MRNPA Work Party!

The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates volunteer work party will be Saturday, July 10th.


Rather than doing trail maintenance, we will be working with Will Arneson's Ecological Restoration crew doing exotic plant removal (weeding). The project is to work along the Westside Road removing non-native plants that are invading the areas adjacent to roadway. The target species are dock and two species of daisies, but we will remove other exotic plants as we find them. The work area will be the 3.5 miles of the Westside Road from the Nisqually Road junction to the end at Fish Creek.


To participate there is no need to know all that much about native plants. Will and his crew will teach you which plants to remove, and they will be able to identify for you all the native plants in the area. Westside Road is not heavily traveled so car traffic will not be much of a problem. There will be no heavy tools (like shovels and pulaskis) to carry and work with. Because we will working along the road, you will not be so far from you car that you will need to carry a pack. And, who knows, we may even get a dry day.


Things you should bring are your work gloves, a small digging tool like a hand trowel or your favorite gardening tool, your lunch, plenty of fluids to drink, and a full set of rain gear. If you have a reflective safety vest, bring that too. We will be required to wear safety vests because we will be working along a road open to traffic. And two more things: bring a small tablet that will fit in your pocket, and a pencil. You will need to count the number of exotic plants you remove - this is a government project after all!


We will meet at 8:30 AM at the junction of the Westside Road and the Nisqually Road. (That is about a mile just inside the Nisqually Entrance to the park). We will be ready to go to work by about 9:00 AM and expect to finish about 3:00 PM. Tell the ranger at the park entrance you will be working on a volunteer project and you will be admitted to the park for free.

If you plan to attend the this work party, please go to volunteer@mount-rainier.org to indicate that you are coming. It is important that MRNPA has an accurate number of expected participants to provide the needed resources. You may also email John Titland @ volunteer@mount-rainier.org.


If you would like to camp for free in the park before or after (or both) participating in this work party, camping is available at the Longmire VIP campground. To make camping arrangements, contact Evan Escamilla at evan_escamilla@partner.nps.gov or (360) 569-2211 ext. 3312.