Projects include basic litter pick up to an inventory of petroglyphs to trail construction.

The Utah Four-Wheel Drive Association has been organizing volunteers for the annual event since the first Public Lands Day in 1994. The association remains one of the largest contributors of volunteers in Utah.

Steve Jackson, president of the Utah Four-Wheel Drive Association, reports that the group has arranged for 350 volunteers to show up at 14 events on Saturday.

"We had 20 clubs at 11 sites last year. Most projects involve cleaning up dispersed camping sites, but there are a variety of things we will be doing," he said. "We estimated that we collected a total of 9 tons of trash last year. Unfortunately, these is no lack for trash on public lands."

Federal and state land agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, Utah State Parks, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, have projects slated.

Many of the events are family friendly and the projects are a good way to instill the need to take care of public lands to children, according to organizers.

"Many people already do things like cleaning up trash, but having this one day to devote yourself as a volunteer is a good opportunity to give something back to the public lands we all enjoy," Jackson said.

Organizers of the national day say the first event in 1994 included three federal agencies and 700 volunteers. More than 1,100 National Public Lands Day events were held in every state last year with about 100,000 volunteers.

Public Lands Day

* Utah 4-Wheel Drive Association: www.u4wda.org

* Public Lands Day: www.publiclandsday.org