LAS VEGAS - Southern Nevada residents will join with others across the country to celebrate the nation's trails on Saturday, June 2, 2007 for National Trails Day(R). The Southern Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program will conduct trail and habitat restoration projects from 8:30 a.m. until noon.

The Interagency Volunteer Program has recruited approximately 80 volunteers to work in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Volunteers will restore sections of a popular trail in Lee Canyon and build a fence to help protect the Mount Charleston blue butterfly habitat.

This is the 15th anniversary of National Trails Day, the signature trail awareness program of the American Hiking Society. The first Saturday of each June is set aside to celebrate and maintain local trails and recognize volunteers. With 200,000 miles of trails in the U.S., the Outdoor Industry Association conducted a study in 2006 and found that more than 76 million people hike, 40 million people trail run, and 13.5 million people backpack.

The Southern Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program, Get Outdoors Nevada, is funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) and managed by the UNLV Public Lands Institute on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service. The Public Lands Institute was initiated in 2005 to work in collaboration with federal, state, and non-profit partners to create new knowledge, advance technology, improve education, and engage the community to enhance public lands stewardship. More information about the institute is available at http://publiclands.unlv.edu.