Outdoor Channel Corps Conservation Tour of Duty Attracts Nearly 2,500 Volunteers

Outdoor Channel Corps Conservation Tour of Duty Attracts Nearly 2,500 Volunteers

America's Leader in Outdoor TV Leads Successful Mission to Improve Public Lands & Outdoor Spaces in Eight Markets across the U.S.

TEMECULA, Calif., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Outdoor Channel, America's Leader in Outdoor TV, today announced the successful mobilization of nearly 2,500 volunteers as part of its inaugural Conservation Tour of Duty for its Outdoor Channel Corps initiative - a philanthropic program that aims to restore and improve public lands and spaces in order to ensure that the outdoor lifestyle thrives in communities across America.

Timed around National Public Lands Day, September 25th, 2010, Outdoor Channel Corps deployed volunteers to a total of eight sites, where the network spearheaded the charge in restoration and improvement projects. Various cable affiliate groups, such as Comcast and Time Warner, along with conservation/environmental partners, such as the Boy Scouts of America, Everglades National Park, the San Diego River Park Foundation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, joined the effort by lending their time and support.

"Outdoor Channel Corps is happy to ignite the power of volunteerism. Almost 2,500 volunteers turned out for our first-ever Conservation Tour of Duty initiative, and their valuable efforts resulted in a measurable impact on public parks and spaces across the country. Volunteers collected over 3,000 lbs. of debris and cleared over 20 miles of trails and shorelines," said Denise Conroy-Galley, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Research for Outdoor Channel. "We extend our appreciation to our affiliates, partners, and, of course, the volunteers that came out to make a lasting difference. It is important to invest in conservation, and future Outdoor Channel Corps events will build on the momentum of our kick-off events."

Conservation Tour of Duty Highlights

Outdoor Channel Corps was created in May 2010 to leverage the unrivaled strength of the Outdoor Channel brand to mobilize passionate outdoor enthusiasts to volunteer in their communities. The program aims to recruit one million volunteers for outdoor-related projects over the next five years, making it the largest outdoor volunteer program of its kind. Projects will be organized around specific "Tours of Duty" and will focus on the principles of conservation, outreach, responsibility and education.

The Conservation Tour of Duty focused on ensuring access to public lands and outdoor spaces through restoration and improvement volunteer events. Conservation of public lands is critical to ensuring that future generations of hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts have access to traditional recreational pursuits like hunting and fishing. According to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report, more than 50 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) have inadequate access. Through its Conservation Tour of Duty, Outdoor Channel Corps is determined to dramatically improve accessibility and restore our cherished public lands.

EVENT
LOCATION AFFILIATE OBJECTIVE RESULTS
-------- --------- --------- -------
200 volunteers
accumulated 172
bags of trash
weighing in at
over 1,375 lbs.;
cleared 5.5 miles
of trails and
shoreline trash;
planted Bluebonnet
seedlings across 3
acres of Potter's
Creek Park;
trimmed 20 trees;
painted 8 large
tables; and
planted 15 feet
tall Burr Oak
Trees. Also, held
U.S. Army the following
Corps of conservation and
Engineers outdoor-related
event taking classes: Water
place on Quality
Sept 18th; Monitoring,
Public park/ Recycling to New,
Canyon shoreline Non-point
Lake, debris Pollution, Water
Canyon clean-up and Boating Safety
Lake, and seedling and Canyon Lake
Texas* GVTC plantings. Gorge Tour.
------ Texas ------------- -------------------
-----
Pulled out 15-bags
of an exotic vine
called syngonium;
Shark trimmed tram/
Valley bicycle road at
Trails at some of the
Everglades corners where the
National vegetation had
Park, Trail gotten tall and
Everglades maintenance was making it a
City, and debris visual safety
Florida* Comcast clean-up. hazard.
South
---------- Florida ------------ -------------------
--------
90 volunteers
cleared and
widened an ADA
trail; improved a
rock trail by
elevating it and
creating a border;
created waterbars
to divert water
off the trail and
address erosion
issues; thinned
invasive tree
Kings Gap species and
Environmental created
Education Trail firebreaks; and
and maintenance; weeded/cleaned
Training Removal of interpretative
Center, invasive and education trail
Carlisle, non-native along the
Pennsylvania* Comcast species. butterfly garden.
-------------- Pennsylvania ------------- ------------------
------------
54 volunteers
removed large
garbage bags of
5 Miami-Dade Arrowhead Vine /
Parks are American
participating Evergreen; cleared
in NPLD. a trail of fallen
Miami-Dade Trail Royal Palm fronds;
Parks, maintenance and cleared debris
Miami, and debris throughout the
Florida* Comcast clean-up. park and trail.
South
---------- Florida ------------- -------------------
--------
102 volunteers
removed over 800
lbs. of trash and
nearly one ton of
green waste debris
from an area
equaling 6,794
square feet across
Riparian the San Diego
Habitat River shoreline
San Diego Restoration, and removed the
River invasive biomass on at
Park, nonnative least 6 Tamarisk
Santee, Outdoor tree removal trees from the
California* Channel event. basin.
Corporate
------------ Event ------------- -------------------
----------
Maui
Electric's
2nd Annual The event drew over
Keiki 1,500 attendees;
Fishing Outdoor Channel's
Tournament Kelly Gotch emceed
benefiting the Keiki
Maui United Tournament; Gotch
Way hosted also educated the
by Kelly group on
Gotch from conservation and
Kaanapali Outdoor provided "catch
Golf Channel's and release"
Course "Step techniques and
Pond, Oceanic Outside"; fishing tips for a
Lahaina, Time Conservation new generation of
Hawaii Warner education. anglers.
Cable
Maui,
--------- Hawaii ------------- --------------------
------
60 volunteers
accumulated 75
garbage bags
Cleaning of filled with debris
Boy Scout from a two-mile
camp grounds stretch along the
Camp Pouch, as part of Pouch Camp
Staten Time "Save Camp perimeter,
Island, Warner Pouch" weighing roughly
New York Cable campaign. 750 lbs.
New York
----------- City ------------ -------------------
---------
Ken Cobb and Scott
Langely from
Outdoor Channel's
"Huntin' the
World...Southern
West Virginia Style" helped the
Division of state park promote
Natural conservation and
Resources' preservation
celebration through an
of national educational
hunting and overview on how to
fishing on understand and
Stonewall Sept. 25th & appreciate the
Resort 26th; natural habitats
State Conservation that surround us;
Park, Shentel education the two drew 397
Roanoke, Cable and debris visitors to the
West (Shenandoah clean-up on Outdoor Channel/
Virginia Telecommunications) the 25th. Shentel booth.
West
--------- Virginia -------------- -------------------
---------

* Denotes events officially held in conjunction with the National Environmental Education's (NEEF) National Public Lands Day

About Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc.

Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc. owns and operates Outdoor Channel, America's leader in outdoor TV, and Winnercomm Inc., an Emmy Award winning production and interactive company. Outdoor Channel offers programming that captures the excitement of hunting, fishing, shooting, off-road motorsports, adventure and the Western lifestyle and can be viewed on multiple platforms including high definition, video-on-demand, as well as on a dynamic broadband website. Winnercomm Inc. is one of America's leading and highest quality producers of live sporting events and sports series for cable and broadcast television. Winnercomm also owns and operates the patented Skycam and CableCam aerial camera systems which provide dramatic overhead camera angles for major sports events, including college and NFL football. For more information, please visit http://www.outdoorchannel.com.

SOURCE Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc.

Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc.

CONTACT: Tom Hornish, Chief Operating Officer, Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc., +1-951-699-6991, ext. 104, thornish@outdoorchannel.com, or Nancy Zakhary, Brainerd Communicators, Inc., +1-212-986-6667, nancy@braincomm.com

Web Site: http://www.outdoorchannel.com

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