Miltimores featured on MSNBC.com

This morning when I checked the news headlines on MSNBC, there in the travel section was an article about our own Jim and Carol Miltimore and their extraordinary contributions to Mount Rainier National Park! It wasn't a complete surprise, as I'd been interviewed a while back for the story (my "quote" in the article seems to have been embellished a bit, but at least it's still accurate).

My favorite quote from the piece: "Imagine the impact on the national deficit if every able-bodied man and women in America contributed on behalf of the federal government the way the Miltimores do for free. And they consider it their privilege." That pretty well sums up the attitude of all of our volunteers -- both those who, like the Miltimores, volunteer almost full-time in their retirement, and the individuals who squeeze in a few hours between jobs (or job hunting) and their kids' soccer practice. They all experience what Acting Superintendent Randy King says in the article: "It’s just a great way for people to give back. Volunteers form a deep connection to the land."

Check out the complete article on the MSNBC website.

Special Call for Volunteers

To our great volunteers.

I'm in need of 5-10 volunteers for a 3 hour special project to get ready for the Puyallup Fair. The Northwest Outdoors Building (where Mount Rainier has its booth) will be filled with native plants this year. A nursery in Gig Harbor loans us the plants and transports them to the fair grounds. But we need some folks to place them throughout the building and to place bark around them.

When: Wednesday, September 7 from 10 AM to 1 PM
Where: The Northwest Outdoors Building at the Puyallup Fair (park in the blue lot, come in the blue gate and go left)

If you can help please let me know at jim_ross@nps.gov

There will be another opportunity to help on September 26th as we move the plants out. Same time.

Thanks,

Jim Ross Outreach Specialist
Mount Rainier National Park
360-569-6568

MRNPA Work Party - September 10th

Received from Mount Rainier National Park Associates. To learn more about MRNPA or to sign up for this event, please visit their website.

Greetings Alpine Gardeners and Trail Work Volunteers,

The annual Mount Rainier National Park Associates alpine gardening work party will be Saturday, September 10th. That is the Saturday following the Labor Day weekend. We will again be planting wildflower seedlings near Sunrise, working to convert a historic campground area back into alpine meadows.

On the morning of September 10th, we will meet in the Sunrise parking lot between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. As you arrive at Sunrise, Jane and I will be parked on the far left (south) side of the parking lot. Please check in with us as soon as you arrive. We need to get a count and the names of all our volunteers. There may be volunteers from other organizations milling about, so look for us at the green-gray Subaru Outback Wagon surrounded by people who look like they know what is going on,

Be prepared for almost any fall weather. In the past we have experienced everything from warm and sunny days to a driving blizzard. In addition to your sun hat, sunscreen, and your rain gear, bring a lunch, plenty of fluids to drink, gardening gloves, and a hand digging tool you like. If you have no gardening tools, the park can provide small hand tools. You will be working on your hands and knees to do the planting, so you may want to bring a pad for your knees too. The work site is about a mile from the parking lot so plan on carrying everything you need to and from the work site.

We normally work until at least 3 PM.

There is no charge for volunteers to enter the Park. When you enter at the White River Entrance, tell the gate attendant that you will be doing volunteer work on the meadow restoration project at Sunrise.

If you would like to camp for free at the White River Campground the evening prior to or the evening of the work party (or both evenings) contact Will Arneson at Will_Arnesen@nps.gov soon. For free camping, he must make the arrangements well in advance of the scheduled date.

If you plan to join MRNPA on Saturday, Sept 10th, for this alpine gardening work party, please reply to this email confirming that you are coming and indicating the number of volunteers that you will bringing with you.

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates


If you would like to volunteer to do planting at Mount Rainier but September 10th is not a convenient date, please consult the Mount Rainier website, http://www.nps.gov/mora/home.htm. Wildflower planting will be going on for several days.

Student Conservation Association crews are hard at work at Mount Rainier

On August 18, Patti and I, along with Acting Superintendent Randy King, Trails Foreman Jim Ziolkowski, and Student Conservation Association (SCA) Vice President Jay Satz, got to spend a rare day out of the office and in the field--meeting, spending time with, and photographing two different crews from SCA at work in Mount Rainier National Park. One crew, SCA's Conservation Leadership Corps out of Seattle, was working on trail maintenance on the Wonderland Trail above Louise Lake, at the end of a fifteen day assignment that began building trail at Klapatche Park deep in Mount Rainier's backcountry. The other crew was filming youth activities in the park, including the CLC crew, as part of a larger project filming youth programs in national parks throughout the region.

SCA is a major partner of the National Park Service, and each year fields many individual interns and crews at Mount Rainier and other parks, who contribute thousands of hours of volunteer service in return for a small stipend and a fantastic summer experience. We've had a total of three Conservation Leadership Corps groups in the park this summer, funded by a grants from the Park Service's Youth Internship Program and the Student Conservation Association.

As anyone local could guess, this has not been the best summer for volunteer crews to work in warm, sunny conditions with great views of The Mountain. Thursday, however, was gorgeous and perfect for photography. Here are a few photographs from the day; enjoy the whole set on Flickr (or click here for a slide show). Thank you to everyone for all of your hard work!

Urgent Alert: 1-3 volunteers needed tomorrow

Needed: At least 1, as many as 3, volunteers to help distribute information at the Nisqually Entrance tomorrow, Saturday August 20, about Washington's National Park Fund.

Purpose: The Fund is Mount Rainier National Park's most significant financial partner, raising private money to support all aspects of the park's operations. Projects this year include supporting our shuttle service, the volunteer program, the education program, and our community outreach program, and funding improvements to the Longmire Volunteer Campground, including the addition of picnic tables, fire rings, and a picnic shelter. By distributing Fund brochures on one of the busiest day at the park's entrance station, we hope to encourage all kinds of support through this important partnership. This is a high-impact opportunity for volunteers to make a real difference. See www.wnpf.org for details about the Fund and its activities at Mount Rainier and other Washington national parks.

What's involved: Volunteers will gather at the Nisqually Entrance at 10:30 for a briefing, then spend 11:00 to 3:00 talking with visitors as they wait in the line and handing out informational brochures. Our role will be purely informational, not solicitation.

What we need: Laurie Ward, Executive Director of the Fund, will be leading this effort. We need AT LEAST ONE MORE volunteer to confirm with us today in order to make this important project happen. Two volunteers would be better, three would be ideal.

How to get involved: As soon as possible, please contact Patti Poulin at 360-569-6588 or Patricia_Poulin@partner.nps.gov to confirm your participation.

Thank you all for your support!

Kevin Bacher

Volunteer and Outreach Program Manager

Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier's volunteer painter visits Alaska

I've been getting periodic updates from Allan Dreyer, who many of you may know as a meadow rover and artist who has painted many pictures of Mount Rainier and donated several of them to park offices and local fundraisers. His notariety went to Alaska recently with one of our transferred employees, who arranged for Allan to fly up for a couple of months and paint for Becharof National Wildlife Refuge and Katmai National Park.

The photo above is of Allan finally getting a break in the weather to fly up and see some of the places he'd so far only known from pictures, including Mount Chiginigak and the Ukinrek Maars. He's been painting at easier-to-reach locations like Brooks Falls up till now.

Allan's trip to Alaska is part of a larger artist-in-residence program there. Former Rainier ranger Julia Pinnix, now at Bercharof, explains:

Our current office exhibit is a retired museum exhibit of Pacific salmon-- and while it is nice, it contains many photos which are irrelevant to our area. Our goal is to replace most of the exhibit with items that are relevant. This includes photographs and artwork. Allan is our first artist, and we've asked him to create two large paintings, one for Becharof NWR, and one for Alaska Peninsula NWR. I believe Katmai NP is interested in having an image of Brooks Camp, and another of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.


I have another volunteer coming, Tom Collopy of Homer, AK, overlapping with Allan. Tom will be taking photos of the villages near our refuges, both from the air and the ground, and we will assemble these in the office to remind us of our partners on the Peninsula.

Allan's "grand adventure" should last him a couple more weeks, and then he'll be home and ready to share his stories with us in person!

Volunteers survey butterflies at Mount Rainier and North Cascades

One of the biggest challenges faced by natural resource managers is knowing what resources, exactly, they have to manage. How can you know, for example, whether your amphibian species are in decline, as they are so many places, unless you first find out which ones you have and then monitor their populations over time? Mount Rainier's Citizen Science program was created a few years ago to address this issue with the help of volunteers, and now a similar program is beginning to monitor butterflies.

Butterflies are a great species to study because they come in so many varieties, each focused on a particular niche in the ecosystem for feeding and reproducing. Jim Burnett explains on the National Parks Traveler website: "Subalpine meadows are projected to shrink dramatically due to the effects of climate change, but the rate and magnitude of this change are unknown. Butterflies make ideal indicator species because they are particularly sensitive to climatic changes, and are relatively easy to identify in the field by scientists and volunteers alike." They also capture the imagination as they flutter colorfully among the summer flowers.

Now, volunteers will conduct regular survey transects at four sites in Mount Rainier National Park, along with sites at North Cascades National Park and four other locations in the Cascade range, to determine which varieties of butterfly make these mountains their home, and whether each is increasing or decreasing in numbers. Like the amphibian surveys, it's a critical but time-intensive project that will take many years of dedicated study to complete, and one that would be impossible without the dedicated assistance of volunteers.

The "Cascades Butterfly Project" will engage volunteers to inventory butterflies and upload photos and locations onto the Butterflies and Moths of North America website. The volunteers will also note how many of each species of butterfly they see, and which flowers are blooming.
Training of volunteers took place on July 23 at Sauk Mountain and on August 13 at Mount Rainier, though the survey transect at Paradise was still under snow. Other areas included in the study include the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Okanagan-Wenatchee National Forest, Skagit Valley Provincial Park, and Manning Provincial Park.

Survey locations at Mount Rainier include Mazama Ridge, Naches Peak, Berkely Park, and Spray Park. Volunteers at North Cascades National Park will survey Maple and Easy Pass, and in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Yellow Aster Butte and Skyline Divide.

The National Park component of the butterfly survey project involves Wildlife Biologists Mason Reid, at Mount Rainier, and Bob Kuntz, at North Cacades, along with Botanists Lou Whiteaker and Mignonne Bivin. The monitoring program was developed by Dr. John McLaughlin, of Western Washington University, with help from teams of high school students from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for two years of field testing. The program is modeled after a similar program in the Rocky Mountains, which has been monitoring butterflies for 14 years now and has contributed to a significant increase in the number of documented species in Rocky Mountain National Park. A preliminary survey of butterflies at Mount Rainier was completed in 2008 by Dr. Dana Garrigan of Carthage College, including a checklist of 65 species.
Volunteers are still being recruited for this long-term project. To join the Cascades Butterfly Project, contact Jeff Anderson, North Cascades Institute Science Coordinator, at jeff_anderson@ncascades.org or 206-526-2574. Download the project's Resource Brief here. You can also check out the Cascades Butterfly Project Group on Yahoo.

Performance Above And Beyond The Call Of Duty By Three Volunteer Meadow Rovers

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, and having just celebrated the exceptional work of volunteers in general at last weekend's annual volunteer picnic, it seems like a good time to pass this along.

Bill Marsh is our volunteer Meadow Rover Coordinator at Paradise. He sent me this note on July 25, commending the performance of three Meadow Rovers, Mike and Nancy Henderson and Karen Overturf. The letter is a long one, but it deserves to be shared in its entirety, because it represents the indomitable spirit of so many of our volunteers here at Mount Rainier National Park, and it reminds me why I'm so proud to be part of this program. Bill told his story in person at the picnic, and the park's Acting Superintendent, Randy King, has extended his personal thanks to everyone involved.

---

Dear Kevin,

I would like to know the Mount Rainier procedure for formally commending and recognizing an almost 'super human effort' performed by three outstanding Meadow Rovers today at Paradise! The Meadow Rovers' names are Mike and Nancy Henderson and Karen Overturf. I have already talked this over with Ranger Jacquot and he said that I should contact you directly and copy to Patricia and of course to him as well.

As you know our recent warm weather has not only finally started to melt things out, but it has brought the number of visitors to Paradise to its typical summertime 'sunny day' fever pitch. For some reason only a handful of rovers have been coming to the mountain this summer even though Ranger Jacquot has sent out emails to them requesting help. However, Mike, Nancy and Karen have already made multiple visits and performed in an outstanding manner mitigating several snow covered trail issues, providing safer passage along the trail for our visitors.

Having stated the above I now come to the heart of this email.....

Today, Sunday, July 24, 2011 at Paradise, I started the day with 6 Rovers including myself. One Rover had arrived early and had already headed out (9am) to Panorama Point before I had arrived (9:15). Yet another Rover arrived and headed out without checking in with me... Then Mike, Nancy and Karen arrived.

Our focus today was to be digging through three feet of ice/snow, covering the sets of stairs at the start of the Skyline Trail near the JVC at Paradise. We have literally been trying to complete that task for several days due to the hazardous conditions the ice/snow cover over the stairways has presented. This has been a very difficult area for many of our ill prepared visitors with their 'snow unfriendly' footwear.

I had already been working by myself for a couple of hours when Nancy, Mike and Karen arrived, just 'in the nick of time' I might add, to help. The only thing that allowed me to cut though the ice was a wildland firefighting Pulaski tool, so as one of the three started directing traffic around the 'construction zone,' the other two immediately jumped in and started moving the snow and ice as I cut through it. We had been at it for two hours, non-stop, when I overheard a call go out on my radio that a ranger had come upon an injured hiker, who had fallen and was down and unable to move due to an injured back near Marmot Hill, in the Glacier Vista area.

I would like to note at this point, that I was already aware of a very technical SAR operation ongoing high on the mountain, involving several climbing rangers. I also knew that the only two qualified climbing rangers were either assigned to parking lot duty or were resetting safety poles and lines along the snow banks above the parking lots in the Paradise area. The other 'mountain qualified' rangers were LE rangers who were very busy trying to deal with our many visitors and their vehicles coming to and from the mountain.

I would also like to note that I have over 35 years of professional, emergency services experience, as firefighter/paramedic, and as the chief of the largest Medic One program in King County. I am intimately knowledgeable with the Incident Command System and served as Incident Commander at several large scale incidents. I also have over 30 years of mountain rescue experience, including the positions of field and base operations leader. My reason for wanting to give you this additional information is that I wanted for you to be able to judge whether or not my experience level would allow me to make certain decisions, 'on my own,' based on my experience level and the ability to have situational awareness and multitask in times of emergency operations.

Having stated the above, I now arrive at the heart of this email...

I had prior knowledge of Nancy, Mike and Karen's physical fitness abilities, having worked with them before. So, I turned to them and said, "I can't direct you to do what I am about to ask of you, but would you be willing to assist the the carry-out of an injured hiker near Marmot Hill due to the resources already being stretched very thin?" Without hesitation, all three, almost in unison, said, "Absolutely!"

I then explained, in detail, what the mission might entail, in that they would be assisting qualified personnel already at the scene, and that they would be helping rangers move a litter up hill at a fairly good clip, as well as describing what carrying a loaded litter over snow and uneven terrain would entail. They, once again, without hesitation, and again in unison said, "Where do you want us to go!"

At this point, I contacted dispatch by radio and told them that I had three capable and willing volunteers available to help with the evacuation of the patient if needed. Dispatch contacted one of the LE climbing ranger supervisors via radio and advised her of our available personnel. The response was an immediate, "Yes!" She asked for our personnel to respond to the 'Old Station' to meet the climbing ranger. Mike, Nancy and Karen arrived there three minutes later. Within ten minutes 'our' three volunteers and the climbing ranger came flying by me with litter in hand. You might also like to know that the volunteers' ages ranged from fifties to sixties. And please remember what they had been doing, prior to heading up the hill, in the heat of the day.

The times elude me at the moment, but I would estimate that they were up and back down with the patient in approximately two to three hours! But the story does end here!

I asked all three of them individually how were they doing the first chance I had, expecting to hear... "EXHAUSTED!!!" But NO...all three said they felt great and actually thanked me for the opportunity to help!

At this point, I assisted with putting the patient in the ambulance and talked with the rangers involved to ask how 'our' personnel performed. To a person, they all said that they would have had a difficult time without the additional help and that our volunteers all performed in an exemplary manner, with enthusiasm and professionalism.

While I was talking to the rangers, I was assuming that Mike, Nancy and Karen would be either done for the day, or taking an extended break, which I told them they certainly could do, and I certainly expected.... but was I ever wrong! I turned around and what did I see... Mike, Nancy and Karen back at the ice pack on the stairs, chopping, shoveling, poling, roping away like nothing had happened!!!

Oh! But I am not done!!!

I rejoined them, told them how proud I was of them for their feat of strenuous heroism and volunteering to go in the first place. All three just brushed it off, as though it were just another day's work! We continued to work together with Mike and I pounding in metal poles on either side of the trail and fixing lines as we went. At about six o'clock Nancy came up to me and asked if I had ever had a chance to go out to check trail conditions to Myrtle Falls. She knew I had been wanting to do so all day, due to reported hazards on the trail. I said that I had not been able to break away. She then asked that if I didn't mind, that she and Karen would go out to the falls to check trail conditions and be back before seven to catch the shuttle's last ride down hill.

Needless to say, I almost fell over with amazement at what she had just asked permission to do, given the events and activities of the day. But, I could see her determination, so I said, "Sure, why not." In the meantime Mike and I continued our task at hand.

At a few minutes before seven, as promised, Nancy and Karen were back with a trail report. Unfortunately, I had been aware of the tragic traffic accident that prevented the shuttle being at the pick up point at 7. It was more like eight o'clock. I am aware of the time frame, because I was just leaving the JVC, having just briefed my supervisor, Ranger Jacquot. I wanted to be sure that he was made aware of all of the events of the day. I especially wanted to make him aware of the the 'super-human' efforts and actions of our three volunteers, who had gone far above and beyond the call of duty!

And now the finishing touch...

For the hour that Mike, Nancy and Karen had to wait for their ride down hill, did they sit idly by on the benches with the visitors that were also waiting to head down hill... NO!!! Mike and Nancy Henderson, along with fellow Rover Karen Overturf, spent the hour picking up trash around the JVC.

I can tell you right now Kevin, that in my humble opinion, these three individuals deserve to be recognized and rewarded, somehow, for their actions of this day, and that it should, again, in my humble opinion, come from several pay grades above mine and I hope you feel the same way and will pass this email right up and through the chain of command to the very top!

I would like to close by saying that, in all of my professional and volunteer experience, these three individuals stand shoulder to shoulder with highest ranks of the emergency services first responders who also performed in the same manner. 'Our' personnel have redefined the meaning and job description of what it means to be a "VOLUNTEER!" Their exemplary actions today should be the standard we should all aspire to attain. In addition, the Rangers and support staff should also be commended for their professional actions given the events of the day!

I would look forword to discussing this email further with you, at anytime.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Marsh
Volunteer Meadow Rover Coordinator

VIP Carol Miltimore Reports on the Sunrise Archaeology Dig

On August 3rd, Jim and I took advantage of the opportunity to experience archaeology excavation at the historic borrow pit in Sunrise area. The excavation was conducted by the CWU archaeology field school students under the direction of Dr. McCutcheon.

We started the visit with a tour of the site Dr. McCutcheon guided as he narrated an interesting history and background of the site. We saw the freshly excavated stratigraphic profile completed just the day before on the bank of the water-filled borrow pit.

The field school students found numerous artifacts including a large palm-size chert stone that appears to have been worked by human as they worked on the profile. Then we went to the excavation site the field school students just began excavation work that morning. Two days earlier they had to shovel snow off the area to prepare the site for excavation. The area has been surveyed to layout coordinates in order to map the overall site and lay out grids for excavation.

We first watched the students learn hands-on how archaeological excavation work are conducted. Students work on 1 meter x 1 meter grids in teams using trowels, scoops, buckets, standing sieves and record books. They scrape off an unique stratigraphic layer at a time (or constant depth) and sieve the excavated material. The stratigraphic layers are defined by historic geological events, such as volcanic eruptions, glacial events and lahars, and interludes between these geological events. They meticulously record data and observations for each layer level: depth from the reference point, the map of grid (soil color variation, location of tree roots, etc.), volume and type of material removed and sieved, any artifacts found as sieved.

After watching the student survey the site and work grids, they let us get our hands dirty sieving and working with a trowel and scoop. We excavating the layer less than 10 cm down into pit and the layer consisted of the salt-and-pepper looking stratigraphic layer called Mount St. Helens Wn, ash deposited by the Mount St. Helens eruption of 1480 A.D. and soil deposited since this eruption. So we were all excited when roars came from the sieving area telling us lythic pieces were found, one each from two of the grids. Not only that, one of the two was the grid I was helping excavate!

As you can see this is a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in archaeology, park history, Native American history, geology, and anyone who is just looking for a new adventure and experience. I hope many people, our VIPs and park including, take advantage of this opportunity and fill up the limited slots available. (For the west siders: Sunrise is melting out and brilliant blooming flowers are starting to spread from road edges into meadows.)

Carol Miltimore
East side Wilderness VIP

Opportunities are available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8:00 am to 11:30 am during the first three weeks in August. The number of participants is limited each day to six people ages 16 and above. Reservations may be made in person at the Sunrise Visitor Center or by calling 360-663-2425.

Mount Rainier's RAVEN Program Receives Donation

This season a generous donation was made by Mount Rainier National Park Associates to fund the lease during the summer 2011 season of a Ford pickup truck to be used for the Roadside Assistance Volunteers (RAVEN) program.

The RAVEN program operates June through August on the south side of the park assisting park visitors in need of help with their vehicles and providing traffic control during emergency operations and during times of heavy traffic congestion. Raven volunteers work 6-7 days a week. Last year park visitors avoided an estimated $52,000 in towing charges as result of receiving assistance from the Raven volunteers.

A donation was also made to the Restoration Program to purchase the parts to construct a portable misting system to be used at the greenhouse at Tahoma Woods.

At the greenhouse, native seeds and cuttings are propagated that are later planted in meadows that are being restored. The addition of a misting system to the greenhouse will increase the number of plants that can be propagated and having a portable system will allow greater flexibility of its use.

To read this original article visit Mount Rainier National Park Associate's website.

Mount Rainier National Park Volunteer Newsletter: August 2011

Summer is here and despite the record setting snow level at Paradise, lower elevations are starting to melt out and volunteer project are in full swing throughout the park!

If you have not checked out Mount Rainier National Park’s Volunteer Blog recently, here are a few headlines that should not be missed!

We recently partnered with Scouts from ArrowCorps502, Mt. Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest, and Evergreen State College students to work on a variety of services projects. You can read more about this successful weeklong event by visiting our blog.

Trail work along Glacier Basin has come to a triumphant completion. A celebratory event to thank all the volunteers for their hard work along with a re-dedication of the trail is currently in the works, so stay tuned!

Keep up with current volunteer events, upcoming training opportunities, and the latest news by clicking on the calendar of activities at the top of this blog. You will also find projects through the Washington Trails Association (WTA) and the Mount Rainier National Park Associates (MRNPA). These two partner organizations schedule day long projects throughout the summer season.

Washington Trails Association Projects

Contact WTA through their website for details and to register for these projects:

August 5, 6, & 7 – WTA Trail Work Party at Glacier Basin Trail
August 12, 13, & 14 – WTA Trail Work Party at Crystal Peak Trail
August 19, 20, & 21 – WTA Trail Work Party at Crystal Peak Trail
August 26, 27, & 28 – WTA Trail Work Party at Huckleberry Creek Trail
September 2, 3, & 4 – WTA Trail Work Party at Huckleberry Creek Trail

Additional projects will be added to WTA’s calendar on a weekly basis throughout the summer. Most projects happen on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Labor Day.

Mount Rainier National Park Associates Projects

Contact MRNPA through their website for details and to register for these projects:

August 13 – Trail Maintenance/Campout
September 10 – Re-vegetation
October 1 – Project TBD

Event Volunteer Opportunities

September 9 – 25 – Puyallup Fair

It's almost time to do the Puyallup. This year's theme is "Make Your Escape."

Last year park staff and volunteers talked to over 10,700 people. That averages out to 1 new contact every minute of our 17 days at the fair. In addition thousands more took time to look at our exhibits. We hope to do even better this year.

The Northwest Outdoors Alliance is working hard to make our building space more open and inviting. It will have hundreds of native plants throughout the building to make it an outdoor experience. The park is teaming with the Pierce County Stream Team to put in a small water feature between our two spaces.

The park will occupy a prominent place. Our 10’ x 30’ space will have two exhibits, one will try to answer the question "What can you see at Mount Rainier when you can't see Mount Rainier," and another one features the 93 miles of the Wonderland Trail. We’ll have our traditional "paws and poop" display and kids will be able to make bookmarks. But the most important part is a real live person representing the park service, talking with all those enthusiastic fairgoers.

The fair runs from September 9th through September 25th. We would like to have at least one park person for each of the three 3 1/2-hour shifts a day (10:00 AM – 1:30 PM, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM). You will receive a ticket for admission to the fair and a parking pass (together worth $20-22). You can experience the fair before and/or after your shift.

For more information on volunteering please contact Jim Ross at 360-569-6568 or jim_ross@nps.gov.

September 24 – National Public Lands Day:

Every year on the last Saturday of September, Mount Rainier brings its summer volunteer program to a close with a massive volunteer day, offering volunteer opportunities throughout the park including trail maintenance and re-vegetation. This year’s event is taking shape on the EAST side of the park, with projects at Sunrise and White River. Watch the blog for details further details coming soon!

Group Projects

If you are a part of a group and/or organization that is looking for a project at the park we have several projects that require groups ranging in size from 5 to 100. Multi-day projects can use volunteers for a single day, or for several days at a stretch. Here are some options:

Native Plant Restoration:

Our re-vegetation crews will be busy in late summer and early fall planting native plants at locations in both Paradise and Sunrise. Groups of almost unlimited size are welcome to help, either for single days or multiple day stretches. Contact Will Arnesen at 360-569-6762 to arrange a date for your group.

Attractants Assessment:

Mount Rainier National Park wants to evaluate its efforts at keeping human attractants away from wildlife. Annually, crews walk through the campgrounds of the park and document use of the campsites and whether items of concern (e.g. coolers, dishes, etc.) are left out where wildlife can get to them.

By monitoring campgrounds, we can see how effective our educational efforts are, and where we might improve our attractant management program.Volunteers are needed to walk through the campgrounds, documenting whether each campsite is used, and what types, if any, of attractants may be left unsecured from wildlife access.

The volunteer would complete specific data forms, and would have the option of providing an educational message if contacted. Each of the four campgrounds (Cougar Rock, Ohanapecosh, White River, Mowich Lake) need surveying on a periodic (e.g. monthly) basis, July to Sept. One person can survey a campground in a couple of hours, but working in pairs or small groups might be preferred. For more information please contact Mason Reid at 360-569-6771 or Mason_Reid@nps.gov.

Washington’s National Park Fund Information Distribution:

Mount Rainier National Park and Washington's National Park Fund are looking for three good volunteers to help distribute information about the Fund at the Nisqually Entrance for four hours on Saturday, August 20.The volunteers will talk to visitors as their cars wait in line at the entrance during the peak 11am to 3pm period, hand out brochures about the Fund and its activities, and answer questions. They will meet at 10:30am for a brief training and safety orientation.

If enough volunteers sign up, we may also distribute information on the following day, Sunday the 21st.

For more information you may visit our recent blog post or to sign up for this project, please contact Laurie Ward at 253-566-4644 or laurie@wnpf.org

Nisqually Glacier Monitoring:

We are finally getting to the point on the Nisqually Glacier where we’ll be able to see some rocks or other stuff on the surface to survey!

We’re hoping to get a pretty large area of rocks surveyed in order to determine the extents of stagnating ice on the lower glacier. This will involve using a Total Station to survey in individual rocks on the glacier over the course of several weeks. We will hopefully have between 2 and 3 teams combing the Nisqually Glacier surveying in rocks. Each team will also GPS and photograph the rocks in order to get relative positions so they can be resurveyed.

Survey Dates: Thursday, August 18; Thursday August 25;Thursday, September 1; andThursday, September 8.(Possibly one other day in September, to be determined.

There may also be another day down the road where we’ll have surveys.


Do you have glacier hiking/climbing skills and have personal gear necessary for the trip?

We have a limited amount of equipment (crampons, helmets, ice axes, etc) for the excursion, but not enough to supply everyone.

For more information or to volunteer please contact Scott Beason, Park Geologist, at 360-569-6781 or scott_beason@nps.gov.

More projects are in the works, so even if you don't see something of interest to you here, give us a call (360-569-6588) and let us connect your group with a project that will make a real difference at Mount Rainier National Park!

Individual Openings

Interested in volunteering for a longer period of time, or return regularly throughout the summer to help with extended projects? We have many opportunities to choose from! Follow these links for details and to apply for any project that interests you:

Meadow Rover: Help us protect the subalpine meadows above Paradise and Sunrise by patrolling trails and educating visitors about the importance of staying on trails.

Plant Propagation (Greenhouse Assistant): Help grow plants for transplanting in the subalpine meadows.

Citizen Science Team: Survey frogs, salamanders, and other species in the park's backcountry!

Resources

Besides the obvious benefits of volunteering at a National Park (time outdoors, meeting new people, sense of accomplishment), our volunteers get free entrance to the park on their days of service, as well as free use of the Longmire Campground (and the only campground showers within the park!).

We are consistently updating our blog with all the latest information and opportunities to volunteer at Mount Rainier.

If you would like to get involved in any of the programs you have read about it this newsletter get in touch with either Patti Poulin (360.569.6588 or patricia_poulin@partner.nps.gov) or Kevin Bacher (360.569.6567 or kevin_bacher@nps.gov).

Thank you for supporting Mount Rainier National Park and we look forward to working with you this summer!

Soliciting help for the Nisqually Glacier Survey later this month

I received the following e-mail from Scott Beason, Mount Rainier's geologist, this week. He's looking for help surveying the Nisqually Glacier, and is open to volunteer assistance. If you're interested, contact him at the e-mail address or phone number below. Note that this is arduous work, suitable only for those in excellent physical condition--but it's also a cool opportunity (no pun intended)!

---

Hello Everyone!

I think we’re finally getting to the point on the Nisqually Glacier where we’ll be able to see some rocks or other stuff on the surface to survey! We’re hoping to get a pretty large area of rocks surveyed in order to determine the extents of stagnating ice on the lower glacier. This will involve using a Total Station to survey in individual rocks on the glacier over the course of several weeks. We will hopefully have between 2 and 3 teams combing the Nisqually Glacier surveying in rocks. Each team will also GPS and photograph the rocks in order to get relative positions so they can be resurveyed.

At this point, I am seeking the following information:

1) Are you able/willing to help out on the following dates:

Thursday, August 18;
Thursday August 25;
Thursday, September 1; and
Thursday, September 8.
(Possibly one other day in September, to be determined)

There may also be another day down the road where we’ll have surveys. I think the first 2 surveys will be the most important in determining the initial surface velocities.

2) Do you have glacier hiking/climbing skills and have personal gear necessary for the trip?

We have a limited amount of equipment (crampons, helmets, ice axes, etc) for the excursion, but not enough to supply everyone.

3) Do you know others that may be interested in helping?

Please let me know if you are willing/interested in helping… this isn’t really a funded project for us, but it’s definitely important and will be a cornerstone for future delineation of ice extents at Mount Rainier. If you can forward this on to anyone I may have forgotten who you think might want to help, I would sincerely appreciate it.

Thanks again for all the help!

Scott Beason
Park Geologist
Mount Rainier National Park
360-569-6781
Scott_Beason@nps.gov

Volunteers needed to distribute Washington's National Park Fund information at Nisqually gate

Mount Rainier National Park and Washington's National Park Fund are looking for three good volunteers to help distribute information about the Fund at the Nisqually Entrance for four hours on Saturday, August 20.

The volunteers will talk to visitors as their cars wait in line at the entrance during the peak 11am to 3pm period, hand out brochures about the Fund and its activities, and answer questions. They will meet at 10:30am for a brief training and safety orientation.

Laurie Ward, Executive Director of the Fund, explains that "No solicitations will take place....Just friendly outreach with offers of information."

If enough volunteers sign up, we may also distribute information on the following day, Sunday the 21st.

To sign up for this project, please contact Laurie Ward at 253-566-4644 or laurie@wnpf.org

Make Your Escape ... to the Puyallup Fair!

It's almost time to do the Puyallup Fair. This year's theme is "Make Your Escape!"

Last year park staff and volunteers talked to over 10,700 people. That averages out to 1 new contact every minute of our 17 days at the fair. In addition thousands more took time to look at our exhibits. We hope to do even better this year.

The Northwest Outdoors Alliance is working hard to make our building space more open and inviting. It will have hundreds of native plants throughout the building to make it an outdoor experience. The park is teaming with the Pierce County Stream Team to put in a small water feature between our two spaces.

The park will occupy a prominent place. Our 10’ x 30’ space will have two exhibits, one will try to answer the question "What can you see at Mount Rainier when you can't see Mount Rainier," and another one features the 93 miles of the Wonderland Trail. We’ll have our traditional "paws and poop" display and kids will be able to make bookmarks. But the most important part is a real live person representing the park service, talking with all those enthusiastic fairgoers.

This is where you come in! The fair runs from September 9th through September 25th. We would like to have park volunteers for each of the three 3 1/2-hour shifts a day (10:00 AM – 1:30 PM, 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM). You will receive a ticket for admission to the fair and a parking pass (together worth $21-23). You can experience the fair before and/or after your shift.

Ready to make your escape? Contact Jim Ross at 360-569-6568 or Jim_Ross@nps.gov for more information or to sign up as a volunteer!

Photos from ArrowCorps

I've finally sorted through all my photos from the ArrowCorps 502 Boy Scouts project last week. The Scouts accomplished amazing things in their four projects, two within Mount Rainier National Park and two in the adjacent Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest! We're still assessing the accomplishments and the number of hours of volunteer time contributed, but you can see in the photos just what an amazing program this was.



The above slide show is only a small taste of the full set of photos, which can be viewed on Flickr. Enjoy the photos, and we look forward to working with the T'kope Kwiskwis Lodge of the Boy Scouts again soon!

Volunteer Cascades Butterfly Project Training Happening This Weekend!

The Cascades Butterfly Project needs you!

Get out into the beautiful mountains of North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and help wildlife biologists identify and count alpine butterflies.

Mark your calendars for volunteer training:

When: Saturday, August 13th - 9am to 3pm

Where: Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

Participants will learn more about the project and the ecology of Cascades butterflies. The trainings will have two components: an hour-long classroom session, followed by a longer afternoon field excursion where we will practice field ID and scientific research protocols in subalpine meadows.

Volunteer training is highly recommended, but not mandatory for participation in the project.

You may read more about this exciting project by visiting the original post on our blog.

MRNPA Volunteer Work Party - August 13th

The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates trails work party is Saturday, August 13th. That's 12 days away . If you plan to attend and have not yet contacted John yet, please visit http://mrnpa.org/workprojectdetails.php to sign up and let him how many volunteers you are bringing with you.

Following the work party, there will have a potluck dinner in the Longmire Campground. Even if you do not plan to camp overnight, please consider joining us for the potluck dinner. This is the one time each year we get together and have time to socialize.

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates

Annual Volunteer Appreciation Potluck - August 13th!

The Annual Volunteer Appreciation Potluck
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Gather at the Longmire Community Building at 4 PM

Volunteers you've worked hard all year long. You’ve spent thousands of hours on your feet, sometimes on your hands and knees, through meadows, forests, rain, snow, occasionally sunshine and all on your free time. Now it's time to pat each other on the back, swap stories, and celebrate all your work over the past year.

Join your fellow volunteers in celebration at the Longmire Community Building. Please bring a dish to share this is not a requirement for attendance). Utensils and plates will be provided.

We also hope to put together a slide show presentation to highlight all the accomplishments of our fantastic VIPs since last August and we would love to include some of YOUR best photos showing your volunteer experiences at Mount Rainier. Please send them to Jim Ross (Jim_Ross@nps.gov).

Paradise Melt-Out Starts, Meadow Rovers Take Action

The snow has started to melt off the meadows of Paradise and that means it is time for the Meadow Rovers to get out and educate Mount Rainier National Park visitors on how to protect the fragile flowering plants that will soon appear. I arrived at Paradise for my first meadow roving experience of the season on Thursday July 28, after slowly driving my way up from the Nisqually entrance and weaving through some of the 800 bicyclists participating in the Ride Around Mount Rainier (RAMROD) event.

In the Paradise parking lot, I could clearly see the Mountain surrounded by crystal clear blue skies and temperatures in the upper sixties as hundreds of visitors milled about and ventured out onto the snow that starts a few yards from the parking lot.

I headed out on the Skyline Trail for an aerobic workout up to Glacier Vista. The trail, marked with bamboo wands, is snow covered the entire way except for the steep stone steps located a quarter mile above Alta Vista. Along the way I stopped and talked to several groups of visitors that asked for advice on how far they could safely go up the trail. Near Glacier Vista, several large rocks have melted out and made a great location to sit and talk to climbers making their way down from Camp Muir or day hikers debating a further climb up to Panorama Point.

Heading back down to the Jackson Visitor Center, I encountered Meadow Rovers Judy and John Bernard rerouting the Skyline Trail on the steep section just above the Snow Play area. Judy was busily moving wands away from a section of trail where hikers had stomped through the snow and exposed the vegetation below, while John stood several yards below her directing a long line of visitors onto the new route away from the sensitive plants.

In the parking lot, I ran into Bill Marsh, the new Volunteer Meadow Rover Coordinator. Bill works four days a week in the Park and lives in his RV down at the Longmire Volunteer Campground. Bill told me that the Park could really use the Meadow Rovers now and that he has been primarily focused on protecting the plants right by the parking lot at Paradise as the snow melts back away from the pavement. Bill and others have used metal fence posts and rope to mark off areas to keep visitors off the plants. With the warm mid- summer temperatures, Bill expects more rapid melt out and a need for even more Meadow Rovers to come up to the meadows. Any help you can provide during melt-out would be much appreciated in the next few weeks.

After lunch, I drove down the valley road past Reflection and Louise Lakes to the Bench Lake trail head at the request of one of the Park’s Rangers. I hiked the 1.2 mile trail up to the upper end of Snow Lake located below Unicorn Peak. Adjacent to the first few 100 yards of trail, a carpet of white avalanche lilies line both sides of the trail. The trail is snow free except for the last 500 yards long the creek that leads to the upper lake basin.

I met several families with small children along the trail and handed out “Don’t Be a Meadow Stomper, Stay on Trails” buttons. Everyone I encountered was well behaved and I had no issues with people wandering off the trails. The Bench/Snow Lake trail is a much more relaxed and less hectic place to Meadow Rove than the area just above the Paradise Parking Lot and I was glad a Ranger had asked me to check out this trail.

The Melt-Out has started, so don’t hesitate and come on up to the Park to help out with Meadow Roving.

Phil Hertzog, Meadow Rover

Star Party and Night Skies Program at Paradise

Mount Rainier National Park News Release
August 2, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Curt Jacquot, 360-569-6577, email: curt_jacquot@nps.gov

Star Party and Night Skies Program at Paradise: 9:00 PM, Friday August 5, 2011

Families and individuals of all ages are invited to the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park for a special program on Friday, August 5. The event starts at 9:00 PM in the lobby of the Paradise Inn with a short presentation about the National Park Service “Night Skies” program. The National Park Service has come to embrace night skies as one of the many scenic vistas the agency is a steward of. It is essential to keeping a park whole and touches on almost every aspect that is important to us - from sustainability to stargazers, and animals to ancient ruins.

At 9:45 PM there will be outdoor star gazing in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center with Tacoma Astronomical Society (TAS) volunteers and their telescopes. Astronomy Society volunteers will also assist with special children's astronomy activities. All ages will be able to make astronomy devices called "star finders."

If weather makes star gazing difficult, the party will move inside the Paradise Inn lobby for a 45-minute film about the Milky Way galaxy.

Night Sky viewing at the park through Labor Day Visitors are also invited to join Mount Rainier volunteer astronomer-interpreter Don West-Wilke for night sky viewing Thursdays through Sundays through Labor Day. Don and his unique telescope will help visitors see the night sky (weather permitting) beginning at 10 PM at the following park locations:

Thursdays: Longmire Plaza in front of the National Park Inn

Fridays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

Saturdays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

Sundays: Backbone Ridge pull-out along Steven's Canyon Road

Mondays: Plaza in front of the Paradise Jackson Visitor Center

If you have questions please contact Park Ranger Curt Jacquot at (360) 569-2211, extension 6577. Information about the Tacoma Astronomy Society is found online at: http://www.tas-online.org/

General park information is available at www.nps.gov/mora or by calling 360-569-2211.

Tools in the ground: ArrowCorps 502 begins!

Two years after the idea was first proposed to us here at Mount Rainier National Park by advisors of the T'kope Kwiskwis Lodge of the Boy Scouts of America, "ArrowCorps 502" is officially off and running!

The program takes its name from the "Order of the Arrow," the Boy Scouts' leadership corps who have planned and coordinated the project from its inception; from a similar project called ArrowCorps5 that occurred on several National Forest sites back in 2008; and from the Seattle-based group's Lodge number, 502.

As described in a press release last week, nearly a hundred Boy Scouts from all over the country have converged on Camp Sheppard, just north of Mount Rainier National Park, in preparation for three intensive days of volunteering. As I write this, crews are preparing to begin work tomorrow at Government Meadows, Silver Creek, and Crystal Mountain in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and at Crystal Lake and Ipsut Creek in Mount Rainier National Park.

I had the opportunity last evening to join the group at Camp Sheppard for their official opening ceremony. Already the boys had spent the day planning, gathering and learning to use tools, conducting safety briefings, and learning first aid and Leave No Trace techniques. When Acting Superintendent Randy King, Seasonal Volunteer Coordinator Patti Poulin, and I arrived, they were preparing for dinner. And while those camped at Ipsut Creek this week will be eating camp rations, back at base camp the fare was more generous: salmon and wild rice with corn on the cob and salad, tasty enough to be worth the drive all the way from our offices on the south side of the Mountain.

After dinner, we adjourned to the amphitheater for speeches and "shows." Arrow Corps member Ian Bellows emceed the event, beginning with the lowering of the flag for the evening, welcomes by Randy King and myself, and the presentation of a letter of support from Congressman Dave Reichert, who was unable to attend in person due to pressing business in the other Washington. Congressman Reichert also sent a flag that had been raised over the U.S. Capitol in honor of ArrowCorps, and which will be flown throughout this week at Camp Sheppard. After the speeches, the ArrowCorps "Show Team" presented several short videos, introducing us to Mount Rainier National Park and the history of Boy Scout volunteer projects in the National Parks, and summarizing the work that had been done up to that point. A final video, called "Why You? Why Now?" left us all with a challenge to go out and make a difference.

Congressman Dave Reichert sent a
special welcome and a flag flown over
the U.S. Capitol.

A special camera and video crew will be traveling around the park over the next few days to document the work in the field, and Friday evening the Corps will re-gather at Camp Sheppard for a celebration of the week's work, including another feast and another presentation of images and video gathered along the trail.

We left for home at 9:00, tired but excited by the spirit and enthusiasm we'd seen, and impressed by the level of organization. Most of the work on ArrowCorps 502 has been done by youth members of the Order of the Arrow, led by Evan Skandalis, Matt Allyn, and Ian Bellows. They and their crews represent the next generation of stewards of our national parks and other public lands--and by all indications, those resources are in good hands.

Patti, Randy, and I will be visiting crews in the field throughout this week, and hope to post more images and status reports on this blog along the way, so come back for updates. You can also check out the ArrowCorps website at http://www.arrowcorps502.org/.