Youth to help clean up Lake Mead, Great Basin

Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Great Basin National Park will get a face lift this summer, thanks to federal grant money allocated to pay youth to help clean them up.

Workers will concentrate on arid land restoration at Lake Mead, while at Great Basin, located along the Utah border, youth will work to improve landscaping at Lehman Caves. Each site will receive at least $15,000 toward the project, according to the Park Service.

The volunteers will be selected nationwide by the non-profit organization, Student Conservation Association.

The Park Service's Public Land Corps Youth Program has allocated more than $3.6 million in federal grants to pay youth to carry out needed repairs in national parks. The projects range from rebuilding trails and preserving historic structures to restoration and campground rehabilitation.

The youth program was authorized May 27, 1993, under the National Community Service Act.

The youth involved in the Lake Mead and Great Basin projects will be among 1,025 young people performing needed work in national parks throughout the country.

The grant money was collected from increases in national park fees. The money will be used to purchase resources such as lumber and tools for the projects.

"The reason the Public Land Corps was created was to get youth involved in the Park Service," said David Barna, chief of public affairs for National Park Service. "The youth will eventually be paying taxes for these parks, so they should take the time to help clean then up."

The National Park Service will oversee 165 youth projects in 99 national parks this summer.

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