Volunteer Litter Pickers

Mount Rainier's Adopt-a-Highway litter team was "highly visible" along SR 706 on Saturday, April 25, where they filled a dozen (a dozen!) large bags with trash thrown out of cars by travellers. A total of nine volunteers (one not shown) contributed 37 man-hours to the cleanup. You too can participate in this community-betterment project. We contract to make three patrols during the year, and will have another one coming up in June. Contact Crow via email to petrina_vecchio(at)partner.nps.gov if you'd like to be put on the list of potential picker-uppers.

Pre-4th of July Litter Patrol

Litter is an ongoing problem, and we want to have our gateway to the Mountain looking nice for our Fourth of July visitors. Therefore, we'll be conducting another litter patrol on Saturday, June 29 as part of our partnership with the state Dept. of Transportation's Adopt-a-Highway program. They limit us to twelve participants, so if you're interested, sign up soon! Gloves, safety vests, bags and "long-armed grabbers" will be provided. Hard hats are optional, so if you want to wear one, bring your own. New participants must watch a five-minute DoT training video, available on line at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/operations/adoptahwy/. Please contact Crow at Petrina_Vecchio@partner.nps.gov if you want to sign up!

NPS Litter Team, Earth Day 2013

Photo credit: NPS, Crow Vecchio

In anticipation of Earth Day (Monday, April 22), Mount Rainier National Park sent out a team comprised of volunteers, paid employees and their family members to complete a litter patrol covering two miles of SR 706, the main access to the Park. In three hours, the group of twelve collected eleven bags of trash as part of their contract with the Washington State Department of Transportation's "Adopt-a-Highway" program. I had the honor of supervising this great crew, and couldn't have asked for a cheerier and efficient lot. Thank you so much, gang, for helping keep the Road to Paradise clean and tidy!

Volunteers Wanted for Litter Patrol!

As of this writing, only about half of the vacancies have been filled for our April 20th Adopt-a-Highway litter patrol and the litter along State Route 706 is multiplying daily! Please join us in tidying up for Earth Day and the summer season! Contact Petrina_Vecchio@partner.nps.gov to reserve your spot.

We will be staging at Tahoma Woods (approximately three miles east of Elbe) at 9 AM. There will be a brief orientation before the patrol begins.

Adopt-a-Highway Needs YOU!!!

State Route 706 extends from Elbe to the Nisqually Entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. This short length of highway is the primary gateway to the Park, and an area which gives visitors their first introduction to the wild and scenic beauty they will soon experience more fully.

In recent years, litter patrols of this highway have been infrequent or nonexistent, and to say that the highway looked "untidy" would be to put it mildly. We believe that as the pathway leading to our "front door," State Route 706 should make a good impression on incoming visitors, so the Volunteer Program contacted the State Dept. of Transportation to inquire into their "Adopt-a-Highway" program for citizen maintenance.

We are pleased to announce that as of August 27, 2012, the Volunteer Program has completed the adoption of the two-mile section from Milepost 2 to Milepost 4, a stretch of road which encompasses the Park's Tahoma Woods frontage. Now we are asking for your participation as a Volunteer!

This is an excellent opportunity for our Volunteers to benefit both the Park and the community! Per our agreement, we will make three litter patrols per year. The first will occur on National Public Lands Day, September 29, 2012. The next will occur in April and another in late June 2013.

Crews will consist of no more than twelve individuals. Members of the litter patrol should be physically able to walk from two to four miles, and be able to bend or stoop repeatedly throughout the day, and we'll be working rain or shine. In exchange, our reward will be to present a better face to incoming visitors, and an official Dept. of Transportation sign at either end of the patrol area acknowledging the participation of Mount Rainier National Park's wonderful Volunteers.

For further information on this on-going Volunteer activity and to reserve a spot on the crew, please contact Crow Vecchio at 360-569-6567 or email Crow.