EARTH DAY VOLUNTEERS TO RESTORE NATIVE TREES AND GRASSES.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Volunteers will pitch in on the 32nd Earth Day to plant Joshua tree seedlings and native bunch grass at two state parks, restoring the native vegetation removed by farmers decades ago.

Besides replanting farmed-over acreage at Arthur B. Ripley State Park and Saddleback Butte State Park, volunteers will also plant seedlings at Red Rock Canyon State Park, damaged by a 1997 flash flood, and clean up trash at all the parks.

``We thought it would be a good idea for Earth Day to get volunteers out there to revegetate those areas,'' said Randall Burt, who is coordinating the work for the state parks department's Mojave Desert sector. ``It's ongoing work, but it's great to incorporate it into something as good as Earth Day.''

The projects, all scheduled for April 21, are among 11 restoration and cleanup projects sponsored by the California State Parks Foundation in the greater Los Angeles area.

The foundation provided $810 to grow Joshua trees and bunch grass seedlings at Antelope Valley College and other local nurseries, Burt said. All the plants were grown from seeds collected in the Antelope Valley.

At each project, state rangers or other staff will be on hand to convey the importance of the work being done and to provide other information.

At the Ripley park, which contains one of the largest undisturbed Joshua woodlands remaining in the Antelope Valley, the Joshua seedlings and grass will be planted on 100 acres that had once been farmed.

The state parks department acquired the 566 acres in 1990 after the death of pioneer wheat farmer Arthur Ripley, who willed the land to the state at his death at age 87 in 1988. He had farmed 100 acres, but the rest was untouched. The land was named a state park last year.

At Saddleback Butte, the seedlings will be planted in an area behind the park maintenance yard, which also once had been farmed.

In each project, volunteers should gather at 8 a.m. and bring gloves and, if possible, a gardening spade. Organizers hope to attract 160 volunteers, with the largest groups at Saddleback and Tomo-Kahni.

The Saddleback volunteers should meet at the visitor center, which is off Avenue J at 170th Street East.

The Ripley volunteers should meet on Lancaster Road at 205th Street West, which is west of the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

The Red Rock volunteers should meet at the park visitor center. The park is 25 miles north of Mojave on Highway 14.

For information, call the state parks office in Lancaster at [phone].