Our Stories
Volunteers celebrate National Public Lands Day in “the Chip”
About 25 volunteers and a half dozen Forest Service employees celebrated National Public Lands Day on Saturday, 9/26 by volunteering on the NCT within the Chippewa National Forest (the Chip). NPLD is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy.
We had an absolutely beautiful day to work with cool temperatures, no bugs, and the start of great fall colors. The event was based out of the Shingobee Recreation Area’s historic chalet building. This historic structure offers a great venue for group gatherings. Contact the Walker Ranger Station at 218-547-1044 for more info.
The volunteers tackled a variety of needed projects, including:
- Installing a NCT sign on a newly constructed trailhead kiosk at Shingobee
- Installing barrier posts on the NCT and rehabbing ATV damage by Diamond Lake, north of Hackensack
- Rehabbing ATV damage between the Paul Bunyan State Trail and MN-34
- Rehabbing the trail tread & moving a backcountry campsite by the former Woodtick Impoundment (where the natural hydrology has been recently restored)
Following the day’s work, some of the participants stuck around for a cookout dinner sponsored by the NCTA through the generous contributions of Walker North Country Marathon racers.
Thanks go to the Forest Service’s Walker Ranger District staff (led by Tom Schackman) who helped out and the STN members (John Leinen, Harlan Liljequist, Barb & Brian Pavek), ITM members (Jerry Trout & Harold Cotant), scouts from the Pine River-Backus Troop 73 (led by Denton Newman & Clyde Oliver), and Cass Lake-Bena High School Science Club students (led by teacher Nancy Howard) who participated.
More photos from BSA Troop #73’s participation at the National Public Lands Day event are available online.