Mount Rainier Meadow Rover News: DATES and UPDATES

Greetings Meadow Rovers! We are writing to let you know of dates and updates that may be of interest.  Also, at the bottom of this note is a list of resources and contacts useful to Meadow Rovers.
– Curt Jacquot, Park Ranger-Interpretation, Bill Marsh, West Side Meadow Rover Coordinator

Dates

Spring is here and with it come thoughts of wildflowers waiting to be preserved by helpful humans like us!  To help promote that cause we are holding some gatherings that Meadow Rovers can attend:

May 5: Volunteer Brunch at Longmire Community Building. 10 AM to 12 PM.  RSVP to Kevin Bacher at Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov. Please bring a brunch item to share.  Basic table service is provided or bring your own.

Schedule:
10:00 AM: Say hello and get ready for brunch
10:30 AM: Potluck Brunch
11:00 AM: Presentation by Kevin Bacher about things happening in the park
11:30 AM: Questions and Answers

June 23: New Meadow Rover Training at the Longmire Community Building: 10 AM to 3 PM.  RSVP to: Mora_Meadow_Rovers@nps.gov.

June 24: Experienced Meadow Rover Training at the Longmire Community Building: 10 AM to 3 PM. RSVP to Mora_Meadow_Rovers@nps.gov. We are planning some new things for this training! Details to follow.

Updates

Updates on Personnel:
Returning this summer are our experienced and knowledgeable volunteer meadow rover coordinators.  Both Bill Marsh and Gayle Eads will be back for a second season!  Bill will be the west side rovers and Gayle will be working with east side rovers at Sunrise. Curt Jacquot will be the meadow rover supervisor on the west side of the park.  Filling in for Christine Czazasty on the east side will be former seasonal interpreter Todd Smith.  Todd is now a permanent employee with the park service. He is currently a supervisory ranger at Chamizal National Memorial in Texas.  He will be working on what the government calls a “detail.”  That means he is on loan from his position in Texas while we formally announce/fill the position vacated by Christine Czazasty.  Christine will be here briefly in May for a transition period before she returns to her new Chief of Interpretation position at Chaco Canyon National Historic Site.  Congratulations to Todd and Christine!  See contact information for staff at the end of the message.

Winter-Spring  Roving:
We had a good Winter/early Spring season with many snow rovers helping to make Paradise a safer place.  Winter rovers help with ranger guided snowshoe walks.  They also contact visitors regarding avalanche danger, “Keeping Wildlife Wild”, and they provide trail information.  From November through mid April over 30 rovers provided over 700 hours of service.  The rovers contacted over 2500 visitors!  Thanks to the Snow Rovers!

Training and Orientation for new rovers before group training on June 23?
Those interested in roving this spring that have not yet been trained can schedule an individual training and orientation session.  The individual must be willing to commit to eight hours of roving per month (May-June-July-August) in order to schedule an individual training/orientation.  Contact mora_meadow_rovers@nps.gov if you wish to schedule an individual training with our coordinator Bill Marsh. The session will last 3-4 hours.

New! Meadow Rover Awards:
This year we are introducing our Meadow Rover of the year awards.  Four rovers will be chosen as our outstanding rovers of the year.  Anyone can nominate (themselves or someone else). The judging criteria are: quantity of service, quality of service, mentorship, and innovation of service delivery. Rovers of the year will be selected by rover coordinators and supervisors. Winners share lunch with a park administrator or a hike with a park scientist! The deadline for submitting a nomination is September 7, 2012. The awards will be announced on October 1. No form is necessary.  Just submit descriptions of how the nominee fulfilled the criteria for the award. Send nomination by mail or email to Curt Jacquot, Mount Rainier National Park, 55210 238th Avenue east, Ashford, WA 98304; or email: curt_jacquot@nps.gov.

Resources and Contacts for Meadow Rovers

Training Opportunities and Information for Rovers:

Authority of the Resource Techniques:
http://74.91.226.186/Library/Environmental_Ethics/Authority_of_the_Resource_Wallace_Original.pdf

National Park Service Online Interpretive Training Classes:
http://eppley.org/elearning/interpretation-1

Foundations of Interpretation course is free.  Informal Visitor Contacts course is recommended. There is a discount code to lower fee based courses to $29.00. Contact mora_meadow_rovers@nps.gov to get the discount code.

Online Avalanche Training: http://www.avalanche.ca/cac/training/online-course
How to Read Topographic Maps: http://www.map-reading.com/intro.php

Orienteering Tutorials: http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/
http://bsatroop14.com/outdoor/Compass-Maps/Orienteering_Activity_Guide.pdf

Using a GPS: http://www.map-reading.com/appendj.php
http://www.squidoo.com/GPS-basics-background
http://ww2.trimble.com/gps_tutorial/

Land Navigation without a GPS or Compass:
http://www.squidoo.com/alternative-navigation

Wildflowers of Mount Rainier web site by Donovan Tracy :
http://www.flowersofrainier.com/Index%20Enter/index.htm

Mount Rainier National Park Brochures:
http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/brochures.htm

Contacts for Meadow Rovers

Primary Park Contact address for Meadow Rovers: Email:  MORA_Meadow_Rovers@nps.gov
Please be specific in your subject line (“Longmire campsite request,” Sunrise, Paradise, etc.).  It is best to use this address instead of contacting an individual who may be on leave or days off. We have someone assigned to check this email box daily.

Mount Rainier Volunteers Blog:
http://rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com  

Mount Rainier Volunteers Discussion Group.  A good spot to arrange rides or roving partners:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RainierVolunteers
Phone Numbers: (Primary contact for meadow roving questions is the email address: mora_meadow_rovers@nps.gov)

Title/Name/Email/Phone
West District Area Ranger: Curt Jacquot:  Curt_Jacquot@nps.gov 360-569-6577
East District Interpreter (acting): Todd Smith: (Beginning May 15): todd_smith@nps.gov: 360-569-6582
Volunteer Program Manager: Kevin Bacher: Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov 360-569-6567
West District Interpreter: Lee Snook: Lee_Snook@nps.gov 360-569-6576
Sunrise Lead Interpreter: Rebecca Roland, spring number: 360-569-6578. Beginning mid June: 360-569-6585
Paradise Meadow Rover Coordinator: Eugene “Bill” Marsh: Eugene_Marsh@partner.nps.gov
In Spring-Winter contact Bill at: 360-569-6578; Beginning in June contact Bill at: 360-569-6574
Sunrise Meadow Rover Coordinator (Summer only):  Gayle Eads: Gayle_Eads@partner.nps.gov
Phone: 360-569-6585

Building Phone Numbers:
Paradise Visitor Center: 360-569-6571
Longmire Museum: 360-569-6575
Ohanapecosh Visitor Center: 360-569-6581
Sunrise Visitor Center: 360-663-2425

To Arrange a free campsite when volunteering: please email mora_meadow_rovers@nps.gov with the date and camp (Longmire, White River) in your subject line.  Please email requests at least 1 week in advance.