SILVER CITY, NM; May 8, 2015 - For Immediate Release - The Gila National Forest hopes community members and visitors enjoy the new improvements at the Lake Roberts Vista Village Site off Highway 35 after a group of volunteers spent the day repairing the facilities Saturday, May 2, 2015. Jace Porter, a 17-year old student at Silver High organized the work day as part of his Eagle Scout project for Boy Scouts.
Porter's crew numbered 27 volunteers (youth and adults) who were assisted by Gila National Forest staff. They focused on scraping peeling paint and repainting the shade structures. Fallen masonry walls at the picnic structures were cleaned and one segment of wall was rebuilt. The volunteers also did general trash pick-up around the site, swept the concrete trail and cut back some vegetation near the trail. Porter said, "We got a lot of work done and the teamwork was awesome."
Lake Roberts Vista Village is located on the Wilderness Ranger District of the Gila National Forest. Facilities at the site include two accessible picnic structures (with shade structures, tables, and grills) and an accessible trail with some interpretive signage. The trail runs about ΒΌ of a mile to a Mimbres archaeological site that was excavated in the 1990s.
Dr. Wendy Sutton, Gila National Forest Heritage Program Manager, said, "We appreciate Jace's efforts to organize this event and the group's hard work. We look forward to future projects with the Boy Scouts." Additional work at this site may include rebuilding and repairing masonry walls near picnic structures, resurfacing the trail and enhancing interpretive information regarding the archaeology at the site.
Your national forests contain special places of historic and cultural importance to local communities, Native American tribes and humanity. Lake Roberts Vista Village is one such site. We rely on partners and volunteers to help us be stewards of these special places. This year (and next) we are honoring the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), passed in 1966. The NHPA helps us maintain our connection to the land, learning more about our past while managing for use into the future.