About National Public Lands Day
NPLD aims to celebrate the connection between people and their community’s natural spaces and encourage the use of those spaces for education, recreation, and health.
Held annually on the fourth Saturday in September. NPLD is also a fee-free day - entrance fees are waived at national parks and other public lands. NEEF (National Environmental Education Foundation) coordinates National Public Lands Day. National Public Lands Day is a signature event of the National Environmental Education Foundation, Public Lands Day promotes both popular enjoyment and volunteer conservation of public lands.
Three federal agencies and 700 volunteers launched the first National Public Lands Day in 1994. By 2010, participation had grown to 170,000 volunteers at more than 2,000 sites across the U.S.
In addition to Public Lands Day being a free-fee day at many federally managed lands, volunteers who take part in it are treated to events such as free overnight camping at Holiday Park.
National public lands include a lot of different protected natural environments in America. From national parks, memorials, and monuments, to wildlife refuges, conservation areas, trails, wilderness areas, seashores, lakeshores, and more, public lands are actually all around us!
In fact, nearly 40% of the United States is public land, supported by taxpayers and managed by federal, state, or local government. The leaders of these government agencies are the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Fish & Wildlife Service.
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