Public can learn about volunteer opportunities in national forest

Persons interested in learning about volunteer opportunities in nearby Cleveland National Forest are invited to the San Diego Archaeological Center on San Pasqual Valley Road from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13.

Presentations will be from Steve Harvey and Susan Roder of Cleveland National Forest’s Heritage Program, Debra Clarke of the forest’s Trails and Wilderness area, and representatives from the Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA), the Laguna Mountain Volunteer Association (LMVA), the Santa Ana Mountains Natural History Association (SAMNHA), Back to Natives, and the California Archaeological Site Stewardship Program. Each will provide information on the volunteer programs and activities that are available for the public to participate in on the Cleveland National Forest:

•Passport in Time (PIT) is a volunteer archaeology and historic preservation program of the USDA Forest Service. PIT volunteers work with professional forest service archaeologists and historians on national forests throughout the United States on such diverse activities as archaeological survey and excavation, rock art restoration, archival research, historic structure restoration, oral history gathering, and analysis and curation of artifacts.

•Laguna Mountain Volunteer Association volunteers support and provide recreational and environmental opportunities for visitors to the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area in the Descanso Ranger District in southeastern San Diego County.

•The Forest Fire Lookout Association, founded in 1990, researches former forest fire lookout sites, ground cabins and early forest fire detection methods. The organization encourages efforts of public groups and others in the restoration and volunteer staffing of forest fire lookouts all over the country. The association has restored and is staffing the High Point Lookout on Northeast Palomar Mountain in the Palomar Ranger District in northeastern San Diego County.

•The Santa Ana Mountains Natural History Association provides cost-free programs for the public about natural history features of the Santa Ana Mountains and surrounding wilderness areas in Southern California. The association partners with the Cleveland National Forest to provide programs to visitors of the Trabuco Ranger District in northwestern San Diego County.

•Back to Natives Restoration is dedicated to the restoration and conservation of Orange County and California wildlands through education and restoration programs featuring native plants as a central theme. The group promotes native plants and habitat restoration and preservation in the Trabuco Ranger District.

•In the California Archaeological Site Stewardship Program, trained volunteers work with professional archaeologists to protect archaeological and historical resources by regularly visiting sites and recording changes in their condition or context. It is a program of the Society for California Archaeology (SCA).

The presentations are free for archaeological center members. The suggested donation for non-members is $5, a $15 maximum for non-member families, troops or packs.

San Diego Archaeological Center is at 16666 San Pasqual Valley Road in Escondido. For more information on the lectures, contact Annemarie Cox at acox@sandiegoarchaeology.org or 760-291-0370.