WE HAVE MOVED!

http://RainierVolunteersNPS.tumblr.com
http://Facebook.com/RainierVolunteersNPS

Mount Rainier National Park's volunteer program is now on Tumblr and Facebook rather than Blogger. Please update your bookmarks and subscriptions.

All blog posts have been migrated to the new site, so you will still be able to find, on Tumblr, all of the resources that had been gathered here over the past decade.

Thanks,

Kevin Bacher
Volunteer and Outreach Program Manager
Mount Rainier National Park

Volunteer Blog moving to Tumblr and Facebook

The volunteer program of Mount Rainier National Park began this blog almost ten years ago, in the wake of the great flood that swept through the park in November of 2006. Since then, we've posted more than 1400 stories about the awesome work that volunteers do to help protect our park and serve its visitors!

At the time we opened this account, the National Park Service had very little presence on social media, so we were pioneering mostly uncharted territory. We selected Blogger as our blog platform for a variety of reasons including ease of use and our best guess that it would last as a website.

Over the years, the NPS caught up with us, and today, there is an official Park Service presence on many different social media platforms, including Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Periscope, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube. Mount Rainier has official sites on most of these, under the name "MountRainierNPS." The sites follow guidelines established to ensure uniformity and best practice, including the use of an NPS arrowhead as the icon or avatar for each site, and the suffix "NPS" at the end of each name.

Unfortunately, Blogger is not included in the list of approved social media sites.

Therefore, over the next week or two, the volunteer program will be migrating to Tumblr instead. Tumblr allows 250 posts per day, so the transfer from Blogger will take at least six days to complete. When it is done, we'll post a note here, permanently directing you to the new site. Meanwhile, you can check out the work in progress at our new address, http://RainierVolunteersNPS.tumblr.com.

Notice that our familiar "RainierVolunteers" name is now "RainierVolunteersNPS," in line with NPS standards. Otherwise, you can expect the same information-rich content as before, full of stories about volunteer opportunities and accomplishments and photos of volunteers in action!

Meanwhile, our Facebook page, formerly "RainierVolunteers," now also has the NPS suffix. Follow us on Facebook at http://Facebook.com/RainierVolunteersNPS.

We've experimented with Twitter and YouTube in the past as well, so those sites may also transition to our new name. We'll keep you posted!

Thanks for your continued support over all these years,

Kevin Bacher
Mount Rainier National Park

MRNPA Summer Schedule

Greetings,

Mount Rainier National Park  Associates will be conducting six volunteer work parties at Mount Rainier on six Saturdays during 2017.   Four of those Saturdays of doing trail maintenance work and two Saturdays we will be assisting a park  crew in doing "resource management".   We invite you to join us for a day or two of volunteer work, donating your time and effort, but also enjoying the amazing place that is Mount Rainier National Park and the company of some great people.

Please mark your calendars to join us on any, or all, of the following dates.  The locations will be determined by park staff about two weeks before the volunteer work party.

April 29th - doing trail maintenance   A great day to get that first spring outing at Mount Rainier.
May 20th -  doing trail maintenance
June 17th - doing trail maintenance
July 15th   The Deveg  -  A day doing exotic plant removal (also known as weeding).  This is a surprisingly fun Saturday
August 19th - doing trail maintenance during the day, followed by a pot luck dinner, and an overnight camp for the volunteers who have worked that day
September 9th  The Reveg  - A day doing planting of wildflower seedlings to re-establish alpine meadows.  This may be at either Sunrise or Paradise.

I hope to see you on one, or more, of these MRNPA volunteer work parties.

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates

Leave No Trace Trainer Course

Mount Rainier Volunteer Brian Carpenter has announced that he will be giving a "Leave No Trace Trainer" course through the Mountaineers. The class is open to non-members and will include an easy overnight backpacking trip to Ancient Lakes in Eastern Washington. It is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 25-26. Participants will examine research covering recommended "best practices" and will discuss the spectrum of personal comfort levels, ethics and philosophies which determine how individuals make choices in the backcountry.  For more details, visit the Mountaineers' listing here: Leave No Trace Trainer Course. Course graduates will earn the nationally-recognized title "Leave No Trace Trainer" and will receive a certificate of completion. 

Fee is $40 for Mountaineers members, $60 for non-members. Participants must supply their own backpacking gear and food. Registration closes on March 20.

2016 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 22, 2016

Fiscal Year: 2016 

   

Volunteer Coordinator and Park Information 

Total Volunteers: 2,154

Alpha Code: MORA

VIP Coordinator: Kevin Bacher

VIP Coordinator Phone: 360-569-2211

Coordinator Email: kevin_bacher@nps.gov 

   

Volunteer hours by category: 

 

Administration:  850.50

Campground Host:  2,761.50

Cultural Resource Management:  4,878.75

General Management:  369.00

Interpretation:  11,868.00

Maintenance:  26,834.80

Natural Resource Management:  11,740.20

Protection/Operations/Law Enforcement:  8,672.20

Training:  1,676.50

   

[Total hours: 69,651.45]

Hours no longer counted as volunteers:

Student Conservation Association Interns: 8,674
Geoscientist-in-Parks Interns: 3,652.5

[Total volunteer and intern hours: 81,978]

 

Volunteer Program Highlight

  

Mount Rainier had a banner year for volunteers, with more volunteer and intern hours than any year except 2007 and more volunteer numbers than we've ever recorded. Highlights this year include:

• A trial Service-Learning program with Girl Scouts was very successful within our Education and Keep Wildlife Wild programs.
• The Japan Volunteers-in-Parks Association, based in Tokyo, added 704 international volunteer hours.
• Three SCA Community Crews, totaling 30 youth, contributed 2,400 hours.
• Our ongoing partnership with the Washington Trails Association brought 6,615 hours of trail maintenance by 476 people. This accounted for about a quarter of the 25,142 total hours reported in Trail Maintenance, by far our largest volunteer program.
• 29 Community Groups were active in the park, including several local schools, business groups, and Tourism Cares, which brought 100 volunteers to the park at one time for an enormous volunteer work day.
• National Trails Day and National Public Lands Day continue to be some of our most popular drop-in volunteer days.
• 11 SCA interns contributed 8,674 hours and 7 Geologist-in-Park interns contributed 3,653 hours (neither are included in "volunteer" totals).
• Citizen Science volunteers contributed 3,574 hours, surveying amphibians, butterflies, wildflowers, and wilderness hikers.
• Meadow Rovers set records with 7,877 hours by 186 people patrolling subalpine trails.

Training

  

How many people at the park require VIP Program Management Training: 18

   

Optional Information Regarding Housing VIPs and Campground Hosts

  

Number of Campground Hosts: 11

Number of VIPs housed in Permanent Structures: 30

Number of VIPs housed in Trailers: 0

   

Trailer Pads for Volunteers: 8

   

Other Information

  

Number of SCAs: 41

SCA Hours: 11,074

Number of Artists in Parks: 1

Artist in Parks Hours: 200

Number of International VIPs: 15

International VIPS Hours: 704

Number of Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps: 0

Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps Hours: 0

Number of Boy Scouts: 0

Boy Scout Hours: 0

Number of Girls Scouts: 11

Girl Scout Hours: 110

Number of Wounded Warriors: 0

Wounded Warriors Hours: 0

Winter Operations/Snow Rover Training

Save the date for Mount Rainier Winter Operations training (also known as Snow Rover Training), which will be held on Saturday December 3^rd in the Longmire Community Building.

 

Who: Those who plan on volunteering this winter.

When: Saturday December, 3

          9:00am-4:45pm (experienced winter rovers end at 3:45 PM)

Where: Longmire Community Building

What we will discuss:

·         Road Closures/Rules of the Road

·         Winter ecology

·         The 10 winter essentials

·         Winter driving tips

·         Radio protocol and procedure

If you wish to volunteer this winter, you need attend an orientation/training. Individual training takes up lots of extra time and resources. Please do your best to attend. 

 

RSVP to Mark Loper at Mark_Loper@partner.nps.gov

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good-bye!

Another beautiful summer has come to a close and it is time for me to leave the mountain for the winter.  Once again, Meadow Rovers have given their hearts, souls, aching feet, and 6709 hours to the visitors at Mount Rainier National Park.  You have deputized at least 50,000 young hikers as caretakers of the flowers, distributed thousands of flower brochures, answered a million questions, and carried out way too many bags of garbage.  All in all, your total contacts numbered 137,237 visitors.

Sunrise roving has ended with the closing of the White River WIC.  Paradise on the other hand will be open to rovers with the following guidelines:

Weekdays

1. Pick up radios at the Longmire museum which opens at 9:00.
2. Return radios before 4:30.
3. Be sure to sign out and sign back in.
4. Solo Rovers must remain below Glacier Vista, below the Skyline/Golden Gate junction, and below the Skyline/Mazama Ridge junction.
5. Weather pemitting, teams may do the complete Skyline.

Weekends

1. Sign out and radios will be in the Rover Office in the JVC opening at 10:00.
2. Return to JVC by 4:15 p.m.
3. Check with rangers on duty or designated supervisor  as to needed areas of coverage.

On Any Given Rove

1. Be sure that you are carrying the 10 Essentials at all times.  In an emergency situation, you may be out longer than anticipated.  
2. Check the weather forecast before going out on the trail.
3. Allow yourself enough time to return radios at the end of the day.  
4. Alert your supervisor or JVC (dispatch is last resort) of anything that might delay you.
5. Keep your radio on and listen for safety updates.
6. BE SAFE – you are most important to our program.

UNIFORMS

If you are not planning to return to meadow roving, would you kindly return your uniform shirt? They can be washed and re-issued.

ARM-BANDS

Please oh please, check your backpacks for the elastic/Velcro armbands used during the cold days of May and June.  We started with 15 and now have 3.  They are much needed by the winter Snow Rover Program.  They can be mailed to:

Meadow Rover Program
c/o Kevin Bacher
55210 238th Ave E
Ashford, WA 98304

I have enjoyed making new friends and welcoming the returning rovers.  I look forward to seeing all your bright and shiny faces next summer!  Be safe and enjoy the winter.

Maureen McLean
Coordinator MORA Meadow Rovers

October Newsletter

The October Newsletter is now available on Google Drive!

Nisqually to Paradise, Oct. 6-13

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Nisqually to Paradise, Sept. 29- Oct. 6

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ROVING AFTER SUNRISE VISITOR CENTER CLOSES

Greetings to all the wonderful rovers.  It is hard to believe summer has ended and fall is here. Yesterday the Sunrise Visitor Center closed after I think its biggest summer ever! However, the road to Sunrise will remain open through possibly the end of October and rovers can still make a difference.  

While we truly appreciate your commitment to the preservation of Mount Rainier National Park, we are also concerned for your safety.  After the visitor center at Sunrise closes, there is a lack of back-up for our dedicated volunteers.  For that reason the following regulations will be in effect:

1.  SOLO rovers must remain within 1 mile of the parking lot/Visitor Center

2.  Those roving in pairs are limited to the following trails –

a.  Sunrise Nature Trail - .75 miles

b.  Silver Forest Trail – 1 mile

c.   Shadow Lake – 1.3 miles

d.  Frozen Lake – 1.5 miles

e.  Sourdough Ridge to Dege Peak – 2.1 miles

3.   When signing out, be specific about where you will be.

4.   Rovers must return radios and check-in at WIC before closing time – hours are 7:30 am to 5:00 pm daily until 10/10.

5.   If for some reason, there is no Law Enforcement Ranger or General Ranger available between White River and Sunrise, Rovers should return to the parking lot area and rove near by. 

These regulations will be in effect until the WIC closes on 10/10.  Roving after that will depend on the ability to provide back-up for our rovers.

Nisqually to Paradise, September 22-29

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National Public Lands Day, September 24

Mount Rainier National Park will celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 24, 2016, with two large volunteer projects open to public participation. The work day caps a busy summer in which nearly 2,000 people have contributed to the protection of Mount Rainier's natural and cultural treasures and helped serve its visitors.

Supt. Randy King (left) poses with volunteers on NPLD in 2015

National Public Lands Day is an annual celebration of public involvement in the stewardship of America’s national, state, and local parks and forests. More than 170,000 individuals are expected to participate in events all over the country. In recognition of this, entrance fees will be waived at all national parks for the day. Volunteers will receive an additional coupon for free admission on a day of their choice.

 

Members of the public are invited to join in the day’s work. The National Parks Conservation Association will coordinate registration for the event beginning at 8:00 a.m. at the White River Campground, six miles west of Highway 410 in the northeast corner of the park. After a brief welcome at 9:00, participants will divide into work groups. The Washington Trails Association and Park Service crew leaders will lead trail maintenance projects at Sunrise, while other volunteers will work with the park’s revegetation crew to plant native plants in a restoration area about a mile from the Sunrise Visitor Center. Trail work is suitable for ages 16 and up, while planting is good for all ages.

Volunteers should come prepared for any kind of weather, with warm clothing, rain gear, sturdy footwear, and gloves. Knee pads are also recommended for planting. If the weather is nice, sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats are recommended. Volunteers should also bring water, snacks, and a lunch.

Volunteers at Mount Rainier National Park maintain and patrol trails, assist and educate visitors, conduct research as citizen scientists, and plant native plants. Last year, 1,778 volunteers and interns contributed 65,538 hours of service, an effort valued at $1.5 million.

Information about Mount Rainier’s volunteer program, including a list of open positions, a calendar of activities, and pictures and videos of volunteers in action may be found on Mount Rainier National Park’s website at www.nps.gov/mora.

Nisqually to Paradise, September 15-22

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A big THANK YOU to Michaela Lawrence!

 

Michaela Lawrence worked 320 hours as a volunteer this summer. She is the 3rd Wooster College student in the program to use geochemical means to detect stagnant glacier ice for geohazard recognition. the lead professor plans on publishing the results this year.

 

Below is a poster she created school. Michaela looks to have a bright future ahead of her!

Click the image to enlarge.

 

Adopt-A-Highway Volunteers

For a little over three years now, Mount Rainier volunteers have been participating in the state's "Adopt-a-Highway" program through the Dept. of Transportation. Three times every year, we go out and patrol a two-mile section of SR 706, collecting multiple bags of trash each time we work. It's not a glamorous job, but we like to think it makes the journey to the Park a little more pleasant for visitors.

Our pickup dates vary, but we always schedule one in April and September, with the third frequently occurring just before or after the Fourth of July weekend. We're done for 2016, but we hope you'll join us next year!

Westside Road Project - Thank You!

A big thank you to those volunteers who have been working on the Westside Road with Jeni! Some of their work included: shoveling soil, using tools to cut down young willow and alder branches for live staking, using rock bars to move rocks for site preparation, moving soil via wheelbarrow, and hammering live stakes into the creek bed.

Lots of hard work - thank you!!!

Nisqually to Paradise - September 8-15

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Meadow Rovers Rock

Summer 2016 has forged new records in Meadow Rover hours and contacts.  Our volunteers have come from as far away as Florida, Colorado, and California, and as close as the concession employees in the park.  But we aren't done yet!  With warm sunny weather predicted for the next week or two, visitors will continue to hit the trails.  Even in the cold wet weather, rovers do tremendous work in preventing people from going forth unprepared.  So keep on roving until the road is closed at Sunrise or the snow flies at Paradise!!

My season as coordinator will wind down by mid-October. During this time, I would like to hear from you. Your observations as to issues with trails, crowd control, or anything you feel park management should know, are welcomed.  These will be included in the End-of-Season report that is prepared before I leave for winter.

Also, please let me know what you would like to see, hear, or do with training next June. I always want your needs met and to make training worthwhile. So send me your ideas.

And for those of you who just can't get enough....keep your eyes open for Snow Rover training!

Maureen McLean
Coordinator MORA Meadow Rovers
Maureen_McLean@nps.gov

Reveg at Sunrise

Mount Rainier National Park Associates would like to remind everyone that their last work party of the year will be a revegetation project in the Sunrise area on Saturday, September 10th. If you are interested in participating, please contact John Titland at volunteer@mrnpa.org for more details.