National Public Lands Day draws volunteers to Loyalhanna Dam
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The group of volunteers nearly had the tree planted and all the dirt filled back in on Saturday morning when someone looked up and noticed the power lines directly overhead.
“Who planned this?” someone joked, then added with a laugh, “The Army Corps of Engineers, huh?”
“Hey, I just dug where the blue ‘X’ was spray-painted,” said volunteer Kelly Horrell of Saltsburg, one of about a dozen such volunteers on hand for National Public Lands Day at Loyalhanna Dam.
In the past, the day typically involved litter clean-up at the federal land in Loyalhanna Township, but Lupyan said they are trying something different in 2021.
“We have about 10 trees to get planted, and if we get past that we might do some shore clean-up as well,” said Paige Lupyan, a park ranger and natural resource specialist at Loyalhanna Dam.
The dam is one of 16 flood-control projects in the Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh District. Completed in 1942, the dam is capable of storing the equivalent of more than 6 inches of rain from its 290-square mile drainage area.
Many of the volunteers are members of the Loyalhanna Woodlands Boat Club, a group of neighboring property owners who have a private dock on Loyalhanna Lake — a rarity for federal land.
“They come and help out a lot when we have clean-ups, on Earth Day and on National Public Lands Day,” Lupyan said.
The National Environmental Education Fund’s National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer event for public lands. Established in 1994 and held annually on the fourth Saturday in September, this celebration brings out thousands of volunteers to help restore and improve public lands around the country. NPLD is also a “Fee-Free Day,” when entrance fees are waived at national parks and other public lands.
Jack Ruebel is a member of the boat club. He said it’s mutually beneficial to have a good working relationship with the Army Corps of Engineers.
“We can kayak all year around, they have a campground up there — we’ve even snorkeled the creek,” said Ruebel, who grew up in the area and moved back about nine years ago. “You say you want to be here, but actions speak louder than words. They’re willing to grant us the dock permit, so why not take some ownership and help keep a public area in good shape?”
Lupyan agreed.
“They’ve shown up to every Earth Day event, every Public Land Day event I’ve been part of,” she said. “We also have access to their boat launch for emergency access, so it’s a great relationship we have with them.”
Helping plant trees and clear brush is a fair trade for Horrell.
“We’re all conservationists and enjoy this kind of work, so we volunteer every year for these events,” she said. “It’s nice to be out in nature. And when you care about the properties you’re recreating on, it’s nice to be able to say, ‘I built that tree’ or ‘We built those benches.’”