Volunteer Numbers Exceed Last Year!

Wow, what a year it's been. Between restoring Longmire Campground for the exclusive use of volunteers (that ones been a lifesaver), and organizing volunteers for everything from National Public Lands Day to Lantern Bearers for Shadows of the Past, we've really outdone ourselves, and the number show it.

The Official Volunteer Statistics for Fiscal Year 2009 are as follows:


Annual Activity and Expense Report
Mount Rainier National Park
Report Date: Oct 29, 2009
Fiscal Year: 2009


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Volunteer Coordinator and Park Information

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Total Volunteers: 1,865 (up from 1,837 last year, a new record!)
Alpha Code: MORA
VIP Coordinator: Kevin Bacher
VIP Coordinator Phone: 360-569-2211
Coordinator Email: kevin_bacher@nps.gov

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Volunteer hours by category:

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Administration: 610.00
Campground Host: 1,740.50
Cultural Resource Management: 4,031.00
General Management: 0.00
Interpretation: 17,016.50
Maintenance: 1,966.00
Natural Resource Management: 10,425.50
Protection/Operations/Law Enforcement: 35,928.75
Training: 513.00

[Total hours: 72,231.25] (up from 70,130 last year!)

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Program costs by category:

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Housing: $ 5,847.00
Meals: $ 9,295.00
Recognition/Award: $ 721.00
Supplies: $ 24,758.00
Training: $ 3,094.00
Transportation: $ 2,516.00
Uniforms: $ 736.00

[Total costs: $ 46,967.00]

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Volunteer Program Highlight

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This year was the first since Mount Rainier's great flood in November of 2006 that has not been directly supported by the Mount Rainier Recovery Corps, a partnership developed with the Student Conservation Association to recruit volunteers and lead recovery efforts. Instead, the volunteer program built on the partnerships developed during that era and the lessons learned to create new opportunities, including a major trail construction project at Glacier Basin led by the Washington Trails Association that brought almost 500 volunteers into the park. Four SCA interns were hired to serve as volunteer coordinators in key programs including trails, plant ecology, citizen science, and volunteer management, and a fifth volunteer was hired directly to help with the meadow rover program at Sunrise. All of these strategies combined to keep participation high despite the receeding urgency of flood recovery. On National Public Lands Day, 223 volunteers participated park-wide, a new record; volunteer hours were up from last year; and for the whole year, our total number of volunteers set a new record as well. We also re-opened the historic Longmire Campground this year, restored by volunteers for the exclusive use of volunteers and other park groups, and managed by a pair of campground hosts; this was a tremendous asset for volunteers who wished to stay for multiple days.

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Training

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How many people at the park require VIP Program Management Training: 7

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Optional Information Regarding Housing VIPs and Campground Hosts

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Number of Campground Hosts: 5
Number of VIPs housed in Permanent Structures: 53
Number of VIPs housed in Trailers: 7

Trailer Pads for Volunteers: 7

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Other Information

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Number of SCAs: 13
SCA Hours: 11,859
Number of Artists in Parks: 0
Artist in Parks Hours: 0
Number of International VIPs: 6
International VIPS Hours: 550
Number of Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps: 0
Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps Hours: 0
Number of Boy Scouts: 74
Boy Scout Hours: 524
Number of Girls Scouts: 0
Girl Scout Hours: 0


What a year! As you can see we're steadily improving our volunteer program, and with each improvement, more opportunities for volunteering arise. Just remember, we couldn't do it without the dedicated support of volunteers like you. Congratulate yourself on a year done well, and remember to come back next year.

Hope to see you then.