+----------------------------+------------------+---+-------------------+
| National Park Service      | Great Sand Dunes |   | 11500 Highway 150 |
|                            | National Park    |   |                   |
| U.S. Department of the     | and Preserve     |   | Mosca, Colorado   |
| Interior                   |                  |   |                   |
|                            | Use the complete |   | 81146             |
|                            | site name here   |   |                   |
|                            | (e.g. Palo Alto  |   | 719-378-6399      |
|                            | Battlefield      |   | phone             |
|                            | Historic Site).  |   |                   |
|                            |                  |   | 719-378-6360 fax  |
+----------------------------+------------------+---+-------------------+

![](media/image1.png){width="0.5597222222222222in"
height="0.7201388888888889in"}

**Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve**

News Release

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Use a "short-hand" version of the site name here (e.g. Palo Alto
  Battlefield not Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Site).

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

For Immediate Release---August 15, 2008 Contact: Carol Sperling

719-378-6341

Celebrate Public Lands by Volunteering at Great Sand Dunes

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and Friends of the Dunes are
seeking volunteers to help celebrate the nation's system of public lands
by assisting park staff with one of several projects on Friday,
September 12, announced Superintendent Art Hutchinson. "We're scheduling
a work day several weeks before the official National Public Lands Day,"
he said. "We hope folks will come out to work on September 12^th^, and
come out to the park again to play on National Public Lands Day,
Saturday, September 27." Entrance fees will be waived for all park
visitors on Saturday, September 27. Entrance fees for people
volunteering on September 12 will be waived, as well. Friends of the
Dunes will provide food and beverages for all workers.

Volunteers are needed for three projects. Two of the projects are
located near park headquarters on Highway 150, while the third project
will occur in the Baca District, located in the northwest corner of the
national park, near Crestone, Colorado.

The Baca District project involves removing old fences and fence wire
from areas now within the national park. Volunteers should be prepared
to work outdoors most of the day doing moderately hard physical work.
Volunteers should bring sturdy work gloves and wear long sleeves and
long pants as protection from barbed wire and sun exposure. Lunch,
snacks, and beverages will be provided. Transportation from the Liberty
Gate to the work site is by park vehicle or escorted private 4WD
vehicle; advance sign-up for this project is required. For details and
to sign-up, call Volunteer Coordinator Libbie Landreth at (719) 378-6342
by September 10.

The other projects are cleaning litter up from the lower portions of
Medano Creek, and attempting to remove several unused shallow research
wells from the creekbed south of the Dunes Parking Lot. Participants
will hike 2 - 5 miles and may carry equipment and bags of trash.
Volunteers should wear sturdy hiking shoes and bring sun protection,
gloves, day packs, and water. Advance sign-up is requested by September
11. For information and to sign- up for these projects, call Volunteer
Coordinator Libbie Landreth at (719) 378-6342.

Volunteers in any of the projects will receive a coupon good for a
one-day waiver of the entrance fee at any site managed by the National
Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Army Corps of Engineers, US
Fish and Wildlife Service or U.S. Forest Service. The coupon will be
valid from September 28, 2008 through September 26, 2009.

For more information, call Volunteer Coordinator Libbie Landreth at
(719) 378-6343 or the Visitor Center at (719) 378-6399.

-NPS-