YOU ARE INVITED to NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY at MOUNT RAINIER!

When: Saturday, September 29, 2007
Service projects 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
End of Season Celebration and Dinner 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: Meet for the End of Season Celebration at Columbia Crest Elementary School (9 miles west of Mount Rainier National Park's Nisqually Entrance; three miles west of Ashford on SR 706). Check-in for service projects will be at Longmire, 6 miles east of the Nisqually Entrance. Further details will be provided with your online registration.

Who: Friends of the Mount Rainier Recovery Initiative -- Volunteers, sponsors, staff, media, and anyone who contributed in any way to the recovery effort are all invited to attend!

What: A variety of service projects will cap off a very successful first season for the Mount Rainier Recovery Initiative. Teams of volunteers will work on trail repair, campground restoration, habitat rehab, and other projects throughout the park. In the evening, we will host an informal dinner and celebration, with hamburgers, hot dogs, presentations, and lots of pictures from the summer's work. Come for the service project, or just for the dinner, or sign up for both!

How: To confirm your attendance, sign up at SCA's online events calendar. Click on the calendar link at September 29. You may register for a service project, to attend the dinner, or both. If you do not have Internet access, please call Jill Baum at 360-569-2211 ext. 3414.

Why: Following the devastating floods of last November, hundreds of individuals volunteered to help clean up campgrounds and rebuild trails all over the park. Much work remains, but a lot was accomplished, too. More than half of Mount Rainier's trail repairs this summer were completed by volunteers! Behind the scenes, concerned citizens who weren't able to volunteer in the park wrote letters and contributed financially to the recovery program. These efforts have literally rebuilt our park. On National Public Lands Day, we will come together to celebrate these many acts of stewardship, and to thank those who have given their time and effort so we may all enjoy this special place.

The End-of-Season Celebration is hosted by the Northwest Storm Recovery Coalition, including Mount Rainier National Park, the Student Conservation Association, the Washington Trails Association, Washington's National Park Fund, the National Parks Conservation Association, and The Mountaineers. Sponsors so far include REI, Starbucks, HSBC Bank, Mount Rainier Guest Services, International Mountain Guides, Ranger Doug's Enterprises, and Columbia Crest School.

If you have questions about this event or about Mount Rainier's volunteer program, please contact Kevin Bacher, Volunteer Program Manager, at 360-569-2211 ext. 3385; or Jill Baum, Project Director for the Mount Rainier Recovery Initiative, at 360-569-2211 ext. 3414.