DES MOINES, Iowa ( IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH ) - Iowa state parks and state forests will host volunteers Saturday for clean up and maintenance projects in celebration of National Public Lands Day.

Andy Bartlett, the manager at Ledges State Park near Madrid, said the volunteer events are a way to celebrate public lands in the state, and they help with park maintenance.

Volunteer projects are different at each participating park. Ledges, for example, will lead volunteers to areas of the park that have been taken over by invasive species such as honeysuckle or autumn olive. Volunteers will be given equipment and taught how to remove the plants that would otherwise choke out native species.

Bartlett said Ledges has hosted similar volunteer projects and said each time volunteers are able to se

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