Spring Break Roundup, part 2

More news from my in box this week:

Volunteer Program Management Training: Mount Rainier National Park will host training in volunteer program management on May 28 and 29. This 15-hour course will focus on the nitty-gritty details of recruiting, hiring, and supervising volunteers, as well as running a volunteer program. It's targeted first to NPS supervisors, but would also be valuable training for anyone who wants to work with volunteers--including volunteers interested in taking on leadership roles. Click here for the complete training announcement and nomination form.

Snow and other winter hazards: Ohanapecosh might open late due to the heavy snowpack. One of our seasonal housing apartment buildings was damaged a few weeks ago when snow pushed over the chimney; it won't be habitable until the furnace venting has been fixed. And it looks like the opening for Skate Creek Road, between the west side of the park and Packwood, will be delayed because of an extensive rock slide across the road. WASDOT has projected tentative opening dates of May 9 for SR 123, and May 23 for SR 410.

New Visitor Center Sneak Peek: Climbing volunteer Rebecca Agiewich got a preview of the new visitor center under construction at Paradise. Read her report, with lots of pictures, on the Mount Rainier Climbing Blog.

From Reindeer to Rainier: Check out a free presentation subtitled "People and Climate Change from the Nordic Countries to the Pacific Northwest" on Tuesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. at the Seattle REI. This far-reaching discussion includes input from UW scientists, volunteer glacier monitors in Iceland, and North Cascades Superintendent Chip Jenkins.

A report from Tamaki Yasuoka: Tamaki is a member of the Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association who spent a few weeks volunteering in the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise last summer. Her report, attached here in PDF format, is a colorful and informative look at the experience of an international volunteer at Mount Rainier. We work with several such volunteers every year; they take a lot of extra planning and logistical preparation, but the benefits can be very rewarding, both for the volunteer and for the park.

Day Hiking: Mount Rainier: That's the title of a new book of day hikes published by Dan Nelson and reviewed by the National Parks Traveler blog. 1% of the proceeds from the book are donated to the Washington Trails Association, a major partner with Mount Rainier National Park in our volunteer trail maintenance and repair following the storms of November 2006.

Association of Partners for Public Lands lauds Cooperative Conservation Award: We were recognized by APPL in their monthly newsletter. That awards ceremony is coming up in just two weeks, on April 21, in Washington, D.C.