ALASKA-NEWS-RELEASE: Forest Service to hold ribbon cutting for Blind Slough Picnic Area Saturday

["Julie A Speegle" <jspeegle@xxxxxxxxx>]

TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-FOREST SERVICE
News Release 

Julie Speegle 
Asst. Public Affairs Officer 
Work: 907-789-6246 
Cell: 907-723-3304 
  
 For release: June 10, 2010 

Forest Service to hold ribbon cutting
for Blind Slough Picnic Area Saturday

Petersburg, AK—The Tongass National
Forest will hold a ribbon cutting Saturday, June 12, at 3:30 p.m. for the
newly renovated Blind Slough Picnic Area, followed by a picnic and potluck
at 4 p.m.

Blind Slough is located 18 miles out
of Petersburg, making it a highly-used and visited facility for Petersburg
residents and visitors. The new picnic area includes three new pavilions
constructed of Alaska yellow cedar from Icy Straits Lumber and Milling,
two new paved parking lots for vehicles and buses, and two newly constructed
accessible fishing piers, making the facility completely accessible.

Originally built in the early 1980s,
the facility was closed in the fall of 2008 for upgrades, and reopened
this spring. 

The Petersburg Ranger District has combined
the Blind Slough Picnic Area ribbon cutting event with National Get Outdoors
Day and the City of Petersburg Centennial for a full day of healthy, active
outdoor fun. The Blind Slough Picnic Area is the base for most of the activities,
including kayaking, biking, hiking, and demonstrations on nature photography
and Leave No Trace methods beginning at 10 a.m. Activities elsewhere include
Plein Air painting at Sandy Beach at 9 a.m.; Devil’s Thumb Archery Club
demonstrations at the archery range from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; and fly-casting
demonstrations at Man Made Hole. There will also be opportunities to get
your photo taken with Smokey Bear. 

For more information contact the Petersburg
Ranger District at 772-3871.

The mission of the USDA Forest Service
is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s
forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.
The agency manages 193 million acres of public land and is the largest
forestry research organization in the world.        
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider
and employer.

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