Public Lands Interpretive Association

Filing Period

Oct 1, 2011 to Sep 30, 2012

Signed

Jun 28, 2013

Return Version

2011v1.5

Gross Receipts

$1,509,959

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Campgrounds-PLIA continued operating four campgrounds for the USDA Forest Service on the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest in Williams, Arizona. By operating these campgrounds PLIA supports its mission by providing an environment where forest visitors may prolong their stay by camping and facilitates the inspiration and education of the public about all aspects of the Kaibab National Forest in particular and America's public lands in general by providing both a safe and secure environment for camping as well as a variety of educational and interpretive programs available to everyone. In addition to hiring the managers and staff to operate four campgrounds PLIA also funds an interpretive specialist position to plan, manage and implement interpretive and educational programming for the visiting public staying in the campground. These programs are presented free of charge throughout the summer camping season and consist of evening talks, walks on a series of interpretive trails built and maintained by PLIA, and a variety of programs and citizen science opportunities presented by the interpretive specialist and selected guest speakers as well as interactive programming for all ages but most specifically targeted to children and youth. In an effort to reach the visiting public in the off-season PLIA has also funded the construction of interpretive panels, kiosks, self-guided trails and accompanying brochure and checklists for the flora, fauna, reptiles and birds that can be accessed on the ground or through the local Forest Service office. During fiscal year 2011 summer campground season of 16 weeks, PLIA presented 70 programs with attendance of 1,259 people.

Activity 3

Valles Calderas-In fiscal year 2011-2012 PLIA signed a new three-year agreement to be the customer service representative for the Valles Caldera National Preserve, which is a unit of public land managed by the Valles Caldera Trust and situated on the Jemez Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest in north central New Mexico. PLIA facilitates the recreational use of the Valles Caldera National Preserve by fielding all phone inquiries regarding general information about the Preserve as well as questions about specific recreational opportunities and making reservations for particular events. This activity supports the mission of PLIA by facilitating the interaction between public lands users and, through the PLIA staff, the managing agency. It also provides an opportunity for PLIA to foster an appreciation for public lands and encourage people to visit the Preserve. Users of the Preserve who come in contact with PLIA vary from elk hunters, to fishermen, from bike riders to hikers and birdwatchers from amateur archaeologists to geologists with a special interest in the geological formations of the site to the casual visitor who just wants to know more about it. PLIA responded to approximately 4,000 phone inquiries about the Valles Caldera and sent out 1,747 mailings in response to questions in fiscal year 2011.

Filer

EIN

85-0292757