Volunteers contribute more than $1.6 million worth of work to Mount Rainier

From The News Tribune:

Volunteers contribute work "equal to the amount of time 150 seasonal employees would work during a typical summer. 'There’s no way we could afford to pay for that many people,' Bacher said. 'That (volunteer effort) is so important in these times when we are being asked to do more with less.'"

Click through to read the whole article.

2012 Report on the Eleanor and Raymond Wilson Charitable Trust

Mount Rainier National Park's volunteer program receives its funding from a variety of sources. For the past two years, the largest single source of that funding has been Washington's National Park Fund, a non-profit partner with the national parks of Washington state, which accepts donations large and small on their behalf. Any time we receive money from such donors, it's proper to submit a periodic report on how that money is being invested. I always enjoy writing such reports, because frankly, volunteerism is an exceptionally good investment by any criteria. Here's this year's report on WNPF's contributions. Go to their website for more information about other great projects they're supporting, and to learn how you can help.

Washington’s National Park Fund
Eleanor and Raymond Wilson Charitable Trust

Background

In 2010, Mount Rainier National Park received a donation of $350,000 from the estate of Eleanor and Raymond Wilson through Washington’s National Park Fund. $250,000 of that donation was targeted specifically to the park’s volunteer program, to be distributed at a rate of $50,000 per year for five years. Mount Rainier received $50,000 each for fiscal years 2011 and 2012.

Funding

The Wilson Trust has, for two years, provided about three quarters of the general project funding to support Mount Rainier National Park’s volunteer program. Additional obligated National Park Service (ONPS) funding pays the salary of the Volunteer and Outreach Program Manager, a GS-11 full-time position, whose responsibilities are divided between the volunteer program and community outreach.

Source	2011		2012
WNPF Wilson Trust	$50,000		$50,000
ONPS VIP Funds	$17,933		$17,069
VIP Special Project Funding	$10,000		$5,000
Total	$77,933		$72,069

The National Park Service sets aside funding for volunteer programs nationwide, and distributes that funding through its regional offices to parks proportional to the number of volunteers and volunteer hours that each park reports. The Pacific West Region bases that distribution on a three-year average. It also sets aside part of its funding to support special projects. Mount Rainier has been fortunate to receive special project funding on several occasions, including $2,000 to support “Keep Wildlife Wild” efforts and $8,000 to support a partnership with the Boy Scouts of America in 2011, and $5,000 to enhance our “Meadow Rover” program in 2012.

Funds that are not targeted to a specific project are distributed by the Volunteer Program Manager in ways intended to maximize their effectiveness according to two goals:

1. Increasing the number, diversity, and quality of opportunities for members of the public to engage in the stewardship of their National Park; and
2. Increasing the ability of park staff to accomplish their dual mission of protecting natural resources and serving the public.

In most cases, park programs are able to contribute resources of their own to supplement those provided by the volunteer program. For example, they may use base funding to pay for a volunteer’s housing, or they may pay for the tools and vehicles used by a volunteer out of their own accounts.  These additional contributions toward volunteer efforts are not captured here.

Expenses

Volunteer program funds may be used for supplies, transportation, uniforms, or tools. Some long-term volunteers receive a small per diem for basic living expenses. Non-ONPS funds can be used to pay for volunteer housing.

Mount Rainier also traditionally invests a significant portion of its volunteer funding to support internship positions hired through organizations like the StudentConservation Association and Geologic Society of America. These positions are usually filled by college-age youth and are an investment in our future workforce; many of them go on to secure seasonal or permanent positions with the National Park Service. In addition, some of the interns we hire work within the volunteer program itself, with duties including volunteer recruitment, training, and supervision.

Item	2011	2012	Notes
SCA Interns	$24,500	$29,150	Education intern (12 weeks, 2012 only); Citizen Science intern (12 weeks); Wilderness intern (12 weeks); Trails intern (16 weeks); VIP Coordinator (24 weeks)
Volunteer housing	$8,444	$8,464	Housing for long-term volunteers
Per Diem	$7,210	$6,420	Living expenses for long-term volunteers, such as campground hosts, mountaineering volunteers, and emergency roadside assistance volunteers
Vehicle rentals	$5,300	$5,300	Vehicles for Emergency Roadside Assistance, Roadside Cleanup, and Geoscience Teachers-in-Parks volunteers
Geologist-in-Parks interns	$13,500	$4,750	Five 12-week interpretation interns in 2011, two in 2012
Teacher-Ranger-Teachers		$4,750	Reimbursements for ten interns ranging from 4-10 weeks
Supplies and field gear	$4,622	$5,840	Waders, nets, notebooks, GPS, altimeters, and guide books for citizen science and geology volunteers; motor oil and tools for emergency roadside assistance volunteers; all-weather jackets for climbing volunteers
Uniform items	$4,181	$1,791	Uniform shirts, hats, vests, jackets, and nametags
Travel and Training	$1,013		Advanced Volunteer Program Training attendance
Background checks	$364	$401	For volunteers working on networked computers
Award items		$250	Incentive awards for Meadow Rover volunteers
Total	$68,017	$67,116	Not including ONPS or targeted special project funding

Results

The Wilson Trust funds arrived at a fortuitous time, when other sources of funding (especially ONPS funds) were increasingly in demand for other purposes and fewer and fewer dollars were left over to support volunteers. WNPF funds have allowed us to sustain a robust volunteer program during a time of fiscal challenge.

	2011	2012
Number of volunteers	1,728	1,804
Volunteer hours	74,504	74,615

Key Accomplishments

• In partnership with the Washington TrailsAssociation, Student Conservation Association, and Mount Rainier National ParkAssociates, volunteers helped rebuild and reopen the Glacier Basin Trail in 2011, large portions of which were obliterated by floods in November 2006. In 2012, they turned to other projects throughout the park, 679 of them turning in 13,136 hours of service.
• One hundred forty “Meadow Rovers” spent 7,595 hours patrolling meadows above Paradise and Sunrise, educating tens of thousands about the importance of staying on trails in those fragile subalpine environments. Twenty-one Wilderness Patrol volunteers turned in another 5,752 hours patrolling trails throughout the park.
• Two Emergency Roadside Assistance volunteers spent 1,323 hours patrolling the roads around Paradise, assisting dozens of stranded motorists and helping with numerous accidents and incidents. Five of Mount Rainier’s 15-person team of climbing rangers are now volunteers. Volunteers also contributed more than 2,300 hours in Search and Rescue events in 2012.
• Citizen Scientists now systematically survey amphibians, butterflies, and other wildlife species, monitoring trends influenced by climate change and other factors. 64 volunteers turned in 1,159 hours of service. Another 18 volunteers turned in 1,801 hours of time surveying glaciers and streambeds.
• Thirty-two Volunteers turned in 7,718 hours of service as interpretive naturalists in 2012, the equivalent of more than 15 paid seasonal employees for our visitor centers and school education programs that we would not have been able to afford.
• We worked with 38 active community groups in 2012, including youth from the Student Conservation Association (5,112 hours), Central Washington Field School (4,000 hours), the Boy Scouts of America (1,989 hours), The Evergreen State College (1,600 hours), MEAD Alternative High School (483 hours), and the Tokyo-based Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association (880 hours). Members of the Washington Trails Association turned in 5,339 hours; the Mount Rainier National Park Associates accumulated 977; and the Washington SkiTouring Club, 643.
• Volunteers worked under at least 84 different position descriptions in 2012.

The Role of Washington’s National Park Fund and the Wilson Trust

Raymond and Eleanor Wilson Charitable Trust donations have covered 74% of the general operating funds of Mount Rainier National Park’s volunteer program for the past two years, not counting special project funding and obligated National Park Service funds. These funds pay for interns who help us to manage our volunteer program and extend our capacity to work with members of our community, especially in the areas of trail maintenance, interpretation, citizen science, and the “Meadow Rover” program. They pay for vehicles and supplies that allow us to offer emergency roadside assistance, and emergency response on the upper slopes of Mount Rainier. They pay for housing and per diem that allows volunteers to participate not just for a day or two at a time, but on extended assignments lasting weeks or months.

Most importantly, we are meeting our program’s goals. We are engaging more and more people in more and more projects at Mount Rainier, working with them as partners and advocates in the stewardship of their National Park. We are protecting our resources and serving our visitors in ways we couldn’t hope to without the help of volunteers. This year’s 74,615 volunteer hours are the equivalent efforts of more than 149 seasonal employees and $1.6 million in salaries and benefits. This is a tremendous return on our investment.

The numbers speak for themselves, but there is no better way to assess the positive influence of the Wilson Charitable Trust than to visit a volunteer group in action: rebuilding a washed-out trail with the Washington Trails Association or Student Conservation Association at Comet Falls, planting native plants with a school group at Sunrise, or surveying frogs and salamanders in a wilderness lake with a citizen science team. We are making connections. We are investing in the future of our Park and our community. We are making a difference.

Photographs from the 2012 season may be seen on our website at http://tinyurl.com/MORA2012VIPs.

Thoughts on this year's volunteer statistics

• Number of volunteers have increased from 1,728 to 1,804.
• Total volunteer hours increased from 74,504 hours to 74,615 (worth $1.6 million!).
• In most cases, volunteer hours increased. The one major exception was that we had a huge number of hours (11,148) logged by Washington Conservation Corps last year and a much smaller number (1,200) this year. Take out WCC and the remaining hours increased dramatically, from 63,356 to 73,415.

Some highlights:

• Archeology: Up from 3,348 to 5,654 due to increased participation by Central Washington University Field School.
• Campground Maintenance: Up from 203 to 1,139 due to increased numbers of volunteers working on the Longmire Campground.
• Citizen Science: Up from 383 to 947, with participation in both amphibian surveys and butterfly surveys. Wildlife survey volunteer numbers were also up.
• Climbing Rangers: Up from 1,436 to 3,622.
• Curatorial Assistants: Up from 3,325 to 4,253.
• Emergency Roadside Assistance: Up from 685 to 1,323.
• Interpretation: Up from 4,568 to 7,718.
• "Maintenance Response": Down from 828 to 0, due to the retirement of Clyde and Lois Ambacher. (We'd still love to find someone new to fill this position!)
• Meadow Rovers: Up from 6,622 to 7,595.
• Revegetation: Down from 2,391 to 1,463.
• Search and Rescue: Up from 1,254 to 2,301.
• Trails: Down from 22,393 to 13,136, mostly due to reduced hours by WCC.
• Transportation Studies: Down from 3,416 to 0 due to completion of this one-year project.

 Our partnerships remain vital:

• 5,112 hours were contributed by Student Conservation Association (down from 8,203 last year due to 4 fewer individual SCA interns and one fewer community crew).
• Washington Trails Association contributed 5,339 hours and 388 volunteers (down from 448 volunteers last year).
• The Geologists-in-Parks (and Geoscience Teachers in Parks) program contributed 5,270 hours and 11 people.
• The Teacher-Ranger-Teacher program contributed 1,634 hours and 10 people.
• The Mount Rainier National Park Associates turned in 977 hours.
• Evergreen State College contributed 1,600 hours, including 3 full-time volunteers and 28 class members.
• Boy Scouts contributed a total of 1,989 hours and 151 people.
• All told, we have 38 active community groups that we work with in addition to our individual volunteers.

Annual Activity and Expense Report

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Volunteers In Parks

Annual Activity and Expense Report
Mount Rainier National Park
Report Date: Nov 2, 2012
Fiscal Year: 2012

______________________________________________________________________________
Volunteer Coordinator and Park Information
______________________________________________________________________________

Total Volunteers: 1,804
Alpha Code: MORA
VIP Coordinator: Kevin Bacher
VIP Coordinator Phone: 360-569-2211
Coordinator Email: kevin_bacher@nps.gov

______________________________________________________________________________
Volunteer hours by category:
______________________________________________________________________________

Administration: 254.50
Campground Host: 2,189.50
Cultural Resource Management: 9,963.00
General Management: 65.00
Interpretation: 19,300.00
Maintenance: 2,845.00
Natural Resource Management: 10,149.00
Protection/Operations/Law Enforcement: 29,032.00
Training: 817.00

[Total hours: 74,615.00]

______________________________________________________________________________
Program costs by category:
______________________________________________________________________________

Housing: $ 10,565.00
Meals: $ 3,184.00
Recognition/Award: $ 250.00
Supplies: $ 8,072.00
Training: $ 0.00
Transportation: $ 1,515.00
Uniforms: $ 5,644.00

[Total costs: $ 29,230.00]

______________________________________________________________________________
Volunteer Program Highlight
______________________________________________________________________________

With the exception of one program that had an unusually high number of hours last year, volunteer participation increased in almost every category in 2012. Most notably, participation in our Meadow Rover program grew significantly with the help of volunteer Meadow Rover managers. Large numbers of volunteers participated in numerous SARs during the summer. Our partnerships with the Washington Trails Association and others continued to be robust. Boy Scout participation increased. We hosted 11 Geologist-in-Parks or Geoscience-Teachers-in-Parks; 10 Teacher-Ranger-Teachers; and 12 international volunteers. We worked with 7 SCA interns and two 10-person crews, as well as 3 interns from Evergreen State College.

______________________________________________________________________________
Training
______________________________________________________________________________

How many people at the park require VIP Program Management Training: 20

______________________________________________________________________________
Optional Information Regarding Housing VIPs and Campground Hosts
______________________________________________________________________________

Number of Campground Hosts: 8
Number of VIPs housed in Permanent Structures: 43
Number of VIPs housed in Trailers: 0
Trailer Pads for Volunteers: 5

______________________________________________________________________________
Other Information
______________________________________________________________________________

Number of SCAs: 27
SCA Hours: 5,112
Number of Artists in Parks: 0
Artist in Parks Hours: 0
Number of International VIPs: 11
International VIPS Hours: 1,160
Number of Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps: 0
Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps Hours: 0
Number of Boy Scouts: 151
Boy Scout Hours: 1,989
Number of Girls Scouts: 0
Girl Scout Hours: 0
Number of Wounded Warriors: 0
Wounded Warriors Hours: 0

Looking for winter volunteer interpreters!

Winter Information Desk Help: Mount Rainier's interpretive program keeps the Longmire Museum staffed daily year round. Managing this effectively can be difficult during the busy winter weekend mornings when visitors are checking in to snow camp or climb the mountain. We are looking for volunteers to help us serve the visiting public by staffing the Longmire museum desk from 9 a.m. to 12 noon along with a uniformed staff person on Saturdays/Sundays and holidays. The volunteer would assist visitors seeking basic information about the park while the uniformed staff person issued permits. Overnight accommodations may be available. For more information contact West District Interpreter Lee Snook at 360-569-6576 or Lee_Snook@nps.gov.

Meadow Rovers of the Year

Paradise Interpreter Curt Jacquot reports that "we have finalized our choices for Meadow Rover of the year awards. We are recognizing six rovers of the year and two special mention rovers. Rovers are selected by the rover coordinators and supervisors. Here they are:

Meadow Rovers of 2012:

Barb Crowell, Dave Krawchuck, Judy Kennedy, Ed Hunds, Karen Overturf, Chrisopher Provencer.

Special mention: Kelly Walsh, Gary Ouelette Meadow Rovers of the year are chosen based on their amount of service, quality of service, mentorship, and innovation of service delivery. Meadow rovers of the year are awarded a choice of a walk with a park scientist or a lunch with a park administrator."

Congratulations to all of these outstanding Rovers!

Survey volunteers still needed

Our need for a volunteer to help with survey projects, as described in the previous post, has been extended. If you're interested in getting out in the semi-wilds of Mount Rainier National Park's frontcountry and helping with a project for a day, or part of a day, or two, please give Lisa Turecek,  our Chief of Maintenance, a call at 360-569-6712. No prior experience is necessary.

Thanks!

Last Minute Volunteer Needed!

Volunteers!   We are in need of a last minute volunteer, hope you can help us out!   Lisa Turecek, our Chief of Facility Management, is looking for a volunteer to help with a surveying project this week. She is looking for someone who can come in to volunteer either tomorrow or Thursday with the potential for spill over work the next day. Work will be done at Sunrise and Cougar Rock Campground.   If you are interested, we would appreciate your time so much!   Please respond by email or by calling the number below for more details.   Thanks!   Carrie Anders Volunteer Coordinator Mount Rainier National Park Carrie_Anders@partner.nps.gov 360-569-6588

A successful National Public Lands Day for 2012!

This year, 97 people participated in National Public Lands Day projects at Mount Rainier National Park. Most--85 all told--worked at Sunrise. Half of those spent the day improving the Wonderland Trail between Frozen Lake and Sunrise Camp under the direction of Park Service and Washington Trails Association crew leaders. The other half worked to put native plants into a restoration site near Sunrise Camp. Meanwhile, an even dozen worked on cleaning up the highway near Mount Rainier's park headquarters, as described in the previous post.

The day's total included members of a class from The Evergreen State College; members of a local Boy Scout Troop; and many members of the general public, some of whom have become old friends from repeated attendance at NPLD.

More volunteers were active in the park on their regular duties, unrelated specifically to National Public Lands Day. I encountered two Meadow Rovers on the trail near Frozen Lake, and several were reportedly busy at Paradise as well. I heard another volunteer report in from Tipsoo Lake on the radio.

The numbers were a little small this year compared to other years, but the remote location of most of the work was probably responsible, combined with deceptively poor weather in the lowlands: while it was cloudy and rainy down low, we were partly cloudy and dry on the Mountain and surrounded by beautiful fall weather. We were even visited by a black bear, who sauntered past the trail crews at a distance of just 20 yards, completely ignoring them.

Enjoy the slide show of photos here, and if you'd like a more complete set of images, find it here.

NPLD Litter Pickers

One professor, nine Evergreen State College students and two local residents made short work of litter along SR 706 as Mount Rainier Volunteers participating in an Adopt-A-Highway cleanup patrol. Seventeen bags of litter were collected along the two-mile stretch of roadway which encompasses the Park's Tahoma Woods property and the best view of Mount Rainier from this scenic highway. Passing motorists often honked their approval or waved to the group in acknowledgement of the service they were providing.
Similar patrols will be conducted in April in conjunction with Earth Day and again in June just prior to the Fourth of July when Park visitation is at a peak. Participation is limited to twelve individuals per the Dept. of Transportation, so if you are interested in taking part, please contact Crow Vecchio or Kevin Bacher at ext. 6567. Volunteers like you can make a huge difference in our visitors' experiences both inside and outside the Park!

A Note Of Thanks

Received from Marilyn Darling, this letter is reason for all Mount Rainier Volunteers to glow with pride:

This is to express my appreciation for all the help Gayle Eads and her VIPs gave the interps at Sunrise this summer. Gayle worked tirelessly to produce a well-organized, well-informed and efficient corps of VIPs who complemented the work our limited staff had to do. When we arrived from Ohana on busy weekend mornings, the first thing we saw would always be Gayle and other VIPs stationed around the parking lot answering questions. And as we left for the day, she’d often still be on station, still hard at work.

Throughout the day, VIPs would report in with trail and flower reports. Often they were the only people available when extra help was needed, either in the Visitor Center when we were short-staffed, or on the trail. Everyone pitched in immediately, without hesitation and with great good cheer to do what needed to done, and then they went their individual ways, often before we could thank them. One memorable afternoon VIP (and Nurse) Suzie Fish-Sadin made it down from Frozen Lake to the Emmons Vista trail in little over 15 minutes, well ahead of the EMTs from White River, to tend a woman who had fainted on the trail. I was on scene and very relieved to see her approaching (apparently not even out of breath) and so were our EMTS when they arrived!

Now that the season is over and I’m leaving I wish I could thank all these good folks in person. We would have been in big trouble without their help! It is a testament to Gayle’s dedication, hard work, and sense of responsibility that the VIPs were so well organized. And it’s thanks to Gayle and her troops that so many things went smoothly at Sunrise!

Adopt-A-Highway on National Public Lands Day

On September 29 (National Public Lands Day), a crew of twelve volunteers will be participating in litter pickup along SR 706 from milepost 2 to milepost 4 as part of our recent agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation under their "Adopt-A-Highway" program. Our designated section of roadway includes Mount Rainier's Tahoma Woods property frontage. Similar pickups will be conducted in April and late June. In recognition of the valuable community service we will be providing, signs acknowledging Mount Rainier Volunteers will be placed at either end of our patrol area. What a great way to show visitors we care about the community as well as our own Park!

National Public Lands Day, THIS Saturday!

This Saturday, September 29th, Mount Rainier is one of over 2,000 sites for National Public Lands Day volunteer festivities!

Eight federal agencies as well as nonprofit organizations and state, regional and local governments participate in the annual day of caring for public lands. National Public Lands Day is important because…

• NPLD educates Americans about the environment and natural resources, and the need for shared stewardship of these valued, irreplaceable lands;

• NPLD builds partnerships between the public sector and the local community based upon mutual interests in the enhancement and restoration of America's public lands; and

• NPLD improves public lands for outdoor recreation, with volunteers assisting land managers in hands-on work.

 This year we will be meeting at the White River Campground, Saturday morning between 8:30 and 9:00 am. We will meet at the evening program camp fire circle. There you will be able to sign up for a project to in the Sunrise area. We ask that you please park in the climbing and backpacking parking lot or just before the campground ranger station. Please avoid parking in empty campsites.

This year we will have trails projects with our park's trail crew and revegetation projects with the park's restoration crew.

Washington Trails Association will also have a work party in the Sunrise area. They will be meeting at the Sunrise Visitors Center at 8:30 am, separate from the White River Campground meet up at 9:00 am, as this is a regular work party event for them. You may show up Saturday morning at Sunrise for the WTA event, but they request that you sign up on their website (www.wta.org) for the specific work party ahead of time. This way they know how many volunteers to expect.

 Because you will be using your free admission to the park to volunteer, you will receive a National Public Lands Day voucher for free admission, on a day of your choosing, at Mount Rainier National Park!

We hope you can make it out to help our mountain and celebrate public lands!

Washington's National Park Fund, Highlighting Rainier!

Check out the Washington's National Park Fund's September Newsletter and find out how they have been helping Mount Rainier and other Washington parks this year! Thank you WNPF!

September 2012 In This Issue Starbucks Employee Trail Maintenance Crew New Donor Corner Your Gifts in Action NEW! Ways You Can Give Back! Quick Links  Board of Directors  Drive your Support  Mission Statement WNPF is preparing our FY2012 Annual Report. To our hundreds of donors, if you prefer anonymity, please let us know today. We will honor your wishes. Questions? Contact us! Laurie Ward, Executive Director laurie@wnpf.org 253-566-4644 Jessie Bullis, Director of Development jessie@wnpf.org 253-566-4644 www.wnpf.org Washington's National Park Fund  is  the official nonprofit partner supporting Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks, ensuring the preservation of natural beauty, cultural heritage, and continued enjoyment for all.  Starbucks Employees Lead Trail Maintenance Weekend More than twenty Starbucks employees contributed 245 volunteer hours maintaining one of Mount Rainier's most-used trail areas in August.   Thanks to the leadership and passion of a few Starbucks Employees, this group of park lovers took it upon themselves to create a trail maintenance volunteer weekend in Mount Rainier. Now, in their sixth year, they're responsible for miles and miles of Mount Rainier's most beloved and well-traveled trails.  Headed by Stacey Long Collins and Lesley Blyth, the group is made up of Starbucks employees from all departments, but with one important thing in common - their love for the national parks, and their desire to give back. To learn more about this trail maintenance volunteer weekend, check out the full story, here. Are you interested in doing some trail maintenance at your favorite national park? Check out the National Park Service's volunteer information website here.  Want to learn even more about Washington's National Park Fund?  Check out our video, presented by The Giving Library! Thanks to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation  of Dallas, you can learn more about Washington's National Park Fund right here. The production of this video was fully funded by the Arnold Foundation. The results propel Washington's National Park Fund forward as we achieve our marketing and communication goals.  People want to know more about what we do; now it is nicely packaged into a short series of video clips. Thanks, Arnold Foundation! New Donor Corner Meet one of our newest donors! Erik Blazing, on a recent trip to Mount Rainier National Park. Erik and Anna Blazing, originally from Minneapolis, moved to Seattle five years ago and have been avid users of Mount Rainier National Park ever since. Recently the  couple took a trip to the park's Glacier Basin Trail. Erik and Anna felt compelled to give back to the park after seeing what great shape the trail was in.    "I know public funding for even basic infrastructure can be tough in this political climate, so I felt like I wanted to do something on my own to help the park out in general," Erik said.    Anna Blazing during Glacier Basin hike  The Blazings are hikers in the summer and skiers in the winter, and are constantly amazed by the number of people who have traveled significant distances just to get to places we take for granted. Third Burroughs is one of their favorite places in Mount Rainier National Park; they've been able to hike it for the past three summers.   "As users and lovers of the national parks, and the opportunities they give us, we felt like we wanted to help make sure everyone has an awesome experience like we do, and that places like that are protected for the future. I was attracted by Washington's National Park Fund's focus on our local parks, since I think they're some of Washington's most important assets."   Thanks, Erik and Anna!      Your Gifts in Action Mount Rainier National Park Project  Highlight: Cascade Red Fox Study Mount Rainier National Park contains the most significant population of the Cascade Red Fox, a vulnerable subspecies proposed for listing as a state threatened species. Recent research has shown the Washington population as distinct and threatened due to climate change and human interactions. Mount Rainier may act as an "island refuge" for the Cascade fox, surrounded by an ocean of unusable habitat and threats from the non-native lowland red fox. This project, entails the attachment of GPS radio collars to record fine scale movements, and requires the trapping and immobilizing of subjects. Dr. Allison Case, DVM, from the Point Defiance Zoo, and the NPS term wildlife biologist will both be assisting on this important project, thanks to the funding the donors of Washington's National Park Fund has provided. The completion of this project will ensure the safe handling of rare Cascade foxes, and the information gained will be integrated into the NPS Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) process to establish resource indicators to guide visitor management.   North Cascades National Park  Project  Highlight:: Youth Transportation into the Park North Cascades National Park is hard at work to engage under-served communities through over 20 different youth programs, but transportation costs often create insurmountable barriers to participation. The funding for this project, provided by generous donors to Washington's National Park Fund, will enable the park to provide key assistance for  youth program partnerships with at least six school districts and organizations, including North Cascades Institute, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, Urban Wilderness Project, Washington State University Cooperative Extension/4-H, and the Student Conservation Association. This program will also allow North Cascades National Park reach out to under-served youth from urban, rural, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, African-American and low-income communities in park based education and stewardship activities. For many of these youth, this will provide a first-ever visit into a national park, and help create the next generation of youths who will become stewards and advocates of these lands. Olympic National Park  Project  Highlight: Alternative Transportation Guide This important project, funded by Washington's National Park Fund's donors,  will enable visitors to Olympic National Park to tour the park using public transportation options. This will also support the park's goal of reaching "Climate Friendly Park" status by reducing vehicle miles within the park. These new brochures will be distributed throughout gateway communities, such as Port Angeles and Victoria, B.C., and will highlight routes, key park destinations, and alternatives to get to each location.     For more information on ongoing projects in the parks, please visit our website: www.wnpf.org Looking for Ways You Can Give Back? Check out our new programs, custom designed for you to give back to the parks how you want to! The New Adopta-Trail-Mile Program is raising much needed funding for Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks. With nearly 1,300 miles of trails to maintain, funds raised will allow park staff to bring in more volunteer groups like Washington Conservation Corps, Washington Trails Association, and Student Conservation Association to name a few. These crews, trained and supervised by park staff, work tirelessly to improve trails washed out/damaged during the long winter months. For a gift of $300/year, your name will be added to the growing number of trail adopters. Individuals, couples, families, and corporations are welcome to pitch in. You can break down your support into monthly payments of $25/month, or $75/quarter. To adopt your trail mile now, click here. The Park Ambassadors Program is recruiting individuals who are passionate about our parks, and who understand the need to get more "boots on the ground" filled by people with particular skills. We are seeking people who will spread the news about Washington's National Park Fund, and the projects resulting from our donors. These people will help us to share each park's priorities with others who care deeply about the parks. Those recruited will become Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks Ambassadors. For more information about either program, contact Executive Director, Laurie Ward.