MRNPA Work Party and Potluck

 Editor's note: Please be aware that the MRNPA potluck is for MRNPA volunteers only!

From John Titland:

The August Mount Rainier National Park Associates trails work party will be on Saturday, August 13th. Following every August work party MRNPA volunteers are invited to assemble in a nearby campground for some relaxed time together, a potluck dinner, and an evening spent sitting around the campfire.

The August trails work party will be somewhere in the Ohana/Paradise area. I don't know the project or the location yet. After work party we will reassemble in the campground at Longmire (not the Cougar Rock campground). The Longmire VIP campground is not open to the public; only to park volunteers. Thus it is quiet and without the constant activity of a public campground. There is even a restroom with showers and hot water so you clean up after the work party. Dinner usually takes place about 6 PM. The potluck dinner selections are always great. People contribute whatever they want. No attempt is made to organize the menu. Not yet has everyone brought only desserts, but we can still hope. After dinner, it gets pretty mellow.

This August event always turns out to be a great day. Spend part of the day volunteering and then join other MRNPA volunteers in the "after work party" gathering. This is the only event each year where we take off the blue helmets and the work gloves, and really get a chance to meet and talk with our fellow volunteers. If you have other commitments and can't stay for the whole evening, then stay as long as you can. It's up to you. But if you don't need to leave, consider camping overnight. The group campsite at the Longmire VIP campground is reserved for MRNPA volunteers for both Friday night (dinner is up to you) and Saturday night. So bring your tent and sleeping bag and spend the weekend. On Sunday morning people tend to go in many different directions, but we are usually able to organize a short group hike somewhere close by. Everyone is invited to come along.

If you plan to attend this August 13th trails work party, please reply to volunteer(at)mrnpa.org indicating that you are coming and give me the number of volunteers you expect to accompany you. I need an estimate of the number of volunteers so that Park staff can be sure to have enough tools for us all. If you plan to camp, I also need to know if you will be there for one night (Friday or Saturday) or both nights.

Nisqually to Paradise - July 28-Aug 4

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Mercer Slough Dragonfly Survey

We had a group of high school volunteers in the park this weekend performing citizen science. These teens, who were volunteering through Mercer Slough, were tasked with collecting dragonfly larvae for the Dragonfly Mercury Project. The Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center is a collaboration between the city of Bellevue and the Pacific Science Center. The Dragonfly Mercury Project is a nationwide effort to measure mercury in dragonfly larvae. These teens got pretty dirty while having a blast digging through pond mud for larvae. After finding enough samples, the group measured, bagged and labeled the larvae which will be sent off-site for testing. Thank you to these helpful volunteers!

To learn more about the Dragonfly Mercury Project visit: http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/studies/air_toxics/dragonfly/index.cfm

To learn more about Mercer Slough visit: https://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/mercer-slough/

Nisqually to Paradise, July 21-28

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NYC Crews

We have a couple of Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) crews in the park this summer. They are doing amazing work with our trails crew, working on re-grading the tread, brushing, drainage improvements, and defining routes as the snow melts. You may run into some of these lively folks when hiking on the east side of the park near Sunrise or White River. Please thank them for their service and the incredible work they are doing. The NYC crew, here for three months, out of White River is funded in part by the Raney/REI donation. Our Sunrise NYC crew, here for one month, is funded by an Earth Day donation from Toray Composites, Inc. of Fredrickson, WA. Thank you to the donors and the crews for helping keep the park open and accessible to the public!

Student Conservation Association (SCA) Youth Crew

The SCA has three youth community crews that will be at Mount Rainier National Park this summer. The first crew from the Pacific Northwest region just finished their two week stint at the park. They stayed in the Longmire Stewardship Campground and worked on tread issues and brushing on trails on the west side of the park. If you find yourself on the trail to Snow Lake or around Kautz Creek, know that this youth crew helped shape these trails for your enjoyment (and to protect the wildlife that lives shortly off trail). This crew was funded in part by a grant from the National Park Service's Youth Partnerships Program. Let’s send a big THANK YOU to this SCA Community Crew!

Nisqually to Paradise, July 14-21

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Have a story to tell?

Story-worthy photo by Ed Hunds

As part of Mount Rainier's Centennial Celebration, the park will host a storytelling night at the Paradise Inn at 8:30 p.m. on the evening of August 6. Ranger Curt Jacquot is gathering storytellers for the event, which will be hosted by Ranger Jim Ross. If you are a volunteer and have an amazing or interesting 5-minute story to tell, please e-mail your story nomination, with a brief description, as soon as possible to Curt_Jacquot [at] nps.gov.

As the storytellers say, "may you have a story-worthy summer!"

Nisqually to Paradise July 7-14

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HELP! Need Volunteers to Handout Annual Surveys

Calling all volunteers!  We were handed the annual surveys today to hand out on the following schedule.  We desperately need helpers especially this Sunday, July 10th!

7/10  Paradise 12:30-4:30

7/13 Sunrise    12:30 - 4:30

7/15 Ohana      12:30 - 4:30

7/17 Longmire   12:30 - 4:30

7/21 Ohana       9:00 - 1:00 

7/23 Sunrise     9:00 - 1:00

7/26 Longmire   9:00 - 1:00

7/30 Paradise    8:00 - 12:00

This survey is taken every year and helps us discover who our park visitors are and what they did while they were here.  We need one person to handle each shift, or two who would be willing to share half and half.  You will pick a single spot to stay and hand a survey to pre-selected number of visitors.  Full directions will be given to you when you arrive. 

If you are available please contact Kevin Bacher, Mark Loper, or Maureen McLean.  We truly appreciate your help.

Thank you

Maureen McLean

Coordinator MORA Meadow Rovers

MRNPA Work Party Reminder

A reminder from John Titland:

 The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates volunteer work party will be Saturday, July 16th.  This will be the annual Mount Rainier National Park Associates Exotic Plant Removal work party, which we refer to as the "deveg".  We will be working at the site of the new Carbon River Ranger Station, and the Marsh Property, both located a few miles west of the Carbon River Entrance of the park on the Carbon River Road.  The ranger station occupies a building that was formerly identified as the Carbon River Ranch.  The area is still referred to as the Thompson property.  The property extends all the way from the road down to the Carbon River.

Things you should bring are work gloves, a small digging tool like a hand trowel, or your favorite weed removing tool, your lunch, plenty of fluids to drink, and a full set of rain gear.  A warm jacket would be good to include.

We will meet between 8:30 and 9:00 AM in front of the ranger station.  Be ready to go to work by about 9:00 AM and expect to finish about 3:00 PM.

If  you plan to attend this work party and have not already contacted John, please reply to volunteer(at)mrnpa.org and provide him with the number of volunteers you expect to accompany you.

The NEW Newsletter - July 2016

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Nisqually to Paradise June 30-July 7

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Mount Rainier National Park Completes Third Helicopter Rescue and Sixth Search and Rescue in Three Weeks

"Mount Rainier Superintendent Randy King remarked that 'it takes a large team of dedicated employees, partners, and volunteers to support the more than 50 Search and Rescues the park has each year. Having the right tools like a dedicated and high altitude-capable park SAR helicopter, and the assistance of the 214th [US Army Reserve] and our many volunteer rescue organizations, improves patient outcomes and rescuer safety.'"

Read the full press release here.