the start of what keeps Terry Stumpf coming back year after year to participate in National Public Lands Day.

"I've been a volunteer for five years," said Stumpf, an ordering and logistics specialist at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Indiana. "My wife and three sons come along each year and we make it a family event. You get such a feeling of accomplishment, especially knowing the impact the improvements make on local parks. It's also fun to work with fellow team members and their families. Each year I do something different. So far I've done painting, post-hole digging for fences, landscaping, and more."

A third of America's land and water belongs to the public and each September tens of thousands of Americans donate a Saturday to help improve them. People of all ages volunteer to build trails, plant seeds, collect water samples, and clean up the parks and other special places they enjoy year around.

Those interested in volunteering can find local sites by calling tollfree 800-VOL-TEER (800-865- 8337), consult materials at their local Toyota dealer, or go to www.publiclandsday.org.

Started in 1994, and sponsored for the seventh straight year by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., this year's event will be the biggest yet. Organizers expect to top last year's 80,000 volunteers and 600 sites.

"It's been exciting to see our volunteer numbers grow each year," said Nina Schultheis, one of the Indiana plant's coordinators on National Public Lands Day. "Our team members and their families who volunteer are very generous with their time and they get a lot accomplished."

Admission to many federal sites is free on National Public Lands Day -- including land managed by the National Park Service , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Volunteers who join in the various service projects at those at those areas will receive a coupon good for an additional free admission to a national park or other participating area.

Because of people like Bruce Papich, who organizes events in the Denver region each year, the annual fix- up day has become the largest volunteer hands-on event of its kind in the country.

"I enjoy National Public Lands Day because it's a great cause and because of the camaraderie shared by all the participants," Papich said. "My favorite outing was the lunar-like landscape we encountered in helping recovery efforts after the devastating Hayman fire, which burned over 187,000 acres. It looked like a scene out of some apocalyptic movie. Everything was charred, black or gray. We were on a parcel of property that had undergone such extreme heat that the surface rock melted together."

"So we had to scarify the ground, spread indigenous seed and cover the tilling with hay. Soot stuck to our clothes and changed the color of our boots. But we all felt great knowing we made a small dent in a cruel joke played on Mother Nature by a careless soul," Papich said. He is a parts and service development manager for Toyota Motor Sales in Englewood, Colorado.

"We're responsible for over $11 million worth of work, and we have a great time, too," said Robb Hampton, Director of National Public Lands Day, a program of the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation.

Each year the event helps fix up famous locations where Americans hike, bike, climb, swim, explore, picnic, or just plain relax -- such as San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, one of the most heavily visited urban parks; the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Mass.; and the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles, the first nature center in California to be built from the ground up to protect the environment. The experience keeps alive the legacy of the 1930s-era Civilian Conservation Corps, which enrolled 3 million Americans in improving public lands.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., the lead sponsor, will urge this year's volunteers to carpool to the parks, monuments, and other historic sites they'll help to preserve. Toyota will assist volunteers with fuel-efficient gas/electric hybrid vehicles including its signature Prius and their new SUV hybrid vehicles, the Highlander Hybrid and Lexus 400h, at selected sites. The company sponsors the event and encourages its employees to participate as an expression of a top-to-bottom environmental commitment.

"National Public Lands Day has been a successful and fun event that our Toyota team members look forward to and have been actively participating in for the past several years," said Carri Chandler, who manages an event that draws more than 250 participants each year at Big Bone Lick State Park in Union, Kentucky. "The park staff says that our Toyota volunteers complete more in 4 hours than their small park staff can complete in nine months."

Those interested in volunteering can find local sites by calling toll-free 800-VOL-TEER (800-865- 8337), consult related materials at their local Toyota dealer, or go to www.publiclan dsday.org. The website offers downloadable photos and more information for the news media.