ENVIRONMENT : Volunteer Help Sought for Forest Cleanup Projects

Volunteers are needed for two upcoming projects to clear brush and litter in local nature areas.

This Saturday, the U.S. Forest Service and other organizations are sponsoring a trail-maintenance day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Crystal Lake Recreation area.

Volunteers will meet at the Deer Flats Campground north of Crystal Lake and will go from there to help remove fallen trees, install water bars to control runoff, and perform other maintenance on the Big Cienega, Lost Ridge and Windy Gap trails. The Forest Service will provide the tools and free camping over Memorial Day weekend to all participants, and each volunteer will receive a commemorative T-shirt. For more information, call Heather Smith at (909) 592-2095.

The following Saturday, June 4, the Forest Service, county parks department and several other agencies and organizations are sponsoring Operation Super Sweep, a major litter cleanup project in the San Gabriel Canyon, which has been plagued by litter problems.

Free food, drinks, T-shirts, entertainment and prizes will be offered to participants, who will be organized into teams and shuttled between the staging area at Rincon Fire Station and the various cleanup areas throughout the canyon.

Trash bags will be provided, but volunteers are asked to bring their own gardening gloves, hats and sensible shoes. They should wear brightly colored shirts to ensure safety.

Registration at the station is from 7:30 to 9 a.m., with the cleanup continuing through 11 a.m. Lunch will be served until 1 p.m.

Rincon Fire Station is located on Highway 39 (Azusa Boulevard), north of Sierra Madre Boulevard. For more information, call (818) 575-5488 or 335-1251.